Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Two.time.bags]

Hello!

I've been working on an old black leather vintage coach, and just finished conditioning it. But the leather now looks almost waxy, and super, super easily scratches.

Any ideas why or how to fix it? I'm wondering if I conditioned it too much. I tend to over do things. Perhaps I could give it a gentle scrub without having to redunk the whole thing?

What conditioner did you use? Depending on your answer, buffing helps. Use a horsehair bush and/or microfibre cloth. Leaving it out to 'air' also helps as the conditioner will gradually be absorbed.

You should be able to fix the scratches just by rubbing them with your finger.

 

[Two.time.bags]

Mine is flannel grey too. Yours looks like flannel grey in the picture. Actually the picture looks a lot lighter than my flannel grey. I think there were variations in the color based on the dye lot because I have another flannel grey NYC bag that is a different shade.

I think they tend to fade too.

Well, after a really loooooong hiatus, I am back to rehabbing. I dunked three purses yesterday and am planning to do a few more tonight.

Beautiful job Becca. I love that colour.

 

[Two.time.bags]

I tried out the zit cream on some ink spots on a suede Adrienne Vittadini tote. I stupidly tried to remove them with alcohol first. This pic is the before shot, after the alcohol.

 

[Two.time.bags]

I tried out the zit cream on some ink spots on a suede Adrienne Vittadini tote. I stupidly tried to remove them with alcohol first. This pic is the before shot, after the alcohol.

Sorry. On the ipad so can only upload one pic per post. Here it is after the zit cream and dunking. Conclusion: only use on white bags! (and don't dunk AV suede bags).

I also tried out Amodex on a huge ink spot on the inside pocket of my Slim Tote.What a waste of effort that was! Will post more about that later

 

[whateve]

NO NO NO! Whateve, I must ask you to stop posting pictures. Even though I can only see a small part of it, that flannel grey is gorgeous!!

Must not look at grey bags on ebay, must not look at grey bags on ebay, must not look at grey bags on ebay.......

lol! Not only is it flannel grey but it is the large saddle pouch, a style I've wanted for a long time, and it was less than $25 shipped! I was worried about the buckle but it looks fine unbuckled.

Haha, I agree--it's a beautiful color! However this bag is way too small for my taste (way too narrow so my wallet would make it poof out a little bit.)

That's why I'm so thrilled I found the large size!

 

[whateve]

Well, after a really loooooong hiatus, I am back to rehabbing. I dunked three purses yesterday and am planning to do a few more tonight.

First up is the Chelsea 10963 that I have been looking for for just a few days short of a year! I fell in love when whateve posted hers. I got it and the matching wallet for a ridiculously low price on ebay because the seller really posted some terrible pics. It really wasn't in bad shape, but the leather on the purse had definitely yellowed a tad when compared to the wallet. I decided to dunk her, but I had the feeling that the brown straps may bleed, so I knew I had to get her dried out quickly. First she got a good vacuum. After that I bathed her in Dawn, then blotted her really well with towels. I then turned her upside down on a narrow tall plastic storage container and let her drip dry. I brought her up this morning and set her near the heating vent using the same set up. It's 2 pm here and she is totally dry and has had two applications of leather CPR. I think she came out beautifully! (She is a little darker IRL)



Notes on this rehab: The brown straps did bleed a little, but not where I thought. The straps are made of two different kinds of leather. The back parts of the strap didn't bleed as I expected, but the front parts bled through on the bottom of the purse where they were sewn at the seam. It came through the back unfinished side of the leather. My advice would be to dry the bottom inside and out with a hair dryer to minimize bleed time.

This was the worst spot, the others were lighter and smaller.



The wallet just got a good vacuum and some Leather CPR.

On another note, I will try to include the style # on my future rehab posts to make it easier if someone needs to do a search for a particular style.

Great job! I'm super jealous of the wallet!

 

[whateve]

Hello!

I've been working on an old black leather vintage coach, and just finished conditioning it. But the leather now looks almost waxy, and super, super easily scratches.

Any ideas why or how to fix it? I'm wondering if I conditioned it too much. I tend to over do things. Perhaps I could give it a gentle scrub without having to redunk the whole thing?

You may have overconditioned. Over time, the conditioner will soak in. If it were mine, I would try heating it up to encourage the conditioner to soak in. Either put it out in the sun if it is warm enough or heat it with a hair dryer.

Vintage Coach leather tends to scratch easily so there might not be anything wrong at all. The waxy appearance makes me think that there is too much conditioner, and that it is sitting on the surface rather than soaking in. Of course, the type of conditioner makes a difference too. Some conditioners are naturally waxy.

 

[Beccabaglady]

I think they tend to fade too.



Beautiful job Becca. I love that colour.

Thanks dear!

 

[pursemamabear28]

I have a Kristin graphic op art hobo. It was my first coach purse. The purse is in desperate need of a cleaning but I'm not sure how to clean it since it is a fabric purse with sequins. The satin lining could also use some cleaning as well. There are a few ink and makeup stains. The purse is dingy looking but it's my fave bag so I use it all the time. Any suggestions for cleaning the bag would be greatly appreciated

I'm hoping to get some suggestions on how to clean this purse. It has a special fabric with sequins on it. I have used this regularly over the last 4 years so it has gotten very dirty. My hubby picked it out for me so I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to use it lately. I don't live close to a place where I can take it to be cleaned. The lining also needs cleaning as well.

 

[ledobe]

I'm hoping to get some suggestions on how to clean this purse. It has a special fabric with sequins on it. I have used this regularly over the last 4 years so it has gotten very dirty. My hubby picked it out for me so I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to use it lately. I don't live close to a place where I can take it to be cleaned. The lining also needs cleaning as well.

Ok, here is what I'd do. Keep in mind there is some risk of damaging the sequins. If you spot clean it you will get just that, clean spots. I would pre treat the dirtiest areas with shout or soilove or another laundry pre treatment product, tie it up in a pillowcase and wash it with a load of towels to cushion it, then take it out and reshape and air dry

We could give better help with pictures of the bag. I have not personally washed a bag with sequins but some other non coach items I've cleaned have had the sequins lose color and turn clear. I'm pretty sure I've seen sequins washed on coach bags in this thread with no mention of that happening. I think the sequins coach uses hold up fine.

You just have to weigh the risk to you, if it's getting so dirty you're not going to carry it anyway it's worth taking a chance, but if you look through this there have been lots of great results with washing fabric bags. Again, a picture would help.

 

[Tetondeb]

Question: I'm having a heck of a time with a bag that I purchases on an online auction. The seller has used some kind of thick shiny clear coat on the bag that has literally smothered the leather. She/he is refusing to tell me what she used on it and all of her bags appear to have it on them.

Is there an area that we can post a "buyer beware" type of thing?

 

[Flushpuppy]

I got this slim tote a couple weeks ago. So far I have dunked it and applied one coat of Leather CPR. Blackrocks should be here soon. It feels nice, but I'm wondering if there is anything I can do the dark areas on the kisslock frame. And will the Blackrocks take care of the stains that remain in a couple other aras? I only dunked it for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, so maybe that wasn't long enough? Suggestions appreciated!

 

[mrk2014]

I wanted to share another successful use of my favorite eraser. (post #7956 or close)

This bag had on the crease a rub on mark that could be from denim or other dark fabric.
I tried the eraser before doing any thing else. Afterwards I applied a bit of Blackrocks are the area seemed a bit lighter, now you be the judge...

Before

After

 

[whateve]

Question: I'm having a heck of a time with a bag that I purchases on an online auction. The seller has used some kind of thick shiny clear coat on the bag that has literally smothered the leather. She/he is refusing to tell me what she used on it and all of her bags appear to have it on them.

Is there an area that we can post a "buyer beware" type of thing?

Can you post the name of the seller?

 

[Tetondeb]

Can you post the name of the seller?

She goes by:

divas_closet

and

2chicdivas



You can link by clicking the names above. She told me to use acetone to remove what she put on there but won't tell me what it is. It's like a polyurethane coating it's so thick. You can see she's used it on all of her Coach bags.