Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Hoku44]

You can dunk in RIT dye, no salt, and not super hot water. It does dry it out a lot. I doubt you will get a nice dark black. It will probably just be gray. If you really want to dye the inside to match the outside, you should probably paint it on, not dunk. If you decide to use suede dye instead, I don't recommend Fiebings. The time I tried that, the color disappeared as soon as I brushed the suede, whether I waited a week or a month. That's when I switched to painting RIT on. If you use the liquid variety, it is easier.

Ah! OK!
No, I did not encounter dye transfer to the items inside. I did do another dunk of the bag after the dye had cured for 3 weeks. The water was the color of the dye but the color did not fade- inside or out. I have not had dye transfer on items that went inside the bag. Granted, I do not put white items in my bag, nor pens. I hate pens! They always manage to leave a skid mark despite caps.

Always buy a dye that includes suede.

Also, after you dye, you may notice an iridescent look on the leather. Don't panic! Once you put conditioner on and buff, that will disappear. I wish someone told me that before I panicked.

 

[LunaSilver]

Sorry for very late response I acually changed my mind. Originally I ordered saphir Juvacuir (cream color) to color refresh bone colore Chester bag but color does not match. So now I decided to redye it in a near future in black. My plan is to dye inside with dunking it in Rit dye bath for several hours to change inside color and use Saphir teinture to dye it black and Saphir Juvacuir in black to "lock in" color so it does not bleed. Anybody have any idea if juvacuir would be enough for that? I really do not want to use resoline as a top layer. I am hoping that Saphir products will still let me to condition leather in a future (as far as I understand resoline top layer prevents that)

Never used Saphir Juvacuir, so can’t help with that. Bone or white is very hard to dye, wish you good luck. As to top sealer, I haven’t found anything that is good enough yet. So with the dyed bag , I just put it away for a couple month, then dunk it to get rid of excess dye. The reason of 2 months waiting time, I don’t really know if there is a thing of “ cure” time for dye the same as paint. Paint May dry to touch in hours, but sometimes take 2 months to cure depends on paint type, temperature and humidity. Uncured paint feels dry, but the paint film is still soft and not durable. So I wait for 2 months before dunk a dyed bag, and hope the bond between the pigments and fibres is permanent by then.

 

[Vb345]

Ah! OK!
No, I did not encounter dye transfer to the items inside. I did do another dunk of the bag after the dye had cured for 3 weeks. The water was the color of the dye but the color did not fade- inside or out. I have not had dye transfer on items that went inside the bag. Granted, I do not put white items in my bag, nor pens. I hate pens! They always manage to leave a skid mark despite caps.

Always buy a dye that includes suede.

Also, after you dye, you may notice an iridescent look on the leather. Don't panic! Once you put conditioner on and buff, that will disappear. I wish someone told me that before I panicked.

Thank you for your reply and for heads up about iridescent look ( I know what you mean, I previously dyed shoes with fiebings leather dye and they turned out black with golden. Fixed that with shoe polish which would obviously not work for bags).

 

[LunaSilver]

Following this with interest as I have a tan Pocket Purse I’d like to dye navy (somehow in my newly acquired Coach addiction l ended up with 2 of them ). I was thinking Rit dye for the interior suede portions, and Feibings for the smooth leather, done in 2or more steps. Thoughts anyone ? I’m very new at this.

It will work as tan color is aniline dyed without surface coating. I found it works better for me to deglaze the surface with alcohol first, next dunk the bag with dish soap water, then dye the bag several hours later while it is still damp.

 

[Vb345]

Never used Saphir Juvacuir, so can’t help with that. Bone or white is very hard to dye, wish you good luck. As to top sealer, I haven’t found anything that is good enough yet. So with the dyed bag , I just put it away for a couple month, then dunk it to get rid of excess dye. The reason of 2 months waiting time, I don’t really know if there is a thing of “ cure” time for dye the same as paint. Paint May dry to touch in hours, but sometimes take 2 months to cure depends on paint type, temperature and humidity. Uncured paint feels dry, but the paint film is still soft and not durable. So I wait for 2 months before dunk a dyed bag, and hope the bond between the pigments and fibres is permanent by then.

Thanks. Yeh I read about light color bags after the fact No more light color bags for me.

 

[Vb345]

You can dunk in RIT dye, no salt, and not super hot water. It does dry it out a lot. I doubt you will get a nice dark black. It will probably just be gray. If you really want to dye the inside to match the outside, you should probably paint it on, not dunk. If you decide to use suede dye instead, I don't recommend Fiebings. The time I tried that, the color disappeared as soon as I brushed the suede, whether I waited a week or a month. That's when I switched to painting RIT on. If you use the liquid variety, it is easier.

Thank you for suggestion.

 

[Vimsmum]

It will work as tan color is aniline dyed without surface coating. I found it works better for me to deglaze the surface with alcohol first, next dunk the bag with dish soap water, then dye the bag several hours later while it is still damp.

Thanks for the advise, and the tip about applying the dye while the leather is still damp.

 

[Charleston47]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Hoku44]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

I remove all hardware and polish with Blue Magic Metal Polishing Cream. You can buy it in Amazon. Huge tube costs $10. I’ll never be able to use it all. Brasso doesn’t hold a candle to this stuff.

Just wanted to throw out the polishing before replacing idea.

 

[LadaZuri]

Thanks. Yeh I read about light color bags after the fact No more light color bags for me.

Not sure if this would work for you, but I did a significant colour refreshing on a white Legacy Zip and am thrilled with the result. I adore white bags and Legacy Zips, so this project was exciting and worth all the time it took.

As we know the colour on some light bags is a coating, so I used a much higher percentage of acrylic paint in the paint/CPR mixture than I normally would presuming that I would have to create another coating. I dunked first then did many, many thin coats of the mixture (one side of the bag at a time) allowing at least 24 - 48 hours between coats. I also carefully used a hairdryer immediately after applying it. It's been sitting and curing for a couple of months and I plan to Blackrocks it in the next few days. I'll report back when that's done. In the meantime here's how the bag started out:







And after colour refreshing:







The strap isn't shown here, but I used the same process on it.

 

[katev]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

I try to avoid replacing the turnlocks; I prefer to keep the bag as original as possible. I polish them and I usually don't mind a few scratches when they are cleaned up. I only replace turnlocks when they are broken or parts are missing.

 

[Vb345]

Not sure if this would work for you, but I did a significant colour refreshing on a white Legacy Zip and am thrilled with the result. I adore white bags and Legacy Zips, so this project was exciting and worth all the time it took.

As we know the colour on some light bags is a coating, so I used a much higher percentage of acrylic paint in the paint/CPR mixture than I normally would presuming that I would have to create another coating. I dunked first then did many, many thin coats of the mixture (one side of the bag at a time) allowing at least 24 - 48 hours between coats. I also carefully used a hairdryer immediately after applying it. It's been sitting and curing for a couple of months and I plan to Blackrocks it in the next few days. I'll report back when that's done. In the meantime here's how the bag started out:

View attachment 5279709

View attachment 5279711

View attachment 5279713

And after colour refreshing:

View attachment 5279714

View attachment 5279716

View attachment 5279715

The strap isn't shown here, but I used the same process on it.

Wow you did such a great job.

 

[Lake Effect]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

That’s an interesting question about resale value. If it is harder to find bag, either style or color, my guess is that replacing it might not affect value, cause while someone might pass it up because the hardware is not original, someone hot to build their collection would be willing to overlook that. But you bring up a good point about people calling it out as inauthentic if the hardware is not original. Despite clearly saying that in a listing.
If it were up to me, I would sell it as is. Or polish the hardware myself. Rehabbing vintage Coach has never been more popular, it seems. And remember, the lack of new looking hardware is not a deal breaker for everyone, including me. I do not look for new looking hardware, even on a like-new bag that is 25 to 35 years old. A little age, or “antiquing” suits the character of vintage Coach for me, but that is me and YMMV.
Coach began offering antique brass as hardware selection for some bags and fobs not too long ago, which I found are perfect match for the hardware on my vintage bags where I only did a basic cleaning/polishing.

 

[aqua1117]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

As others have already commented, I also believe keeping the original hardware is a better option to maintaining or increasing the resale value. I also resell my excess Coach bags and I think people tend to gravitate towards 'unaltered' conditioned bags. People who buys vintage items tend to love the history behind each item and usually very accommodating and understanding of the flaws.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

I'm enjoying this Rehab and Rescue thread so much! I was wondering, is there a general opinion about replacing the brass turn lock set, when doing a rehab? I have been building a small collection for many years (about 40 years) and have gradually started doing more serious rehabs of my older ones (dunking, polishing brass...). My favorites that I have the most of are old Classic Pouches, old City Bags, and old Compartment Bags...so most of mine have brass turn locks. Some have tiny scuffs and only need polishing, but a couple have scratches and dullness on the turn locks, so I'm thinking about just replacing the turn locks. I've found a source, but every time I go to replace the turn lock, I'm hesitant as to whether that's a good idea. I may decide to sell some of the bags, since I'm retired from my job now and not using them for my work wardrobe anymore. Do ya'll think a replacement turn lock affects the ultimate resale value? (Course I wouldn't replace the washers, cause all available replacement washers have the indentations.) Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Considering Coach themselves are now using replaced hardware with the indented oval washers on their (Re)loved bags, it really shouldn’t affect the value when you sell in my opinion