Thanks ledobe. Not sure if its absolutely necessary to dunk her though it would be nice to re-shape her from where she's been flattened in storage and shipping.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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Navy blue Vista here. $29.99 starting bid. (Check authenticity seller has a fake made in Korea Coach listed also)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-...H_Handbags&hash=item2ecbf37361#ht_1556wt_1399
My 2002 Small Slim Duffle Sac started out in pretty good condition, but was missing it’s dogleash-clip zipper pull. The surface and color of the leather was a little rubbed off on the backside and on the strap. There were a couple of ink marks on the lining and the leather and what looked like grey or silver paint on the creed and the back of the bag. $14.99 was a good price anyway...after all, she’s red and I love red bags at Christmas-time! Before pics are here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-818914-545.html#post25762649
She got the usual spa treatment: Sudsy soak and scrub with Dawn, Soilove on the lining took out all the ink (YAY!)...not so lucky on the ink or silver/grey paint on the leather. The ink is lighter, but still there. I even tried alcohol and hair spray (rinsing in between) with little improvement. After a good rinse and stuff I waited til she was nearly dry and tried a white eraser on the silver/grey spots. Successful on the back of the bag...there’s still a little embedded in the creed. Then I gave her a good application of Leather CPR. Repeated it the next day. The wear on the surface of the leather on the back of the bag and the strap is improved considerably. An appliction of Blackrocks improved it even a little more.
Because she has nickel hardware I figured she could have a “silvery” zipper pull...and I didn’t have any red leather that matched. I did, though have a generic dogleash clip and a silvery, metallic leather belt (thrifted for probably $1) that I had used to make a tassle a few months ago. I was lucky that the belt had double stitching on both edges, so using a dogleash zipper pull from a Signature Medium Slim Duffle Sac as a guide, I cut a strip of leather and secured it with two big stitches. The tricky business here is to line up the stitch hole through all the layers of leather. I used metallic acrylic paint and clear gloss acrylic to seal and protect the raw edges. Works for me and gives her a little bling!
She got the usual spa treatment: Sudsy soak and scrub with Dawn, Soilove on the lining took out all the ink (YAY!)...not so lucky on the ink or silver/grey paint on the leather. The ink is lighter, but still there. I even tried alcohol and hair spray (rinsing in between) with little improvement. After a good rinse and stuff I waited til she was nearly dry and tried a white eraser on the silver/grey spots. Successful on the back of the bag...there’s still a little embedded in the creed. Then I gave her a good application of Leather CPR. Repeated it the next day. The wear on the surface of the leather on the back of the bag and the strap is improved considerably. An appliction of Blackrocks improved it even a little more.
Because she has nickel hardware I figured she could have a “silvery” zipper pull...and I didn’t have any red leather that matched. I did, though have a generic dogleash clip and a silvery, metallic leather belt (thrifted for probably $1) that I had used to make a tassle a few months ago. I was lucky that the belt had double stitching on both edges, so using a dogleash zipper pull from a Signature Medium Slim Duffle Sac as a guide, I cut a strip of leather and secured it with two big stitches. The tricky business here is to line up the stitch hole through all the layers of leather. I used metallic acrylic paint and clear gloss acrylic to seal and protect the raw edges. Works for me and gives her a little bling!
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The patina on this early NYC Slim Clutch Large is so beautiful, I just dont want to dunk her! But the stitching on her strap needed fixing. Shes real vintage with the glued-in registration number, copyright symbol after Coach and Ball Chain stamped on the hangtag chain clasp. With a $5 off coupon she was $24.99 at Goodwill. Before pics are here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-818914-531.html#post25712818
I got lucky and found the same style bag on ebay with a pretty good close-up photo of how the strap should look. It was tricky lining up the stitching holes, but I was successful and the strap is secure once again. Yeah, there's some verdi gris which should be attended to, but that's another adventure!
I got lucky and found the same style bag on ebay with a pretty good close-up photo of how the strap should look. It was tricky lining up the stitching holes, but I was successful and the strap is secure once again. Yeah, there's some verdi gris which should be attended to, but that's another adventure!
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Hi guys! I need help fixing the brass hardware! I don't know if it is chipped or just has stuff on it. It is only on one side which is weird! Would Brasso work? I heard somewhere that it turns the brass silver?! But I don't know! Any advice would help! I want to bring this beauty back to life!!
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Excellent job. It looks professional. What a great idea to use the belt.
This one looks great too! I didn't know that "ball chain" was stamped on the chains of vintage bags until recently. I looked at my basic bag and it is stamped too. It seems amazing to me that after all this time my bag still has the original chain it came with.
In my experience, Coach puts a clear "varnish" on the brass. It's the varnish that chips, and the exposed areas tarnish. If you use a brass cleaner on it it will clean the tarnish off, but the same area will eventually tarnish again, the varnished areas will stay shiny.
I happened to have a metal cleaner around the house that I usually use for this, but I've also used toothpaste in the past. I know others have favorite brands of metal cleaners and I'm sure they'll have suggestions.
On the other hand, some of the older kisslock/watermelon type bags have a pretty thin brass colored coating that will come off and leave the metal silver underneath. That doesn't look like the same kind of hardware, however, so you should be fine just cleaning it.
Nice job! I have the same bag in large/black and it too was missing the zipper pull. I just happened to be retiring the case for my kindle and it has almost the same type of dogleash tag type attachment and I just used that. It's a violet color but on a black bag it looks just fine to me.
Grommet Repairs
Hi Everyone ~ I have a perfectly good Stewardess with 1 missing brass grommet on the strap. Has anyone had any luck with repairs at their local cobbler or would you recommend sending the strap back to Coach for the grommet (that is IF they'll do the repair). Thanks, Elizabeth
Hi Everyone ~ I have a perfectly good Stewardess with 1 missing brass grommet on the strap. Has anyone had any luck with repairs at their local cobbler or would you recommend sending the strap back to Coach for the grommet (that is IF they'll do the repair). Thanks, Elizabeth
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Hi, I have a couple of nubuck's that are lined. Do you completely dunk them with lining? Also, what is fels naptha? Is that mothballs? Also, when dunking a nubuck do you condition them or is that a no no? Thanks for any info.
I've never dunked nubuck but I think someone else has. I don't think you should condition them. I used an eraser and fine steel wool to clean mine.
ETA: Fels naptha is a kind of soap.