Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[frenchieRU]

Keeping my fingers crossed that my apple conditioner can rehydrate and lessen the stains on this baby..

It looks to have improved on the other side, but it looks like it's DRINKING the conditioner. Talk about dry!

It may not fix the color. With white and a lot of the brighter, non-natural colors that Coach puts out, it's basically a shallow dye that doesn't get very deep into the leather. (So once its worn away, its gone.) In order to get the color back you have to use a couple drops of acrylic paint with about a teaspoon of leather conditioner mixed together.

 

[kellyhp]

Thanks for sharing. Would love to see some pics. You could try rinsing the Legacy Zip in vinegar.

The Companion bag smelled like it had been put in a full smoker's station ashcan and which was then filled with water. 100% permeated. I don't know how they managed to make it so foul. They either filled it with cigarettes and soaked it or consistently exhaled smoke into it. I was pretty thrilled the LT wash worked and was left scratching my head as to why the old smelling Legacy zip didn't lose its mustiness.

When you've done a vinegar dunk:
do you use white or apple cider vinegar
do you use it full strength or dilute it
do you wash it after or just rinse it with water or just let it dry with no rinse

I loathe the smell of vinegar but it is miraculously versatile stuff. Especially for odors. Can't beat the fact it is edible for non-toxicity and so inexpensive.

What are you using to condition (sorry don't have to time to look back and have no memory)?
Your bags look brand new! You do an awesome job. Really gorgeous.

 

[Two.time.bags]

The Companion bag smelled like it had been put in a full smoker's station ashcan and which was then filled with water. 100% permeated. I don't know how they managed to make it so foul. They either filled it with cigarettes and soaked it or consistently exhaled smoke into it. I was pretty thrilled the LT wash worked and was left scratching my head as to why the old smelling Legacy zip didn't lose its mustiness.

When you've done a vinegar dunk:
do you use white or apple cider vinegar
do you use it full strength or dilute it
do you wash it after or just rinse it with water or just let it dry with no rinse

I loathe the smell of vinegar but it is miraculously versatile stuff. Especially for odors. Can't beat the fact it is edible for non-toxicity and so inexpensive.

What are you using to condition (sorry don't have to time to look back and have no memory)?
Your bags look brand new! You do an awesome job. Really gorgeous.

Vinegar loses its smell as it dries which makes it very useful antibacterial cleaner. Use any white vinegar, the cheapest option and dilute it with just enough water to wet the bag all over. Maybe 3:1 water to vinegar. You don't need to rinse it. Stuff it and change the towels often. If you can leave it in the sun to dry that would help too. Then condition as usual.

Thanks for the compliment on my rehabs. These bags were straightforward. I use Leather Therapy conditioner, Obenauf's if needed on really dry bags, and finish with Black Rock. Lots and lots of buffing in between coats. My favourite saying "buff til your arms drop off."!

 

[Two.time.bags]

I don't have a huge collection of Turkish creeds. I think it was operating from around 1997 to 2000 but it might have been longer than that. I don't know if the leather on the bags with the "I" factory code is the same as those with the "2" code. My Lula's Legacy has an "I."

That's worth noting. The Willis is from the I plant and I had a BT SidePack from the I plant that had the same lovely leather

 

[whateve]

The Companion bag smelled like it had been put in a full smoker's station ashcan and which was then filled with water. 100% permeated. I don't know how they managed to make it so foul. They either filled it with cigarettes and soaked it or consistently exhaled smoke into it. I was pretty thrilled the LT wash worked and was left scratching my head as to why the old smelling Legacy zip didn't lose its mustiness.

When you've done a vinegar dunk:
do you use white or apple cider vinegar
do you use it full strength or dilute it
do you wash it after or just rinse it with water or just let it dry with no rinse

I loathe the smell of vinegar but it is miraculously versatile stuff. Especially for odors. Can't beat the fact it is edible for non-toxicity and so inexpensive.

What are you using to condition (sorry don't have to time to look back and have no memory)?
Your bags look brand new! You do an awesome job. Really gorgeous.

I think vinegar bothers some people more than others. Sometimes I'll fill a saucer with vinegar to soak hardware and my husband hates it! It doesn't bother me at all. I believe that lemon juice will give the same results but costs more. I have also heard that some have had good results with vanilla vodka but that seems like a waste. There are sprays now that are supposed to remove odors without adding any scent of their own. I have one by Febreze called Free Nature.

I have been able to get the smoke smell out of everything eventually. It just takes time. I usually alternate between bathing, airing out, wiping with alcohol, and wrapping in plastic with something like bath salts, baking soda, or activated charcoal inside. Each stage might take a week. I find that perfume is even harder to eradicate.

 

[Tsundere]

It may not fix the color. With white and a lot of the brighter, non-natural colors that Coach puts out, it's basically a shallow dye that doesn't get very deep into the leather. (So once its worn away, its gone.) In order to get the color back you have to use a couple drops of acrylic paint with about a teaspoon of leather conditioner mixed together.

Looks like it.
It did fix up a lot of the dryness, which is wonderful! I'll do a teeny tiny re-dye once it's fully absorbed the cleaner all over the pink parts. It looks better than it did which makes me happy. The handles look perfect.

Thank you for the tip about colouring WITH the conditioner.

 

[kellyhp]

Vinegar loses its smell as it dries which makes it very useful antibacterial cleaner. Use any white vinegar, the cheapest option and dilute it with just enough water to wet the bag all over. Maybe 3:1 water to vinegar. You don't need to rinse it. Stuff it and change the towels often. If you can leave it in the sun to dry that would help too. Then condition as usual.

Thanks for the compliment on my rehabs. These bags were straightforward. I use Leather Therapy conditioner, Obenauf's if needed on really dry bags, and finish with Black Rock. Lots and lots of buffing in between coats. My favourite saying "buff til your arms drop off."!

I like Leather Therapy and get the same results with Leather Honey but I MUST GET BLACKROCK. I keep thinking when I am near a farm or tack store I'll pop in and grab some but I just need to order it.

I will try the vinegar recipe. I know it won't hurt. Thanks T.T.B.

I think vinegar bothers some people more than others. Sometimes I'll fill a saucer with vinegar to soak hardware and my husband hates it! It doesn't bother me at all. I believe that lemon juice will give the same results but costs more. I have also heard that some have had good results with vanilla vodka but that seems like a waste. There are sprays now that are supposed to remove odors without adding any scent of their own. I have one by Febreze called Free Nature.

I have been able to get the smoke smell out of everything eventually. It just takes time. I usually alternate between bathing, airing out, wiping with alcohol, and wrapping in plastic with something like bath salts, baking soda, or activated charcoal inside. Each stage might take a week. I find that perfume is even harder to eradicate.

I dk why but I have always hated vinegar and everyone related to me loves it. My grandmother used it to clean everything and my uncle drinks it (Jug or Jog Juice *shudders*). I tried it as a hair rinse once and gagged my face purple lol but it is excellent as a clarifier.
I'm too cheap for real lemon juice since it is so #$%^ expensive (even in Florida) but I love it. Maybe grated lemon rind closed up in a purse would also work as a deodorizer. I have used a slow cooker successfully with water, baking soda, and trashed lemons many times to clear the air of cooking odors.

I will definitely look for Free Nature. My dad's truck stinks like giant wet dog so probably good for that too! I had been using Ozium but it is expensive considering the bottle is tiny and the dog is giant, going to ride, ride wet, and as often as the dog wants to ride -which is every time. It isn't even just wet dog but pond wet dog.

I would think perfume would be near impossible since it is fairly oily and I would think the leather would soak those molecules right up. Your mentioning it made me think lemon rind might be a good choice since it is also oily.

 

[frenchieRU]

Looks like it.
It did fix up a lot of the dryness, which is wonderful! I'll do a teeny tiny re-dye once it's fully absorbed the cleaner all over the pink parts. It looks better than it did which makes me happy. The handles look perfect.

Thank you for the tip about colouring WITH the conditioner.

Nice! I have a Cashin tribute canvas bag that's trimmed with pink leather. It's going to be a bear to condition and recolor the leather, but it'll totally be worth it once its done. The conditioner helps the paint sink in and stick to the leather so it's at least a little less likely to be rubbed off.

 

[whateve]

I like Leather Therapy and get the same results with Leather Honey but I MUST GET BLACKROCK. I keep thinking when I am near a farm or tack store I'll pop in and grab some but I just need to order it.

I will try the vinegar recipe. I know it won't hurt. Thanks T.T.B.





I dk why but I have always hated vinegar and everyone related to me loves it. My grandmother used it to clean everything and my uncle drinks it (Jug or Jog Juice *shudders*). I tried it as a hair rinse once and gagged my face purple lol but it is excellent as a clarifier.
I'm too cheap for real lemon juice since it is so #$%^ expensive (even in Florida) but I love it. Maybe grated lemon rind closed up in a purse would also work as a deodorizer. I have used a slow cooker successfully with water, baking soda, and trashed lemons many times to clear the air of cooking odors.

I will definitely look for Free Nature. My dad's truck stinks like giant wet dog so probably good for that too! I had been using Ozium but it is expensive considering the bottle is tiny and the dog is giant, going to ride, ride wet, and as often as the dog wants to ride -which is every time. It isn't even just wet dog but pond wet dog.

I would think perfume would be near impossible since it is fairly oily and I would think the leather would soak those molecules right up. Your mentioning it made me think lemon rind might be a good choice since it is also oily.

Ew, drinking vinegar! And wet dog, gag!

I used to have a problem with boiling potatoes! When I was growing up, it would feel like my nose was being cut on the inside when my mother cooked potatoes. It doesn't bother me anymore but I can really understand how things can affect some people and not others. I detest the smell of sardines!

There is another product called Zero Odor that I used to get at Big Lots but I haven't been able to find it lately. It confused my cat when I sprayed his litterbox.

You definitely need to get Blackrocks. I got mine on ebay and it isn't very expensive.

I've had some problems with Leather Honey. Sometimes it works wonderfully. Other times, my leather ends up looking striped and blotchy! I don't know if it is absorbing unevenly or highlighting stains that were previously hidden. I've had to rewash bags and usually that won't fix it completely. I usually want to use Leather Honey in instances when I'd like to see some darkening but now I'm afraid to use it at all.

 

[frenchieRU]

I like Leather Therapy and get the same results with Leather Honey but I MUST GET BLACKROCK. I keep thinking when I am near a farm or tack store I'll pop in and grab some but I just need to order it.

I will try the vinegar recipe. I know it won't hurt. Thanks T.T.B.





I dk why but I have always hated vinegar and everyone related to me loves it. My grandmother used it to clean everything and my uncle drinks it (Jug or Jog Juice *shudders*). I tried it as a hair rinse once and gagged my face purple lol but it is excellent as a clarifier.
I'm too cheap for real lemon juice since it is so #$%^ expensive (even in Florida) but I love it. Maybe grated lemon rind closed up in a purse would also work as a deodorizer. I have used a slow cooker successfully with water, baking soda, and trashed lemons many times to clear the air of cooking odors.

I will definitely look for Free Nature. My dad's truck stinks like giant wet dog so probably good for that too! I had been using Ozium but it is expensive considering the bottle is tiny and the dog is giant, going to ride, ride wet, and as often as the dog wants to ride -which is every time. It isn't even just wet dog but pond wet dog.

I would think perfume would be near impossible since it is fairly oily and I would think the leather would soak those molecules right up. Your mentioning it made me think lemon rind might be a good choice since it is also oily.

Have you tried Nature's Miracle for the wet dog smell? It comes in a bigger bottle (if I remember it runs around $7) and works wonders on cat pee. Surely if it can work on something as "fragrant" as that it can work on wet dog!

Perfume wouldn't do much for the smell of a musty bag, it'll just make it smell like basement AND perfume.

 

[kellyhp]

LOL I love to eat boneless skinless sardines. I do know it is a smell most people can't abide by. It is powerfully strong and definitely an acquired taste.

I have not experienced Leather Honey streaking but that sounds terrible. I will keep it in mind when choosing a conditioner to use, maybe only black bags. I did have an experience where it very slightly darkened a light tan bag but at least it was even and I haven't buffed it yet.
I haven't been using it very long.

I did manage to wrangle my DH's leather briefcase from him to condition it and I accidentally grabbed the Leather Honey cleaner you have to add water to. I rubbed the entire thing (sparingly at least) with it undiluted thinking it was conditioner. I like to watch TCM while I condition so never even looked at the bottle.
Later I realized my mistake when I felt my hands becoming dryer as opposed to feeling moisturized. I will never forgive myself because the bag will probably never be the same again.
BUT, the good thing to come of it is I emailed Leather Honey and they responded immediately with suggestions. They are really nice and very helpful. Email them and let them know, maybe it is something that they are aware of and know what to do about it. Maybe your batch is bad or has separated.
At their suggestion I had to wipe it down repeatedly with water which slightly wrinkled the flap and left a handful of small dark spots. Keep conditioning until it won't absorb anymore.
He hasn't been able to use it for 2 months now because I keep applying conditioner and hoping it will return to its former glory (although he's always been pretty rough on it). It is usable for sure but doesn't look as nice. Hard lesson learned.



FrenchieRU, my folks always have Nature's Miracle (they have a farm and a menagerie of animals) so maybe over the holidays I can hose the passenger side with it. Whatever I do won't be long lasting since the dog rides almost daily. I think it might be my dad's way of keeping the ladies out of his junker truck.

I wasn't thinking of using perfume to eradicate the musty smell, just saying I think perfume is difficult to remove since it is oily. I agree with you, it would just be adding to the stinky!

Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[whateve]

LOL I love to eat boneless skinless sardines. I do know it is a smell most people can't abide by. It is powerfully strong and definitely an acquired taste.

I have not experienced Leather Honey streaking but that sounds terrible. I will keep it in mind when choosing a conditioner to use, maybe only black bags. I did have an experience where it very slightly darkened a light tan bag but at least it was even and I haven't buffed it yet.
I haven't been using it very long.

I did manage to wrangle my DH's leather briefcase from him to condition it and I accidentally grabbed the Leather Honey cleaner you have to add water to. I rubbed the entire thing (sparingly at least) with it undiluted thinking it was conditioner. I like to watch TCM while I condition so never even looked at the bottle.
Later I realized my mistake when I felt my hands becoming dryer as opposed to feeling moisturized. I will never forgive myself because the bag will probably never be the same again.
BUT, the good thing to come of it is I emailed Leather Honey and they responded immediately with suggestions. They are really nice and very helpful. Email them and let them know, maybe it is something that they are aware of and know what to do about it. Maybe your batch is bad or has separated.
At their suggestion I had to wipe it down repeatedly with water which slightly wrinkled the flap and left a handful of small dark spots. Keep conditioning until it won't absorb anymore.
He hasn't been able to use it for 2 months now because I keep applying conditioner and hoping it will return to its former glory (although he's always been pretty rough on it). It is usable for sure but doesn't look as nice. Hard lesson learned.



FrenchieRU, my folks always have Nature's Miracle (they have a farm and a menagerie of animals) so maybe over the holidays I can hose the passenger side with it. Whatever I do won't be long lasting since the dog rides almost daily. I think it might be my dad's way of keeping the ladies out of his junker truck.

I wasn't thinking of using perfume to eradicate the musty smell, just saying I think perfume is difficult to remove since it is oily. I agree with you, it would just be adding to the stinky!

Hope everyone has a great day.

We watch TCM all the time too! I record movies and then we watch one each night. DH is obsessed with the 30s. It is hard for me to convince him that there were good movies made in the 40s too!

I never thought that maybe I got a bad bottle of Leather Honey. Now that you mention it, I don't think I had problems with my previous bottles. It was shipped by Amazon and leaked all over. It might have gotten contaminated with something from the box. Amazon gave me back my money but I've been using it anyway.

That's a shame about your husband's briefcase. Can you bathe it and start over?

It sounds like you need to wash the dog rather than the car!

 

[Two.time.bags]

My Bleecker wallet with really scratched pink leather lining came up OK. I had some pink Raven dye and just applied a few coats and then conditioned. The white spots are where I stupidly removed some pen marks with alcohol. The dye didn't cover them entirely but it's an improvement. The Tatersall lining of the coin compartment was filthy but it came up OK. I sprayed it with stain remover and scrubbed it with a toothbrush.

 

[Two.time.bags]

After dyeing and conditioning.

 

[Two.time.bags]

After dyeing and conditioning.

Inside coin compartment after cleaning.