Okay! NOW it makes sense, lol!Happy Monday! Wanted to share what I worked on recently! I rehabbed my rust small shoulder bag but was unhappy with the original strap being so short. I ordered a longer Emery varsity strap from Coach outlet thinking it would work as a replacement. Although the strap matched well, the white part was too wide to fit through the buckles of my bag.
I decided to take a gamble & hack off the edge coating on the varsity strap. It fit perfectly once I sanded the sides down to the stitching after painting.
I originally tried painting the white part of the strap to match the middle purplish colour but messed up. When I tried to wash off the paint, it seeped into the crevices of the pebbled leather. I liked how it looked so I added spots of different paint colours & stippled/dabbed/wiped until I got an interesting design I was happy with.
I also accidentally messed up sanding in a few places so it’s not perfect but very unnoticeable thanks to the paint patterns. I finished by painting the raw edges & then sealing everything with Duraclear from Michael’s (polyurethane coating).
It’s one-of-a-kind now & I LOVE it!
Before:
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After painting before sanding down:
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Completed:
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Bonus mod shot from when I was showing a bag friend how my new rain jacket is rust coloured lol (ignore PJ’s):
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Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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Hello all. I have a little experience dunking vintage coach leather, but I’ve come across this vintage royalton and I’m a bit unsure how to proceed. It needs a really good cleaning, but would dunking work on this kind of pebbled leather? Sorry if it’s a dumb question, but I really like this bad and don’t want to ruin it. It needs to be cleaned and reshaped, at the very least.
Hi! Yes you can dunk your Royalton, but letting it sit too long in the water, or not drying it quickly enough, will change the special texture of the leather. I dunked this red Spence, and although it came out beautifully, if you look closely you'll see the pebbles are not quite as distinct.
PS. I had a wonderful result using the rough side of this dish sponge on the hardware. It removed the tarnish and kept the beautiful brushed effect.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
What a beautiful color, looks stunning in that leather! I cannot tell any difference in the pebbling.Hi! Yes you can dunk your Royalton, but letting it sit too long in the water, or not drying it quickly enough, will change the special texture of the leather. I dunked this red Spence, and although it came out beautifully, if you look closely you'll see the pebbles are not quite as distinct.
View attachment 5314719
PS. I had a wonderful result using the rough side of this dish sponge on the hardware. It removed the tarnish and kept the beautiful brushed effect.
View attachment 5314720
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Thanks for the advice! That colour is amazing; I may need a red one if this works out!Hi! Yes you can dunk your Royalton, but letting it sit too long in the water, or not drying it quickly enough, will change the special texture of the leather. I dunked this red Spence, and although it came out beautifully, if you look closely you'll see the pebbles are not quite as distinct.
View attachment 5314719
PS. I had a wonderful result using the rough side of this dish sponge on the hardware. It removed the tarnish and kept the beautiful brushed effect.
View attachment 5314720
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Hello all,
first time buying an older coach and trying to clean. I’ve seen a few videos of vintage leather bags being washed in dish soap but is that possible with a bag that has lining?
I’m super new to this and have finally found a reasonably priced bag to try as my first, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated
I live in the west coast so vintage is very popular here. Almost impossible to pick up an older leather bag
first time buying an older coach and trying to clean. I’ve seen a few videos of vintage leather bags being washed in dish soap but is that possible with a bag that has lining?
I’m super new to this and have finally found a reasonably priced bag to try as my first, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated
I live in the west coast so vintage is very popular here. Almost impossible to pick up an older leather bag
Attachments
What year was it made? I have dunked a not yet vintage bag that was lined, an amethyst Garcia; while it got clean, the leather did not necessarily improve, as it was treated with something that I would describe as a light glaze. I also dunked a chalk Ergo with very thin leather, but I over-conditioned it.
I have also given non-vintage bags very thorough wipe down with my go-to cleaning solution, a little bit of Lexol leather cleaner in a small bucket of warm water. Followed by a rinse wipe down. My experience is you can give a non-vintage bag a very thorough cleaning without necessarily dunking it. I really can't tell from your pics what might be best. If you can be patient, hand out for other opinions.
ETa, oh and ...
I'm in southern NJ and I can score occasionally at thrifts and flea markets. Super hit and miss. I had one crazy good find, a Winnie. I am not sure if that was my lifetime allotment!! The bulk of my collection is from ebay and GW online.
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Since I don't have any Maddy's (Hi! Yes you can dunk your Royalton, but letting it sit too long in the water, or not drying it quickly enough, will change the special texture of the leather. I dunked this red Spence, and although it came out beautifully, if you look closely you'll see the pebbles are not quite as distinct.
View attachment 5314719
PS. I had a wonderful result using the rough side of this dish sponge on the hardware. It removed the tarnish and kept the beautiful brushed effect.
View attachment 5314720
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
you know me and nicknames) I can't tell on the pebbling. All I see is gorgeous red and shiny hardware.What year was it made? I have dunked a not yet vintage bag that was lined, an amethyst Garcia; while it got clean, the leather did not necessarily improve, as it was treated with something that I would describe as a light glaze. I also dunked a chalk Ergo with very thin leather, but I over-conditioned it.
I have also given non-vintage bags very thorough wipe down with my go-to cleaning solution, a little bit of Lexol leather cleaner in a small bucket of warm water. Followed by a rinse wipe down. My experience is you can give a non-vintage bag a very thorough cleaning without necessarily dunking it. I really can't tell from your pics what might be best. If you can be patient, hand out for other opinions.
ETa, oh and ...
I'm in southern NJ and I can score occasionally at thrifts and flea markets. Super hit and miss. I had one crazy good find, a Winnie. I am not sure if that was my lifetime allotment!! The bulk of my collection is from ebay and GW online.
Thanks so much for all that information! You’re the best!
So I just picked it up from the market place seller and the serial number is j0967 43453 so thats 2009?. I can’t find anything else about the bag ♀️
a Winnie! Yah that might be your lifetime find
Aw thanks
but my two cents is the tip of the iceberg here. Others may post as they login and catch up. I would do an internet search using "Coach bag" and the digits after the dash/hypen, which typically are the style number. You may find old listing with it and sometimes you can find more info. You could even search the Coach forum here with the style number and see what comes up.I have found a lot of info on Coach bags simply by doing a search here in this forum and on the internet with only a style number.
I'm looking for advice on leather glue and gluing techniques!
The leather strap of my Bleecker Elisa Leather Hobo Bag 11447 is interwoven with large brass rings and the top and bottom pieces of leather have separated in a few areas, see the picture below.
Fabric Fusion is my usual leather glue and normally it does a good job but not on this Elisa strap. It works for awhile but then the leather strap starts to separate again. I have even tried using clips to hold the strap together while the glue sets but it still doesn't hold!
Any suggestions for brands of glues or gluing methods that I should try? Thanks!
The leather strap of my Bleecker Elisa Leather Hobo Bag 11447 is interwoven with large brass rings and the top and bottom pieces of leather have separated in a few areas, see the picture below.
Fabric Fusion is my usual leather glue and normally it does a good job but not on this Elisa strap. It works for awhile but then the leather strap starts to separate again. I have even tried using clips to hold the strap together while the glue sets but it still doesn't hold!
Any suggestions for brands of glues or gluing methods that I should try? Thanks!
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Hi! Yes you can dunk your Royalton, but letting it sit too long in the water, or not drying it quickly enough, will change the special texture of the leather. I dunked this red Spence, and although it came out beautifully, if you look closely you'll see the pebbles are not quite as distinct.
View attachment 5314719
PS. I had a wonderful result using the rough side of this dish sponge on the hardware. It removed the tarnish and kept the beautiful brushed effect.
View attachment 5314720
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
I have a Beechnut Royalton but it only needed surface cleaning, but I have dunked several other Italian Madison Coach bags and they have all rehabbed well as described by @LadaZuri.
The biggest issue is the long time that it takes for them to dry and it may be necessary to use a hair dryer on cool to finally get it completely dry. Also, don't over-polish the brass hardware because it make lose the brushed finish and turn shiny.
I've been told that the pebbling on these bags is called "Caviar Leather" and I haven't had any problems with it during rehabs. I try to use light conditioners (or not to apply conditioners very heavily) on any textured bags that I rehab because I worry that it might collect in the pebbling but that's never been a problem.
The link below has some information about dunking and rehabbing vintage Italian Coach bags, good luck!
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
I have a black Metropolis and two brown (think mocha and tabac) Basics all in poor condition that up until last night were just sitting and collecting dust. I had dunked them a few months ago and piled on 20983432 coats of 29874923 different conditioners (NONE being cpr) and nothing happened...
forum.purseblog.com
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Thank you katev! I have a Madison Regis in 'butter' and wondered about dunking. Also, nice to know about the dry time.. I am so impatient!I have a Beechnut Royalton but it only needed surface cleaning, but I have dunked several other Italian Madison Coach bags and they have all rehabbed well as described by @LadaZuri.
The biggest issue is the long time that it takes for them to dry and it may be necessary to use a hair dryer on cool to finally get it completely dry. Also, don't over-polish the brass hardware because it make lose the brushed finish and turn shiny.
I've been told that the pebbling on these bags is called "Caviar Leather" and I haven't had any problems with it during rehabs. I try to use light conditioners (or not to apply conditioners very heavily) on any textured bags that I rehab because I worry that it might collect in the pebbling but that's never been a problem.
The link below has some information about dunking and rehabbing vintage Italian Coach bags, good luck!
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
I have a black Metropolis and two brown (think mocha and tabac) Basics all in poor condition that up until last night were just sitting and collecting dust. I had dunked them a few months ago and piled on 20983432 coats of 29874923 different conditioners (NONE being cpr) and nothing happened...
Good luck with your rehab; my Copley is Butter and it is a difficult color to rehab - like most light-colored bags!
But it is a beautiful colorful, it was introduced as a Spring Color in 1996:
Personally I wouldn't dunk this bag. That is for unlined vintage and bags that are so far gone that they need extreme measures. You can clean the lining with a mild spray cleaner. If it pulls out, you could also use soap and water but then it would have to be rinsed and it is hard to keep water off the leather. If the leather gets wet, usually it doesn't water spot as long as it hasn't gotten soaked and is wiped off right away. I would use conditioner on the exterior.