Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#9,032
ForeverInPink said:
Hello ladies, it has been a while since I have visited this thread! I was browsing at my favorite vintage second hand store today and picked up this lovely lady for only $29. She's a 2005 Classic City and overall in great condition, just a little dry and thirsty with some worn spots. No need for a bath but I did condition her with leather CPR and then buffed with Blackrocks. The change was so striking that I just couldn't resist sharing [emoji4] Here are the before and after pics:

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Well done! I like the difference of the before & after shots. 'After' looks sleek & mysterious! ;)
 
#9,033
When I went grey a couple years ago I wanted some grey Coach bags too. They're a lot harder to find than black or brown. I bought this Slim Duffle from Etsy for $12. I love this charcoal color, and I knew I would love the bag because I had bought a bag in this same style new years ago in chocolate. The base is oval and lies flat against your body, and the strap is nice and long. Anyway, this bag had a weird brown sheen on it. I washed it and found the color on a part of the bottom piping was completely gone. I think it may have been treated with shoe polish. I'm not sure. Anyway, I mixed a little acrylic paint and dabbed it sparingly on the piping, then applied several coats of Lexol and Blackrocks. There is a scratch on the outside pocket. It's still visible, but I think the conditioning has minimized it as much as possible.
 

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#9,034
whateve said:
It's not really that bad but there are large areas that are brownish where the color has worn off. There are a few dark spots but they are on the bottom. For about $100 more, I could have gotten one in perfect condition. I wonder if I'll regret being cheap. I've had a lot of trouble with refinisher on the projects I've used it on. It seemed to work best if I mixed it with a lot of conditioner, just to blend in a little color. If I tried to touch it up with more refinisher, it removed the previous coat. Maybe I'll try RIT overall and then get the refinisher for the tougher areas like the corners.

My fuchsia duffle wasn't in perfect condition when I got it either and I haven't done anything to it. It has corner wear and a dark spot next to the pocket. I think fuchsia is just as bright as tourmaline but somehow you expect fuchsia to be bright. Blue is supposed to be a cool, calm color.

I don't have a UV Tanner. I have the UV haircalf Candace which is a different purple than regular UV. I don't know why they have the same color name. The haircalf is slightly bluer and not as neon.
I was so close to buying tourmaline Molly at the outlet. I wasn't sure, both about the color and the style, so I let it go.

Someone asked if the duffles soften up with use. This one is very soft!
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So are you saying that when you mix it with conditioner, it comes off with the second coat? I've never been able to figure out why you have so much trouble because it's just been so stinkin' easy for me to use! I've never mixed it with conditioner, I just put it on straight with one of those wedge make up sponges. I use really light coats, one time I bought the little round foam sponges they sell and I felt like it put on too thick of a coat so I went back to the make up sponges. I have washed bags after using it and it does NOT come off. If you are thinking of trying it on the corners I would use it first and then dunk it-just my guess on what would work best having tried both methods.

I've mixed acrylic paint with conditioner and Fiebings with conditioner and it worked really well, but I'm pretty much sold on the leather refinisher as being the easiest to use in both cases. I'm still not sure it's what you need though for this bag. It's mixable according to the seller but I've never tried it and it needs just a little more blue to be a perfect match for Tourmaline.

Anyway, it sounds like unfortunately the Legacy bags wear as I would have expected from what you're saying, they are brown underneath when they scratch. :(
 
#9,035
whateve said:
Wow, amazing transformation! I can't believe you got results like that without a bath.
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Thanks! She'd held her shape pretty well and the leather was still overall plump with only superficial wear and dryness so I nixed the bath to see what would happen and voila! You ladies really taught me well :cutesy:

Zealous said:
Well done! I like the difference of the before & after shots. 'After' looks sleek & mysterious! ;)
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Thank you, ha ha I love that description, yes so sleek & mysterious, as much in person as in the pic! I just can't stop staring at her!!!
 
#9,036
Here's how my '96 Essex briefcase 5274 has come out so far. I do want to keep a lot of the vintage look, because I think vintage briefcases are interesting. I'm not sure if I want to do anything else, or stop here. I think it's crossed the line from junky to vintagey.
 

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#9,038
ChevaliereNoir said:
Here's how my '96 Essex briefcase 5274 has come out so far. I do want to keep a lot of the vintage look, because I think vintage briefcases are interesting. I'm not sure if I want to do anything else, or stop here. I think it's crossed the line from junky to vintagey.
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It looks great! I'm with you on keeping the old leather vintage looking.
 
#9,039
ledobe said:
So are you saying that when you mix it with conditioner, it comes off with the second coat? I've never been able to figure out why you have so much trouble because it's just been so stinkin' easy for me to use! I've never mixed it with conditioner, I just put it on straight with one of those wedge make up sponges. I use really light coats, one time I bought the little round foam sponges they sell and I felt like it put on too thick of a coat so I went back to the make up sponges. I have washed bags after using it and it does NOT come off. If you are thinking of trying it on the corners I would use it first and then dunk it-just my guess on what would work best having tried both methods.

I've mixed acrylic paint with conditioner and Fiebings with conditioner and it worked really well, but I'm pretty much sold on the leather refinisher as being the easiest to use in both cases. I'm still not sure it's what you need though for this bag. It's mixable according to the seller but I've never tried it and it needs just a little more blue to be a perfect match for Tourmaline.

Anyway, it sounds like unfortunately the Legacy bags wear as I would have expected from what you're saying, they are brown underneath when they scratch. :(
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I think it may have happened even when I didn't mix it with conditioner.

I have the light blue refinisher so if I get the turquoise, I can mix a little in.

Did you see the rant that sacsmagnifiques had about Leather Refinisher?

I'm carrying my sunflower duffle today and I noticed one of the corners is showing wear. I used Blackrocks on it when I got it. I guess I should have done another coat recently.
 
#9,041
BexDC said:
Gorgeous and classy.
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Thank you!

ledobe said:
It looks great! I'm with you on keeping the old leather vintage looking.
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Thank you! I dunno why, but I like briefcases with a little bit of character.

whateve said:
I think it looks great! Are you going to use it?
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Thank you! Yep, but I don't know what for yet. It's a little too small for my laptop, but it's too cool not to use somehow. :supacool:
 
#9,042
whateve said:
I think it may have happened even when I didn't mix it with conditioner.

I have the light blue refinisher so if I get the turquoise, I can mix a little in.

Did you see the rant that sacsmagnifiques had about Leather Refinisher?

I'm carrying my sunflower duffle today and I noticed one of the corners is showing wear. I used Blackrocks on it when I got it. I guess I should have done another coat recently.
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Deb and I have had that conversation here and I totally agree with her. I think I am more tolerant of a few spots and wear on vintage leather than a lot of people here, I almost prefer it. I love to see the history of the bag. I've only used it on bags that *I* wouldn't carry and that's saying a lot! I also only use very light coats and I think that makes a huge difference compared to slathering it on.

And I would never use it or any other dye or filler on a bag that was going to be sold, especially without disclosing. It has saved some of my fave bags like my burgundy courier that I tried everything else on and nothing worked. The match was so close to coach leather color that I just did part of the flap and even a couple years later you still can't tell

Unfortunately I have a feeling the new legacy leather has a similar finish and is also missing the drum dying that makes the old leathers ok even if they are scratched because they're dyed all the way through.
 
#9,043
ForeverInPink said:
Hello ladies, it has been a while since I have visited this thread! I was browsing at my favorite vintage second hand store today and picked up this lovely lady for only $29. She's a 2005 Classic City and overall in great condition, just a little dry and thirsty with some worn spots. No need for a bath but I did condition her with leather CPR and then buffed with Blackrocks. The change was so striking that I just couldn't resist sharing [emoji4] Here are the before and after pics:

View attachment 3001783

View attachment 3001784
Click to expand...
Great job!
 
#9,045
ledobe said:
Deb and I have had that conversation here and I totally agree with her. I think I am more tolerant of a few spots and wear on vintage leather than a lot of people here, I almost prefer it. I love to see the history of the bag. I've only used it on bags that *I* wouldn't carry and that's saying a lot! I also only use very light coats and I think that makes a huge difference compared to slathering it on.

And I would never use it or any other dye or filler on a bag that was going to be sold, especially without disclosing. It has saved some of my fave bags like my burgundy courier that I tried everything else on and nothing worked. The match was so close to coach leather color that I just did part of the flap and even a couple years later you still can't tell

Unfortunately I have a feeling the new legacy leather has a similar finish and is also missing the drum dying that makes the old leathers ok even if they are scratched because they're dyed all the way through.
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I wish I had a sample in yellow so I could do my sunflower duffle first, since it is such a small area. If it works well, maybe I should get some for my fuchsia duffle.

ETA: do you have a problem with it drying before you get the next section done? Do you wipe it with water afterward? It is supposed to reduce the shine.
 
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