Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[katev]

I need guidance. My Dinky (gotta laugh every time I say that) has retained its blue interior, but the outside flap is more black and brown than anything else. How do I get it back to the blue it’s supposed to be?

I think that it looks beautiful!

Vintage navy coach bags were often a very dark color and could be difficult to distinguish from black in various lighting conditions; and sometimes the exterior of vintage navy bags will darken even further with age, while some of the protected interior areas may retain some of the blue color. It's a phenomenon that rehabbers sometimes refer to as "blavy". I have heard that some other vintage bags are the same way, like older D&B bags.

I don't know of any safe method of turning a dark exterior into lighter color. It might be possible to bleach it and then re-dye it but that sounds risky to me. If you prefer that the bag is a uniform color then it usually safer to dye the entire bag a darker color, like black.

Some of us just come to appreciate the vintage character of our black/navy bags, but that doesn't mean that it is acceptable to everyone. Good luck!

 

[LadaZuri]

@JJK250, here's an option that I learned about a few months ago from @Paris Girl.

Cream Polish - 67 Colours

Download Colour Chart Here. Shoe Cream Polish is an important part of ensuring that your leather shoes and boots last as long as possible. Good leather can last for very long time with proper care with the right shoe cream. Our old-school formula of Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is beloved for its...

meltonian.com

It might not be a permanent solution, but it seems to be a safe product to use (no other shoe cream/polish is!!!) and it is easy to work with. I mixed Meltonian with Leather CPR and applied it on several bags in BT, mahogany and black. They turned out beautifully. I combined the colours black and London Tan for the mahogany Bleeker 9314 pictured in the quoted posts below.

I appreciate and have learned so much from @katev's restoration examples and thought it might be helpful to detail my first rehab/ colour refreshing project with Meltonian for anyone else about to give it a try.

Bleeker Book Bag 9314 (thank you for the name and authentication, @Hyacinth!)

BEFORE:

View attachment 5255882 View attachment 5255883 View attachment 5255885 View attachment 5255886

View attachment 5255899 View attachment 5255900 View attachment 5255901

Part 2:

I use a large water bottle to ensure the bag is completely submerged during the dunk to avoid any water lines or marks. I've learned from previous mistakes that that can happen.

View attachment 5255908

Rinse thoroughly:

View attachment 5255914

Colour refreshing prep: I mixed Meltonian London Tan and Meltonian black with a bit of red acrylic paint to match the mahogany colour as closely as possible before adding the CPR:

View attachment 5255910 View attachment 5255912

Then added Leather CPR at a ratio of 3 parts CPR to 1 part Meltonian and mixed thoroughly. If there are no streaks of colour visible in the mixture, there will be no colour streaks on the leather.

View attachment 5255913

Post dunk the bag is lightly packed to restore its correct shape and ready to start conditioning with the mixture. NOTE: I'd forgotten that Meltonian instructed the cream be applied to dry leather only and went ahead using it on the bag right after dunking. Fortunately it seemed to make no difference... possibly because it was mixed with the CPR and I've continued doing so on 2 other bags.

View attachment 5255915

Part 3:

Here are the current photos. I'm extremely pleased with the results and how easy Meltonian was to work with. Thank you for the invaluable suggestion, @Paris Girl!!!

View attachment 5255918 View attachment 5255919 View attachment 5255921 View attachment 5255922

When the bag was completely dry there was still a noticeable colour difference between the front slip pocket and the rest of the bag:

View attachment 5255924 View attachment 5255929

So I added more of the black Meltonian to my existing mixture and focused on the pocket. Voila!

View attachment 5255925

I'm going to let the Bleeker sit for a week to allow the colour to cure before deep conditioning with Blackrocks. I'm not sure that's necessary, but don't want to take any chances.

Here is a screenshot of their colour chart:

 

[JJK250]

I think that it looks beautiful!

Vintage navy coach bags were often a very dark color and could be difficult to distinguish from black in various lighting conditions; and sometimes the exterior of vintage navy bags will darken even further with age, while some of the protected interior areas may retain some of the blue color. It's a phenomenon that rehabbers sometimes refer to as "blavy". I have heard that some other vintage bags are the same way, like older D&B bags.

I don't know of any safe method of turning a dark exterior into lighter color. It might be possible to bleach it and then re-dye it but that sounds risky to me. If you prefer that the bag is a uniform color then it usually safer to dye the entire bag a darker color, like black.

Some of us just come to appreciate the vintage character of our black/navy bags, but that doesn't mean that it is acceptable to everyone. Good luck!

Do you think adding

@JJK250, here's an option that I learned about a few months ago from @Paris Girl.

Cream Polish - 67 Colours

Download Colour Chart Here. Shoe Cream Polish is an important part of ensuring that your leather shoes and boots last as long as possible. Good leather can last for very long time with proper care with the right shoe cream. Our old-school formula of Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is beloved for its...

meltonian.com

It might not be a permanent solution, but it seems to be a safe product to use (no other shoe cream/polish is!!!) and it is easy to work with. I mixed Meltonian with Leather CPR and applied it on several bags in BT, mahogany and black. They turned out beautifully. I combined the colours black and London Tan for the mahogany Bleeker 9314 pictured in the quoted posts below.





Here is a screenshot of their colour chart:

View attachment 5431947

That is awesome. I purchased FurnitureClinic Leather Re-Coloring Balm in black about 10 days ago and it came last night. I also used it last night (couldn't wait to test it ). The bag I applied it to didn't really need re-coloring, but I thought it might give it a little punch of shine and richness along the edges. It totally did. However, it was $29 and since I only have one blue bag, it seems a costly waste to buy it in Navy. I wish it came in smaller sizes (it's 250ml/8.5oz) since I only needed a wee bit. The Meltonian is $8 on Amazon so a much better price point if it works well. My goal is just to give the bag a more even color that has a blue depth; particularly where the brown leather on the sides is coming through.

 

[DL Harper]

Do you think adding

That is awesome. I purchased FurnitureClinic Leather Re-Coloring Balm in black about 10 days ago and it came last night. I also used it last night (couldn't wait to test it ). The bag I applied it to didn't really need re-coloring, but I thought it might give it a little punch of shine and richness along the edges. It totally did. However, it was $29 and since I only have one blue bag, it seems a costly waste to buy it in Navy. I wish it came in smaller sizes (it's 250ml/8.5oz) since I only needed a wee bit. The Meltonian is $8 on Amazon so a much better price point if it works well. My goal is just to give the bag a more even color that has a blue depth; particularly where the brown leather on the sides is coming through.

I'm not sure where you are located @JJK250, but your local cobbler or shoe repair might stock the Meltonian cream in the color(s) you need.

 

[Paris Girl]

Do you think adding

That is awesome. I purchased FurnitureClinic Leather Re-Coloring Balm in black about 10 days ago and it came last night. I also used it last night (couldn't wait to test it ). The bag I applied it to didn't really need re-coloring, but I thought it might give it a little punch of shine and richness along the edges. It totally did. However, it was $29 and since I only have one blue bag, it seems a costly waste to buy it in Navy. I wish it came in smaller sizes (it's 250ml/8.5oz) since I only needed a wee bit. The Meltonian is $8 on Amazon so a much better price point if it works well. My goal is just to give the bag a more even color that has a blue depth; particularly where the brown leather on the sides is coming through.

Meltonian mixed with CPR works great for exactly what you’re doing. I used it in a faded red bag and it came out great.

 

[JJK250]

I'm not sure where you are located @JJK250, but your local cobbler or shoe repair might stock the Meltonian cream in the color(s) you need.

Good idea. Unfortunately, the last cobbler/shoe repair near me closed down 5 years ago. It is such a shame. I haven't found another in a 60-mile radius. Time for a drive.

 

[JJK250]

Meltonian mixed with CPR works great for exactly what you’re doing. I used it in a faded red bag and it came out great.

I'm going to give it a go. I'll find a cobbler as @DL Harper recommended or buy online. I'll post pics with the results in case anyone is interested.

 

[DL Harper]

I'm going to give it a go. I'll find a cobbler as @DL Harper recommended or buy online. I'll post pics with the results in case anyone is interested.

Just a heads up - the price of Meltonian has sky rocketed (gouging??) on some sites - just like vintage Coach bags. If you know of a couple of colors you need, consider buying them when you see them. As a side note - besides Amazon, there are still a couple of sellers on eBay selling very reasonably if they have the color(s) you need.

 

[Paris Girl]

Just a heads up - the price of Meltonian has sky rocketed (gouging??) on some sites - just like vintage Coach bags. If you know of a couple of colors you need, consider buying them when you see them. As a side note - besides Amazon, there are still a couple of sellers on eBay selling very reasonably if they have the color(s) you need.

I bought my last batch directly from Meltonian. It was cheaper than Amazon or anywhere else I checked.

Cream Polish - 67 Colours

Download Colour Chart Here. Shoe Cream Polish is an important part of ensuring that your leather shoes and boots last as long as possible. Good leather can last for very long time with proper care with the right shoe cream. Our old-school formula of Meltonian Shoe Cream Polish is beloved for its...

meltonian.com

no problems and fee ship. And no taxes!

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Advice for this? I bought a bag on shopgoodwill--hasn't arrived yet. https://www.coachoutlet.com/products/val-duffle/C2818-IMCHK.html Val Duffel. C2818. Nice bag white pebbled leather, but has some dark streaks. Color loss from rubbing? Or does that look like surface dirt? How do you "refresh" the color on a white bag? (I have a magic eraser, but no white dye.) Alternatively, should I dye the entire bag a different, more exciting color? Purple, red, orange?

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Requesting another opinion. I'm fixing up a vintage 4406 bag. Madison Pierre bag. It was in REALLY bad shape, with complete horrible scuffs scrapes on one side into the surface leather. I dunked. I conditioned. It still looked bad. So, what I'm trying. I'm dyeing the scraped side black. So the ugly is less noticeable. I started that, and then I got to thinking. I LIKE how it looks two-toned. One side black, one side brown and bottom brown and strap brown. Should I just finish the one side black or dye the whole thing black? I got the idea for a two toned purse from this bag: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/146317935

Edit: and/or ideas on how to smooth out or fill in the scrapes and still keep the surface texture looking similar. And then I'd dye it black.

 

[whateve]

Requesting another opinion. I'm fixing up a vintage 4406 bag. Madison Pierre bag. It was in REALLY bad shape, with complete horrible scuffs scrapes on one side into the surface leather. I dunked. I conditioned. It still looked bad. So, what I'm trying. I'm dyeing the scraped side black. So the ugly is less noticeable. I started that, and then I got to thinking. I LIKE how it looks two-toned. One side black, one side brown and bottom brown and strap brown. Should I just finish the one side black or dye the whole thing black? I got the idea for a two toned purse from this bag: https://shopgoodwill.com/item/146317935

Edit: and/or ideas on how to smooth out or fill in the scrapes and still keep the surface texture looking similar. And then I'd dye it black.

View attachment 5432897

View attachment 5432898

You might be able to fill in the scratches with leather cement or fabric puffy paint. Kind of sculpt it so it mimics the texture of the leather. You might have to get creative, using different things to create the right texture.

 

[whateve]

Advice for this? I bought a bag on shopgoodwill--hasn't arrived yet. https://www.coachoutlet.com/products/val-duffle/C2818-IMCHK.html Val Duffel. C2818. Nice bag white pebbled leather, but has some dark streaks. Color loss from rubbing? Or does that look like surface dirt? How do you "refresh" the color on a white bag? (I have a magic eraser, but no white dye.) Alternatively, should I dye the entire bag a different, more exciting color? Purple, red, orange?

View attachment 5432888

View attachment 5432890

It looks like color transfer to me. Someone carried it against dark clothes and the dye of the clothes rubbed off onto the bag. You could try to bleach it. First I would try to clean it as much as I could. You can use Leather CPR for that. If it is still stained, get zit cream maximum strength - benzoyl peroxide. Put it on all the stains, then sit the bag in the sun. Let the cream stay on there for at least a day. Then clean it off (with vinegar or CPR) and see how it looks. You might need to do it more than once. If it doesn't work, then you might have to use color. I find pebbled leather is easier to color than smooth leather. You don't have to worry as much about brush strokes. You can do almost any color over white. The zipper will still be white unless you dye that too.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

It looks like color transfer to me. Someone carried it against dark clothes and the dye of the clothes rubbed off onto the bag. You could try to bleach it. First I would try to clean it as much as I could. You can use Leather CPR for that. If it is still stained, get zit cream maximum strength - benzoyl peroxide. Put it on all the stains, then sit the bag in the sun. Let the cream stay on there for at least a day. Then clean it off (with vinegar or CPR) and see how it looks. You might need to do it more than once. If it doesn't work, then you might have to use color. I find pebbled leather is easier to color than smooth leather. You don't have to worry as much about brush strokes. You can do almost any color over white. The zipper will still be white unless you dye that too.

I appreciate the idea! I guarantee I would never have thought to use "zit cream."

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

You might be able to fill in the scratches with leather cement or fabric puffy paint. Kind of sculpt it so it mimics the texture of the leather. You might have to get creative, using different things to create the right texture.

Somewhere I have a vinyl/leather repair kit, with "texture sheets" that you press on top. Maybe that!