Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#721
Fashionstar101 said:
One more question... How would you go about removing a pen mark from orange leather (I don't think it is smooth leather, but I don't have the bag with me right now..it is not suede I'm not sure what kind of leather it is. I will check when I get home) should I just leave it? I would be very sad if I wrecked it:( any suggestions? I will post pics of the bag later
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Pens are the bane of leather bags! I have had some success with removing pen ink from leather with rubbing alcohol but you have to be really patient and apply it sparingly with a cotton tip ONLY to the ink mark so that it dissolves the ink. I think the degree of success depends on the type of ink and how long it has been there. It works really well on polyester lining. I have also used refinisher to cover a pen mark on a Carousel bag that I didn't want to risk using alcohol on. I covered two marks, one on each side of the zipper, but only one is noticeable. It's not perfect by any means but IMO it's better than the pen mark.
 

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#722
I was washing my coach Regina purse and thought everything was ok. The purse was dry, and everything looked great. I guess it wasnt completely dry because I found a new dark stain surrounding the turn lock.

I removed the turnlock and found the stain was underneath the lock as well. I guess some water was trapped underneath. Now my beautiful purse has a dark water stain (I'm not sure?). How can I fix this? I only have pictures of the purse after I have tried woolite, shout stain remover, and soaking it in water. The pictures are of the area underneath the turnlock with the turnlock removed.

These pictures are of the purse after soaking it (no lock)
ImageUploadedByPurseForum1388353160.225127.jpg
ImageUploadedByPurseForum1388353181.277429.jpg

Pleas help!
 
#723
Beccabaglady said:
LUCK! Can't wait to see it :smile1:
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whateve said:
Mandy looks great! Do you think you'll use Leather Refinisher on Gigi?
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JOODLZ said:
WOWZA...Mandy is one hunka-hunka gorgeous leather...just beautiful. I wonder what caused the Gigi to yellow like this...so many nooks and crannies, I can't imaging trying to do a dye job. But if it can be done, I know you'll find a way :)
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First of all-hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I work at a university so the way Christmas and New Years fell in the middle of the week I have almost two weeks off. The university reopens Thursday but opted to take Thurs/Friday off so I've got a full two weeks. I was busy with holiday stuff last week but this second week is mostly my own to putz around.

Thus, I've worked on the Gigi a bit. A thorough cleaning helped with the dirt (again, full pix later) but didn't help with the color. I posted a before pic above and the leather varied from almost white (well, yellowish white) to almost black-the really "burnished" with skin oils areas almost looked burned, sort of "frosted" with black. It was really weird. .


So Whateve asked what I would use to refinish Gigi and I already had some Tarrago dye from a pair of shoes that I worked on years ago-that didn't work out. Tarrago "self shine" sits on the surface similar to the refinisher. The instructions really emphasize how you should remove all oils and such from the bag so I started on the bag without conditioning. I put a light coat of apple on it when it was almost dry and that's it. To be honest, I think that was a mistake because the leather is pretty stiff and hard to work with.

However, I'm not sure how I'm going to like it. It feels more "coated" to me than the refinisher. I'm not sure if that is because I should have conditioned more or not. The color is OK, but to me, the refinisher was harder to work with.

So, again, which me luck. I've put more or less three coats ont he bag and now I'm going to condition the leather a bit. Feels a little backwards. The good news is the Tarrago comes with a stripper so if this doesn't work, I'll strip it and try with the Wood n' Stuff refinisher. I'm feeling stubborn about this one.
 
#725
dieseldbglove said:
I was washing my coach Regina purse and thought everything was ok. The purse was dry, and everything looked great. I guess it wasnt completely dry because I found a new dark stain surrounding the turn lock.

I removed the turnlock and found the stain was underneath the lock as well. I guess some water was trapped underneath. Now my beautiful purse has a dark water stain (I'm not sure?). How can I fix this? I only have pictures of the purse after I have tried woolite, shout stain remover, and soaking it in water. The pictures are of the area underneath the turnlock with the turnlock removed.

These pictures are of the purse after soaking it (no lock)
View attachment 2444563
View attachment 2444564

Pleas help!
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I would just let it dry completely and keep conditioning it. It looks like something that will go away, or at least not be noticeable, once you get it all back together.

Working on it to clean something like that might just create a lighter spot that will be even more noticeable.
 
#727
ledobe said:
Oh, and here's a quick 'middle', not quite'after' photo. It needs a little more touch up.

View attachment 2444578
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Wow that's a major improvement, great job! Even if you decide it's not for you after all, I'm sure you could sell it. It would be a big job to strip it back.

I've got a couple of bags (not Coach) that I need to re-colour. Not sure whether to use dye or refinisher yet. Does conditioner soak through refinisher or does the refinisher 'seal' it?
 
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#728
dieseldbglove said:
Here is a picture taken later, after the purse has been partially dried. It looks better, but I want it to be perfect. There is a crescent of wetness that has dried out.

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I agree with ledobe. Keep letting it dry and keep conditioning it. I never make judgments on a bad until the rehab process is finished. It is too early for you to tell what it is going to look like when finished. Don't be too discouraged at this point. Also be careful in hoping for perfect. Rehabbing a bag does not mean you will end up with perfect results every time.
 
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#731
coach943 said:
I agree with ledobe. Keep letting it dry and keep conditioning it. I never make judgments on a bad until the rehab process is finished. It is too early for you to tell what it is going to look like when finished. Don't be too discouraged at this point. Also be careful in hoping for perfect. Rehabbing a bag does not mean you will end up with perfect results every time.
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Ok, thanks for your help :). I'll let it sit and dry and condition it.

If the marks don't get better, what dye would you recommend to either cover the marks or to re-dye the bag completely? This would be my first time dying a purse.

To cover it up, should I use a conditioner acrylic paint? Or would I be able to spot dye it? Or am I better off dying the bag completely.

In terms of dying the bag completely, I've heard of/read about Fieblings, but maybe there is a better dye for this purpose. Any of your recommendations would be appreciated as this is a completely new project to me.
 
#734
dieseldbglove said:
Ok, thanks for your help :). I'll let it sit and dry and condition it.

If the marks don't get better, what dye would you recommend to either cover the marks or to re-dye the bag completely? This would be my first time dying a purse.

To cover it up, should I use a conditioner acrylic paint? Or would I be able to spot dye it? Or am I better off dying the bag completely.

In terms of dying the bag completely, I've heard of/read about Fieblings, but maybe there is a better dye for this purpose. Any of your recommendations would be appreciated as this is a completely new project to me.
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I wouldn't mess around with dye for something like that. Way more potential for ruining what looks like a great bag.

You might always be able to see it yourself, but it looks like something that would get better with some conditioning. It's under the flap right?
 
#735
Two.time.bags said:
Wow that's a major improvement, great job! Even if you decide it's not for you after all, I'm sure you could sell it. It would be a big job to strip it back.

I've got a couple of bags (not Coach) that I need to re-colour. Not sure whether to use dye or refinisher yet. Does conditioner soak through refinisher or does the refinisher 'seal' it?
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coach943 said:
It looks much better than it did before. Honestly, an amazing improvement. I can't wait to see the final results.
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JOODLZ said:
That looks GREAT for a middle pic...wanna see it done!
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OK, , so it actually does look great. I am just not happy with what it's done to the texture. The reason I love these Legacy bags is the scrumptious leather. What the Tarrago Self Shine does is add a really nice protective coating. But it totally changes the charactor of the leather. It's not a totally bad thing, it's just not what I want.

I think it would be a really good way to fix a severly damaged Madison bag, it's probably closer to that type of finish. Actually what it reminds me of, and this may be partially due to the color, is the finish on my textured Rory. A nice, durable finish, but very coated, a bag I wouldn't hesitate to take out in a rainstorm.

So, since I can't leave well enough alone, I broke down and ordered the Wood N Stuff leather refinisher in grey. I've used it enough to know it's closer to what I'm looking for in this bag. I used the leather preparer to clean off a corner of the bag. I do intend to test the refinisher before I strip the entire bag to make sure it's what I really want to do. I'm pretty confident, however, that this is the best solution for what I'm looking for.

But, to be fair, there are some things I really like about the Tarrago. If it turns out to be a good match to the refinisher, I might leave it on the straps. They were very beat up and floppy. The Tarrago has strengthened it and "firmed it". The Gigi was in really bad shape all over, the black edging around the trim on the body of the bag was flaking off in places. If I were to leave this on, it pretty much replaces the "edge kote" that I thought I was going to have to use.

If you search the entire forum for Tarrago you will find several people who have used the Tarrago to change colors on other brands of bags and were happy with it. I *think* that if I had a badly damaged Madison or Kristen bag it might be a good solution for something like that, but I would definitely test it on a "for the trash" bag first.

Either way, I've found a solution to make this bag "carryable" so if the Wood 'n Stuff doesn't work I will use as is. I carried it to the grocery store yesterday and honestly, it is comfortable to carry and looks good. I actually left it sitting on the couch last night while I watched a movie and kept admiring it. I just hope I can get something that looks this nice and feels like I want it to in the end.

Wood n Stuff is scheduled to arrive Thursday. I have to say that seller is quick on shipping! I ordered it early Monday morning, I am sure I would have it tomorrow if it weren't for the holiday.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my crazy rehabbing buddies! I can just imagine some of the other forum members laughing at all the crazy stuff we do to our old bags!
 
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