I miss her too, and I know that she would love all the wonderful catalogs that @Hyacinth has so graciously shared!
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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I miss her too, and I know that she would love all the wonderful catalogs that @Hyacinth has so graciously shared!
*channeling Faye Dunaway in her portrayal of Joan Crawford*
NO COLORED POLISH!!!
Before and afters..
I'm reaaaallllllyy hoping that the seller lurks here because that person put me through the ringer after I asked for a partial refund due not disclosing the nasty pen marks and colored polish. Bet she wishes she removed the polish!! HA!!!!!!!!
NO COLORED POLISH!!!
Before and afters..
I'm reaaaallllllyy hoping that the seller lurks here because that person put me through the ringer after I asked for a partial refund due not disclosing the nasty pen marks and colored polish. Bet she wishes she removed the polish!! HA!!!!!!!!
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Here are a couple of posts describing the restoration of the Madison Spence, @Narnanz. Have fun with yours! 
They are stunning!
And red Madison Spence turned out beautifully! The trick was not to soak too long (so as not to alter the texture) and I dried the whole bag very carefully with a hairdryer while shaping with my fingers.
They are stunning!My red Madison Spence (Italy) arrived yesterday and I was disappointed to see significant marks on one side (pen?) and considerable wear on the brushed brass turn lock... both undisclosed. I applied for a return, but also offered the seller the option of giving me a considerable partial refund. That way he was only out some money and I was happy to pay a fair price for the bag and try restoring it.
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The seller opted for the partial refund, so I went to work on the black marks with a Q-tip and Rubbing Alcohol. I was astounded at the great result!!!
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I was very careful to wipe the alcohol off with a paper towel immediately and then condition with CPR.
Next will be to dunk and fix up the indentations/dings:
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and the hardware as much as possible. Any suggestions on what to do with brushed brass? The turnlock can't be removed because the lining covering it is attached.
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Thanks so much!
Sometimes you rehab a bag where the hardware can't be removed because it isn't accessible. I recently had that situation with the red Madison Spence. I taped around the hardware to protect the leather, started with 0000 steel wool, then switched to the coarser side of a scratch-free dish sponge. The results with the sponge were easier on the hands, less effort in general and beautiful!
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And red Madison Spence turned out beautifully! The trick was not to soak too long (so as not to alter the texture) and I dried the whole bag very carefully with a hairdryer while shaping with my fingers.
thats a beautiful colour...why the polish?
You are amazing!!!!Here are a couple of posts describing the restoration of the Madison Spence, @Narnanz. Have fun with yours!
And red Madison Spence turned out beautifully! The trick was not to soak too long (so as not to alter the texture) and I dried the whole bag very carefully with a hairdryer while shaping with my fingers.
Thank you so much! So helpful.Welcome! Since the bag has damage I would first take it to a reliable cobbler (shoe repair) and ask them to sew the torn stitching. Are there any other rips or holes in the piping?
At the link below are photos of 2 Patricia's Legacy bag that I rehabbed and the mahogany brown bag was ripped and damaged and I had it professionally repaired before I rehabbed it.
A Tale of 2 Patricias - Double Rehab Reveal!
I love finding and rehabbing inexpensive, vintage-style bags but many of them are rather small so it is a special treat when you can find a larger rehab project. For quite awhile I had wanted to find a Patricia's Legacy 9951 bag, because it is a beautiful and good-sized vintage bag with a long...forum.purseblog.com
If you are going to become a vintage coach rehabber you will need to invest in some products, most of them should be available locally or on Amazon. You can search this R&R thread for information about doing rehabs but here are the basic steps:
1) Vacuum out the bag (including all the pockets and make sure you've gotten rid of the grunge.
2) Give the bag a bath in blue Dawn dish soap and water, let it soak a bit, gently scrub any dirty spots. Then dunk it in clean water a few times to rinse and let it drain for a short while. Remove the strap and also give it a bath and then lay it out flat to dry.
3) Stuff the bag with old towels and shape it properly then let it sit out on a flat surface.
4) Next day remove the towels but retain the shape and let it continue to air dry.
5) Condition all the smooth leather (black, finished surfaces) with a product called Leather CPR, let it sit for a few hours, it may be necessary to apply a second coat of conditioner if the bag feels very dry.
6) After it is completely dry, lightly apply a product called Black Rocks Leather n Rich. Don't put it on too heavily and wipe off the excess with paper towels and massage the BR into the leather.
7) After it sits for a day (or at least several hours) brush the bag vigorously with a good quality horsehair shoe brush.
8) Polish the brass hardware with a good quality metal polish like Wenol, Brasso, etc. Try not to get any polish on the leather, wash it off quickly if you do.
There may be a few other issues that need attention, like if you see green gunk around the metal hardware, or if there are other areas that appear faded or damaged.
Show us some more pictures and we will advise you. Sometimes rehabbing is challenging but it can be a lot of fun!
Hi All
I'm new to the Forum and to rehab'ing. I bought this City bag in pretty poor condition for pretty cheap thinking it would be a good bag to practice on having never done anything like this before, i've dunked in Fairy liquid and have applied several coats of Leather CPR but the leather is still very stained and the flap is very dry, it's like you can feel the grain of the leather where it folds, just wondering if anyone can give a guide on next steps? I was thinking of redunking as the bag was filthy and i think it may have been a smokers but not sure if that would make it worse? Any help/advice would be really appreciated!
I'm new to the Forum and to rehab'ing. I bought this City bag in pretty poor condition for pretty cheap thinking it would be a good bag to practice on having never done anything like this before, i've dunked in Fairy liquid and have applied several coats of Leather CPR but the leather is still very stained and the flap is very dry, it's like you can feel the grain of the leather where it folds, just wondering if anyone can give a guide on next steps? I was thinking of redunking as the bag was filthy and i think it may have been a smokers but not sure if that would make it worse? Any help/advice would be really appreciated!
Welcome to the forum! It looks like you are doing a beautiful job! You've got some great patina going on. Some Blackrock Leather and Rich would finish it off perfectly.
I've rehabbed a few briefcases but not a Beekman. Below are before and after pics of a vintage Lexington Briefcase that I rehabbed that had a lot of problems.
Black Lexington Briefcase 5265 from the 1990s
Before:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-970#post-31594799
After:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-970#post-31594837
Problem Areas:
https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club.833400/page-971#post-31594851
Welcome to the forum! It looks like you are doing a beautiful job! You've got some great patina going on. Some Blackrock Leather and Rich would finish it off perfectly.
Thank you so much! I'm based in the UK and haven't managed to find Blackrock that isn't extortionately priced, is there anything else i could look for that is similar?
Welcome! I prefer Black Rocks but Renapur is a similar product. I don't know how pricey BR is in the UK but you will use it up slowly, so if you are thinking of rehabbing more bags then it might be worth the investment?
You asked about dunking it again. It looks pretty clean now but how about the inside? In the before pics it appeared to be very dirty with a lot of handling marks on the inside. If it still looks kind of bad inside then you might want to rewash it. Good luck!
The inside actually came up quite well, still a few marks but the worst of it has lifted. I was able to get Renapur so I will try that, but I think I might dunk again first, as it's dried the smell of smoke has become more noticeable so I'm hoping a dunk with some vinegar will help that too. As I said I bought this bag as a practice bag so I won't be too upset if I can't get it looking any better. Thanks for your help!
Hi again,
So I dunked the bag and it is still drying (taking a long time!), but I am now worried about mold. There are some dark spots on one side of the bag and it has a sort of perfumy/thrift store/old make up smell that I don't associate with mold, but maybe I am wrong? Thoughts? Should I redunk with vinegar? Any other thoughts? Thanks very much.
