Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[LouisieAnna]

Hello Everyone!

I'll be starting my first rehab project on a 1997 Coach Sonoma
(black with pebbled leather) which will be arriving soon. Yay!

After browsing this Forum, sounds like many folks are rehabbing glove tanned leather.

I have some newbie questions about rehabbing pebbled leather.
This is what I've gleaned so far from the Forum - your advice or corrections would be greatly appreciated!!

I'll be hand washing bag in water with ivory soap or Woolite.
Do you just swish it around in the water quickly and remove?
Or let it soak? Sounds like gentle scrubbing is OK if needed?

Remove paint with acetone if paint doesn't come off in wash.

When bag is completely dry, work conditioner into the leather.
Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner was recommended (is equestrian OK?)
Blackrock Leather Cleaner with conditioner - to finish, add shine
Obenauf's Leather Oil - I saw this mentioned - will this work for pebbled too?

Any other tips welcome.

Thank you for your time!!

Rumor has it that Woolite is actually rough on clothes because it was invented to soften wool. People too far gone into clothing care minutae go crazy if you tell them you use Woolite (I do anyway, because I'm cheap and too impatient to order things online, and clothes wear out anyway no matter what you do, kwim?). So, I have no idea what Woolite does to leather. Does anyone here recommend it?
I'm just starting, but so far I really like hypoallergenic Dawn.

 

[Sonoma]

I think I have my first Madison success using the entire bathe, reshape, condition, etc process. When I received this '93 Chapin, I was pretty upset and almost filed a SNAD. It looked pretty rough in the eBay listing, but the seller sent it unprotected in any way and unstuffed in a thin paper envelope. I ended up not doing it because I did want a '93 Madison, and proving SNAD was probably too subjective to make it worth the hassle for me.

Here's before:

Here's after (bag is not stuffed in this pic):

I think she came out ok.

Looks great!

 

[Belicious]

I think I have my first Madison success using the entire bathe, reshape, condition, etc process. When I received this '93 Chapin, I was pretty upset and almost filed a SNAD. It looked pretty rough in the eBay listing, but the seller sent it unprotected in any way and unstuffed in a thin paper envelope. I ended up not doing it because I did want a '93 Madison, and proving SNAD was probably too subjective to make it worth the hassle for me.

Here's before:

Here's after (bag is not stuffed in this pic):

I think she came out ok.

Wow! She's beautiful! Great job!

 

[Sonoma]

Rumor has it that Woolite is actually rough on clothes because it was invented to soften wool. People too far gone into clothing care minutae go crazy if you tell them you use Woolite (I do anyway, because I'm cheap and too impatient to order things online, and clothes wear out anyway no matter what you do, kwim?). So, I have no idea what Woolite does to leather. Does anyone here recommend it?
I'm just starting, but so far I really like hypoallergenic Dawn.

Woolite was mentioned somewhere in these threads.
But is great to get another opinion and the hypoallergenic Dawn tip.

Thanks!

 

[crafty_yogi]

Rumor has it that Woolite is actually rough on clothes because it was invented to soften wool. People too far gone into clothing care minutae go crazy if you tell them you use Woolite (I do anyway, because I'm cheap and too impatient to order things online, and clothes wear out anyway no matter what you do, kwim?). So, I have no idea what Woolite does to leather. Does anyone here recommend it?
I'm just starting, but so far I really like hypoallergenic Dawn.

Woolite was mentioned somewhere in these threads.
But is great to get another opinion and the hypoallergenic Dawn tip.

Thanks!

Just wanted to add my 2¢:
When I started rehabbing my mom's vintage bags, I only had Seventh Generation laundry detergent on hand so that's what I used. So far it's been ok; all the bags I've done (both mine and my mom's) have come out cleaner and revitalized. I don't really measure out how much I use but it's a pretty diluted solution with minimal suds. I think as long as you're using a fairly mild formula and remember to condition afterward, you'll be alright.

 

[ledobe]

I used black Edgekote on really worn piping once. It covered it beautifully, but then someone on this thread warned that, based on their own experience, it could peel off, so I haven't used it since. I sold that bag so don't know if it did or not.

I second that it could peel off, in fact I need to get around to removing it from a bag that I experimented on. I don't think I've tried acetone yet...

 

[Handbag2812]

Hi all, I haven't been around for awhile. I already have a houseful of bags and I have been trying to stay off this forum, out of coach stores, and away from thrift stores to avoid buying more. I really need to figure out what to do with all of them!

But I wanted to share that I recently gifted one of my rehab projects to a friend and she was thrilled. I had given her a rehabbed black Willis bag for her birthday a few years ago and she carries it all the time (in fact, it could use a little spiffing up!)

So for her recent retirement party I decided to give her a brown Stewardess Bag that I originally purchased at Savers for $36.

It was in fairly decent shape and I rehabbed it some time ago but I haven't hardly carried it; I usually grab my black Stewardess. So I got out the brown bag again and it just needed a little moisturizer and metal polish and it looked fantastic.

I wanted to give her a "true Coach Experience" so I stuffed the bag with tissue, put it in a Coach dust bag, wrapped it in Coach tissue, and put it inside a boutique Coach shopping bag.

I also printed out information about the Stewardess bag from the Coach website (style number 9525, currently available for $278, made by Coach since 1977, etc.) and added information about this specific bag (Mahogany, Made in USA, 1995) and put the sheet of paper into on of those shiny paper, receipt envelopes that they give you at the boutique store.

She was surprised and thrilled and really loved the bag and I am sure that she will use it. And I had fun working on a vintage bag again! Here are a couple of before and after pics. You can see more before pics here: http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=22981671&postcount=2810

I hope you are all well and enjoying your bags and rehabbing!

wow how amazing, looks brand new... I wish there were good thrift stores that had vintage coach bags around here

 

[whateve]

Rumor has it that Woolite is actually rough on clothes because it was invented to soften wool. People too far gone into clothing care minutae go crazy if you tell them you use Woolite (I do anyway, because I'm cheap and too impatient to order things online, and clothes wear out anyway no matter what you do, kwim?). So, I have no idea what Woolite does to leather. Does anyone here recommend it?
I'm just starting, but so far I really like hypoallergenic Dawn.

I'm glad you mentioned that. Back when I was pregnant with my first, a friend, who was also pregnant, and I bought lots of cotton knit maternity clothes. She hand-washed hers in Woolite and they ended up pilling terribly. I washed mine in the machine with regular detergent and they stayed new looking. Since then, I hardly use Woolite for anything.

 

[Two.time.bags]

Here's before:

Here's after (bag is not stuffed in this pic):

I think she came out ok.

Great job and gorgeous colour!

Rumor has it that Woolite is actually rough on clothes because it was invented to soften wool. People too far gone into clothing care minutae go crazy if you tell them you use Woolite (I do anyway, because I'm cheap and too impatient to order things online, and clothes wear out anyway no matter what you do, kwim?). So, I have no idea what Woolite does to leather. Does anyone here recommend it?
I'm just starting, but so far I really like hypoallergenic Dawn.

You only need a mild detergent. Leather is naturally slightly acidic so it's good to avoid any cleaner that is alkaline.

 

[Sonoma]

Just wanted to add my 2¢:
When I started rehabbing my mom's vintage bags, I only had Seventh Generation laundry detergent on hand so that's what I used. So far it's been ok; all the bags I've done (both mine and my mom's) have come out cleaner and revitalized. I don't really measure out how much I use but it's a pretty diluted solution with minimal suds. I think as long as you're using a fairly mild formula and remember to condition afterward, you'll be alright.

Thank you for adding your ideas crafty_yogi and two.time.bags,
and to everyone else who chimed in. Is much appreciated!

My bag arrives today, can't wait to get started!

 

[mrk2014]

Bathing and reshaping. I twisted up 2 old washcloths crosswise, and put one in each end at the point of thickness of the twist that matched the curve of the bag (if that makes any sense), a third washcloth in the middle to hold the ones on the ends in the right places, and put a thin piece of cardboard between the middle washcloth and the sides so there wouldn't be any lumps. Then I just let it dry.
I haven't used any paint yet. I will if I need to if the conditioner gets soaked in and leaves light spots.

Thank you for sharing your technique. I like the idea of the cardboard to avoid lumps.

I don't know if this has been brought up before, but just in case I will share my "tip".

After giving a bag a bath and stuff it for drying, if it's the regular top zip that when hanging kind of curves down, I use a small hanger inside the bag and hang it to dry that way with the zipper open, they dry in perfect shape.

 

[honkers]

Gearing up to do my first rehab. . .pictured below is a Lightweights Satchel. Was going to dunk/wash it by hand, stuff it to shape, condition with CPR and then finish with Blackrocks. Hoping that some of the color will be revitalized through this process. I have heard that the Lightweights can be problematic (why start easy?) and have read through many past posts. . . any tips before I start? Thanks!

 

[whateve]

Gearing up to do my first rehab. . .pictured below is a Lightweights Satchel. Was going to dunk/wash it by hand, stuff it to shape, condition with CPR and then finish with Blackrocks. Hoping that some of the color will be revitalized through this process. I have heard that the Lightweights can be problematic (why start easy?) and have read through many past posts. . . any tips before I start? Thanks!

It should be easier to touch up the color, since it is black. Don't use hot water because you don't want to lose more dye in the bath. I think you are going to need to add color on those edges. Don't stuff too tightly.

 

[frenchieRU]

Gearing up to do my first rehab. . .pictured below is a Lightweights Satchel. Was going to dunk/wash it by hand, stuff it to shape, condition with CPR and then finish with Blackrocks. Hoping that some of the color will be revitalized through this process. I have heard that the Lightweights can be problematic (why start easy?) and have read through many past posts. . . any tips before I start? Thanks!

You picked a good bag for your first rehab Black is probably the easiest to start with since it hides pretty much any sort of ink, which is the bane of any bag since for the most part it's impossible to remove. Lightweights tend to absorb more water than the heavier leathers, but it's really not bad. Just make sure you blot excess water really well before you stuff it, and it'll help the bag dry a little bit faster. Good luck!!

 

[honkers]

I got distracted with another bag today - suede! I will keep you posted and will have questions when it comes time to touch up the edges! Thanks!