Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Narnanz]

Yay!! I can't wait to see photos!

 

[Narnanz]

That's nothing...I got a Camel City Willis...Camel!!!

Im growing to like the Camel...I think the one I first had was a dirty looking colour as it was a used bag....the city hardly had any wear..well apart from two pen marks.

So dont be sad @katev ...Im growing to like it...if thats what you were sad about

 

[Morgan_Bellini]

Im growing to like the Camel...I think the one I first had was a dirty looking colour as it was a used bag....the city hardly had any wear..well apart from two pen marks.

So dont be sad @katev ...Im growing to like it...if thats what you were sad about

I'm not a huge fan of camel because I got tricked by it twice. It photographs bright yellow in full sun and that's what I thought I was getting when I bought a camel Bleecker tote. Imagine the disappointment of thinking you're getting dandelion yellow and you get camel. I later bought a Camel Willis knowing full well what I was getting. It looks amazing with a green feather charm on it. Camel does grow on you, as long you're not expecting yellow.

 

[katev]

Im growing to like the Camel...I think the one I first had was a dirty looking colour as it was a used bag....the city hardly had any wear..well apart from two pen marks.

So dont be sad @katev ...Im growing to like it...if thats what you were sad about

I like camel! I must have hit the sad face by mistake!

 

[katev]

Below are the After pics of my $35 Camel and Nickel Willis 9927 that was made in Costa Rica in 1999 and originally sold for $268. When I bought the bag online I wasn't sure if it was British Tan or Camel or if the hardware was brass or nickel, but it is camel and nickel - thank you to @Catbird9 for posting the catalog page below from Fall 1999 describing the Camel and Nickel combination and showing the bag in Currant and Nickel.

Warning! I am going to sound the first negative note in the chorus of praise for Renapur conditioner in regards to this rehab! Don't get me wrong, I think Renapur is a fine product, I used it on the recent rehab of a blue Kira bag and I liked it a lot. I am glad to have it in my rehabbing cabinet but I don't think it was the best choice for this light-colored, vintage camel bag.

Here is my rehab process. First I used a hair dryer to make the spue circles disappear and I replaced the hangtag. I used a small, flat-head screwdriver to remove the short handle and I repaired the stitching with needle and thread before replacing the handle. Then I gave the bag a sink bath in Dawn suds and thoroughly scrubbed it inside and out, then I drained and stuffed it and shaped it to dry. I started applying Leather CPR after it began drying.

After it was conditioned and dried I applied Renapur and I loved the way it restored the color of the bag and the condition of the piping BUT it seemed to make the flaws more obvious instead of helping to blend them in a bit. I let it dry and cure for 3 days and I buffed the bag well but I still didn't like the way it looked after the Renapur application. Finally I took it back to the bath to start all over. I again used Leather CPR but I used Blackrocks to finish the surface after the second bath. I am still not totally pleased with the results but I am generally happier with the way it looks after the Blackrocks conditioning and buffing.

I used acrylic paint to touch up the edging and I tried using acrylic to mask the flaws but it didn't help much so I gave up. The nickel hardware just needed a little light buffing; here are the After Rehab pics:

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@Narnanz here are after pics of the camel and nickel willis that I once rehabbed.

 

[Lake Effect]

Question!

I bought my Holy Grail bag and am in the midst of giving it the five star spa treatment it deserves. It had a luxurious bath in heated distilled water in Woolite and a slathering of CPR and then I found these minute cracks. What is the best product to fix this? Fiebings Leather Cement?

The hangtag is original but the bead chain has squarish instead of round beads. Just wondering if anyone has seen a bead chain like this. I'm not questioning authenticity or what not.. I just found this bead chain interesting because there is no tarnish despite the bags age and wondering if there was ever a difference in these flimsy things!

Pic below of regular bead chain with the squarish one..

I have a few nyc bags with the squarish bead chain. It looks way better IMO, It “sparkles”

I am catching up on the past two months here. I have the squared the beads on my HG Shopping Bag tote. I did not notice that! Thanks for pointing that out. Most of my NYC bags did not come with hang tags. I will have to look at any that did and check them. Wow, there is always something to learn here

 

[Narnanz]

@Narnanz here are after pics of the camel and nickel willis that I once rehabbed.

I remember seeing that...The Willis is such a great bag.

 

[houseof999]

Saddle is my new BT. But soooo hard to find.

I couldn't find a saddle bag with brass hardware. All the saddle bags I found had dark hardware. I wanted to use my turnlock card case with it but when I couldn't find any bags in the same combo I decided to just sell the darn card case to stop the madness of trying to find a bag to match. Coach did make a saddle Cassie but it's darn near next to impossible to find.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

I bought this bag thinking I could fix it, but I'm making it worse. How to get an unknown type of paint (I think) off of crossgrain leather. The bag is perfect, except it had these marks on front. I couldn't tell if it was a scrape and paint missing or something on the surface. I got the bag. I tried to clean with dish soap and a toothbrush. Nothing. Had zero impact. I tried fingernail polish remover. Had zero impact. Leather cleaner. Nothing. Then I tried rubbing alcohol on q-tips. I think I made it worse. Much worse. So, either I'm spreading the paint over a larger surface or I'm damaging the surface and for some reason it's yellow underneath? Ideas? I was thinking of putting an applique (leather flower) on the spot, but it's too large for that now. My go to "try to save the bag" idea...dye it black. Any best ideas? And do you think it's something on the surface of the bag, or the underneath of the crossgrain?

 

[whateve]

I bought this bag thinking I could fix it, but I'm making it worse. How to get an unknown type of paint (I think) off of crossgrain leather. The bag is perfect, except it had these marks on front. I couldn't tell if it was a scrape and paint missing or something on the surface. I got the bag. I tried to clean with dish soap and a toothbrush. Nothing. Had zero impact. I tried fingernail polish remover. Had zero impact. Leather cleaner. Nothing. Then I tried rubbing alcohol on q-tips. I think I made it worse. Much worse. So, either I'm spreading the paint over a larger surface or I'm damaging the surface and for some reason it's yellow underneath? Ideas? I was thinking of putting an applique (leather flower) on the spot, but it's too large for that now. My go to "try to save the bag" idea...dye it black. Any best ideas? And do you think it's something on the surface of the bag, or the underneath of the crossgrain?

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I think the alcohol removed the leather dye. You might be able to restore the gold with paint. Years ago I had an Elmer's metallic pen that I used to restore gold paint on the strap. I think it is easier to blend in color on a textured surface.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

I think the alcohol removed the leather dye. You might be able to restore the gold with paint. Years ago I had an Elmer's metallic pen that I used to restore gold paint on the strap. I think it is easier to blend in color on a textured surface.

Thank you! Something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Elmers-Painters-Opaque-Marker-Metallic/dp/B0027A3BVQ/

 

[whateve]

Thank you! Something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Elmers-Painters-Opaque-Marker-Metallic/dp/B0027A3BVQ/

I think that was it, but now that I remember, the one I used was silver for a silver bag.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

So I had ZERO interest in ever owning another Plaza again (anyone remember my Plaza disaster of 2020? ) & I was being pretty good about my bag ban, but then, I accidentally found this burgundy small Plaza listed locally! It was a really good price & there were no shipping costs involved! I did the best I could to even out the sun fading & overall Im very happy with it!

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[GoStanford]

So I had ZERO interest in ever owning another Plaza again (anyone remember my Plaza disaster of 2020? ) & I was being pretty good about my bag ban, but then, I accidentally found this burgundy small Plaza listed locally! It was a really good price & there were no shipping costs involved! I did the best I could to even out the sun fading & overall Im very happy with it!

You did great! That's a lovely bag that anybody would be proud to carry. The leather looks like it bounced back really well. How was it removing the turnlock hardware? That is something I have not attempted yet. I have a few bags that @Hyacinth kindly authenticated recently that will be on the way for rehab projects.

 

[Paris Girl]

So I had ZERO interest in ever owning another Plaza again (anyone remember my Plaza disaster of 2020? ) & I was being pretty good about my bag ban, but then, I accidentally found this burgundy small Plaza listed locally! It was a really good price & there were no shipping costs involved! I did the best I could to even out the sun fading & overall Im very happy with it!

Before:
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After:
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Nice! Congratulations!