Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#7,726
Hi! I just purchased a new Coach Willis Briefcase. I want to give it to my sister as a gift once I restore it. But I can tell you that the leather is DRY. I have never see a bag so dry before. I tried using leather conditioner for saddles, coach bags, and even olive oil. I am at a loss, because I have applied 2 coats of the saddle conditioner, one of the coach conditioner and 3 thin coats of the olive oil and its still pretty darn dry. If I had to give a percentage i would say like 40-50% better than when I purchased it, but it still needs some love. Does anyone know what I can do? There is no lining in the bag and there are only super tiny tears in the piping on two corners.
 
#7,727
raglione said:
Hi! I just purchased a new Coach Willis Briefcase. I want to give it to my sister as a gift once I restore it. But I can tell you that the leather is DRY. I have never see a bag so dry before. I tried using leather conditioner for saddles, coach bags, and even olive oil. I am at a loss, because I have applied 2 coats of the saddle conditioner, one of the coach conditioner and 3 thin coats of the olive oil and its still pretty darn dry. If I had to give a percentage i would say like 40-50% better than when I purchased it, but it still needs some love. Does anyone know what I can do? There is no lining in the bag and there are only super tiny tears in the piping on two corners.
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I don't think olive oil was such a great idea. Coach conditioner is also not a good idea either. It has silicone in it which breaks down the leather fibers. What kind of saddle conditioner did you use?

Did you get your bag authenticated? Often the leather used on fakes is inferior and won't respond to conditioning like Coach leather.

I would recommend you give your bag a bath. Soaking in water plumps up the leather, then conditioning holds that moisture in.
 
#7,728
raglione said:
Hi! I just purchased a new Coach Willis Briefcase. I want to give it to my sister as a gift once I restore it. But I can tell you that the leather is DRY. I have never see a bag so dry before. I tried using leather conditioner for saddles, coach bags, and even olive oil. I am at a loss, because I have applied 2 coats of the saddle conditioner, one of the coach conditioner and 3 thin coats of the olive oil and its still pretty darn dry. If I had to give a percentage i would say like 40-50% better than when I purchased it, but it still needs some love. Does anyone know what I can do? There is no lining in the bag and there are only super tiny tears in the piping on two corners.
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whateve said:
I don't think olive oil was such a great idea. Coach conditioner is also not a good idea either. It has silicone in it which breaks down the leather fibers. What kind of saddle conditioner did you use?

Did you get your bag authenticated? Often the leather used on fakes is inferior and won't respond to conditioning like Coach leather.

I would recommend you give your bag a bath. Soaking in water plumps up the leather, then conditioning holds that moisture in.
Click to expand...

I don't personally like the coach conditioner so I didn't really let it sit very long... I wiped it like all off pretty much. The leather does't really need plumping though. It's really odd like half the bag is fine and the sides are thick and dry. Also I used Passier Ladder Balsm. i did not authenticate it, but The leather seems to be pretty good quality and is very similar (minus being dry) to my authentic bags The ladder balsm did an okay job, but it needs something a bit more. It almost seems like the bag has a sun burn.
 
#7,729
raglione said:
I don't personally like the coach conditioner so I didn't really let it sit very long... I wiped it like all off pretty much. The leather does't really need plumping though. It's really odd like half the bag is fine and the sides are thick and dry. Also I used Passier Ladder Balsm. i did not authenticate it, but The leather seems to be pretty good quality and is very similar (minus being dry) to my authentic bags The ladder balsm did an okay job, but it needs something a bit more. It almost seems like the bag has a sun burn.
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I've been curious to try Passier! Have you used it on other bags?

Normally I use Leather CPR, followed by Obenaufs and Blackrocks. For very dry bags, I'll use mink oil or Leather Honey, still followed by Obenaufs and Blackrocks.

Was the bag in good condition when you got it? Maybe it had mildew damage?

What year was your bag made and where was it made? Bags from different eras and plants have different leathers.
 
#7,730
whateve said:
I've been curious to try Passier! Have you used it on other bags?

Normally I use Leather CPR, followed by Obenaufs and Blackrocks. For very dry bags, I'll use mink oil or Leather Honey, still followed by Obenaufs and Blackrocks.

Was the bag in good condition when you got it? Maybe it had mildew damage?

What year was your bag made and where was it made? Bags from different eras and plants have different leathers.
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It's from the 80s or 90s and the bag looks great when I got it. There was minimal scratches and the handle was missing but it looked nearly new
 
#7,731
whateve said:
My suede rehab isn't working all that well. I got the lining pretty clean. The bottom edge of the inside pocket (when you pull it out) feels stiff and I can't decide if they used some kind of stiffening or it is stiff from whatever stained it (ew!). It is sewed across the bottom of the pocket. I can't find that on any of my other bags.

I tried working on the exterior. It seems like everything I try makes the stains more noticeable rather than less! Any suggestions? I decided that dunking would be a bad idea because it has these patches that are just tacked on and I think they would curl.
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I've got a couple suede rehabs I'm struggling with too. I just use vinegar and bicarb and a tooth brush then dunk and rinse. So far I've gone over the Wave Bag twice. It does look better the second time, but the bottom metallic leather corner bled so now I've got to deal with that. I really should avoid suede!
 
#7,733
raglione said:
I don't personally like the coach conditioner so I didn't really let it sit very long... I wiped it like all off pretty much. The leather does't really need plumping though. It's really odd like half the bag is fine and the sides are thick and dry. Also I used Passier Ladder Balsm. i did not authenticate it, but The leather seems to be pretty good quality and is very similar (minus being dry) to my authentic bags The ladder balsm did an okay job, but it needs something a bit more. It almost seems like the bag has a sun burn.
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If the bag is dry it needs plumping! Did you see this? It's Coach's recommended treatment. Post #7544.

http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-cl...503.html?highlight=classic+pouch#post27849486

I follow the same process as whateve except I use Leather Therapy instead of CPR. I highly recommend Obenauf's for really dry bags. It also evens out the colour. What is the serial number? Please post a pic of your bag.
 
#7,735
Hi rehab ladies! I have 4 nylon signature pieces: a Getaway file bag and a Getaway mini cosmetic bag, both in Dark Plume, and a 2 piece XL Weekender packable set in Berry. It's time to see if I can freshen them up. Do you recommend washing them in the washing machine on the hand wash setting? If so, can I wash both colors together? Do you think machine washing could cause zipper fraying on the 3 with no fraying, or worse fraying on the 1 with fraying? What are your general recommendations for cleaning this kind of piece? Thanks for any assistance.
 
#7,736
ChevaliereNoir said:
Hi rehab ladies! I have 4 nylon signature pieces: a Getaway file bag and a Getaway mini cosmetic bag, both in Dark Plume, and a 2 piece XL Weekender packable set in Berry. It's time to see if I can freshen them up. Do you recommend washing them in the washing machine on the hand wash setting? If so, can I wash both colors together? Do you think machine washing could cause zipper fraying on the 3 with no fraying, or worse fraying on the 1 with fraying? What are your general recommendations for cleaning this kind of piece? Thanks for any assistance.
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I think they'd be OK on the hand washing setting. Nylon is tough and the colour shouldn't run. I wouldn't think it would cause fraying.
 
#7,738
Two.time.bags said:
Did you buy this from ebay? I remember seeing a Willis recently with a missing handle and it was fake.
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I got it off of etsy. I went on looking for something to replace the handles on a different brief case that my dad owns. His ripped after 30 years of use... I decided to just wet the leather in the areas that needed it. It helped a lot, but it is still dry and I had soaked it. Should I try again? The leather quality is what I would expect of Coach (minus the super dry parts) There isn't really anything that would lead me to believe it is fake. this picture is the I guess before photo. I have yet to do anything to it
 

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#7,739
raglione said:
I got it off of etsy. I went on looking for something to replace the handles on a different brief case that my dad owns. His ripped after 30 years of use... I decided to just wet the leather in the areas that needed it. It helped a lot, but it is still dry and I had soaked it. Should I try again? The leather quality is what I would expect of Coach (minus the super dry parts) There isn't really anything that would lead me to believe it is fake. this picture is the I guess before photo. I have yet to do anything to it
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That's not a Willis. Are you afraid to get it authenticated?

How can you only wet the leather in certain parts? Aren't you afraid of water spots? Did you use soap? The water can't soak in unless you remove whatever you applied to the surface. A bag that big will take days to dry.
 
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