Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

You are correct, the bag is NOT vachetta; it's glove tanned. Super soft and supple. It has a very natural, fleshy feel to it (and scratches very easily). It's been dyed (I presume) to the 'Whiskey' color you see. I'll google the burnishing you mentioned to see if I can find any info on achieving a deeper cleaning of this particular leather. It's such a beautiful bag, and I hate that the green gunk is basically ruining the hardware and all of the leather surrounding it. What is that stuff?
I've dunked a burnished leather lined bag with no problems. If you can't remove the hardware to clean it then use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda and a soft toothbrush, then dunk your bag.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    922.8 KB · Views: 301
Hi everyone! Total newbie here. I'm working on my first rehab, a basic black station bag. I'm super excited and nervous. The bag has been dunked and is drying though I wasn't able to pry off the turnlock. (It's on so tight, it wouldn't come loose even with a knife!:sad:) I want to polish the hardware with brasso, like just about everyone has suggested. However, when I went to buy a bottle on amazon, the rating from the reviews have gone down, with most people saying how the formulation has changed. Anyone have any ideas about this or suggestions of what to buy instead? Thanks in advance!

Wenol, can be found on Amazon. Just a tiny dab cleans a lot of brass plus it is supposed to leave a protective coating. It has the consistency of toothpaste. I apply with an eye shadow brush. I usually use extra fine steel wool on the turnlock and other brass parts, then Wenol.
Zippers, I use polishing pads:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/18160832274...49&var=480565023096&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
 
Scotchbrite pads can help remove verdigris and crud on brass. This week I found an old strap at a garage sale for a Dooney AWL bag and cleaned it with baking soda and vinegar then used the pad to remove the stubborn stuff on the buckle. It worked well. I had to use a small mascara brush to scrub the leather that was discolored from the verdigris. It helped remove some of it.
 
Good Afternoon rehabbers!

I just got this authenticated on the Authentication thread (Bonnie's Legacy Suede Bucket). This has already been dunked and the smooth leather has been CPR'd. Suede has been brushed with my fingernail brush. So, there is this line on the suede on both sides about a half inch down from the top of the bag. Any suggestions as what to do about it? It doesn't seem to be dirt, but I can't really say what it might be. I have included a link to an Etsy listing of the exact same bag with the exact same marking. (not my listing nor my bag)

Also, is there any suggestions to brighten the suede coloring? It looks kind of faded or dingy to me, yet the smooth leather looks nearly perfect.


Links:





Etsy purse (not mine).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199612..._campaign=us_location_buyer&utm_content=85386
 
Hey there! So, cleaning and conditioning burnished legacy bags? What do you guys suggest. I'm a dunk only if absolutely necessary kind of person (sorry if that grosses any one out).

But, I have a variety of cleaners and conditioners. But, I also love the patina leather gets over time.

This backpack is clean, just scratched up.
 

Attachments

  • 1435266208952.jpg
    1435266208952.jpg
    58.6 KB · Views: 272
  • 1435266225055.jpg
    1435266225055.jpg
    69.1 KB · Views: 271
Good Afternoon rehabbers!

I just got this authenticated on the Authentication thread (Bonnie's Legacy Suede Bucket). This has already been dunked and the smooth leather has been CPR'd. Suede has been brushed with my fingernail brush. So, there is this line on the suede on both sides about a half inch down from the top of the bag. Any suggestions as what to do about it? It doesn't seem to be dirt, but I can't really say what it might be. I have included a link to an Etsy listing of the exact same bag with the exact same marking. (not my listing nor my bag)

Also, is there any suggestions to brighten the suede coloring? It looks kind of faded or dingy to me, yet the smooth leather looks nearly perfect.


Links:





Etsy purse (not mine).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199612..._campaign=us_location_buyer&utm_content=85386
I think it is glue bleeding through. I don't think there is anything you can do about it.
 
Good Afternoon rehabbers!

I just got this authenticated on the Authentication thread (Bonnie's Legacy Suede Bucket). This has already been dunked and the smooth leather has been CPR'd. Suede has been brushed with my fingernail brush. So, there is this line on the suede on both sides about a half inch down from the top of the bag. Any suggestions as what to do about it? It doesn't seem to be dirt, but I can't really say what it might be. I have included a link to an Etsy listing of the exact same bag with the exact same marking. (not my listing nor my bag)

Also, is there any suggestions to brighten the suede coloring? It looks kind of faded or dingy to me, yet the smooth leather looks nearly perfect.


Links:





Etsy purse (not mine).

https://www.etsy.com/listing/199612..._campaign=us_location_buyer&utm_content=85386

I think it is glue bleeding through. I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

In agreement with whateve on this. A lot of purses from this line have this issue.
 
Wenol, can be found on Amazon. Just a tiny dab cleans a lot of brass plus it is supposed to leave a protective coating. It has the consistency of toothpaste. I apply with an eye shadow brush. I usually use extra fine steel wool on the turnlock and other brass parts, then Wenol.
Zippers, I use polishing pads:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/18160832274...49&var=480565023096&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Thanks for the suggestions ladies, I'll definitely look into the wenol and vinegar+baking soda. I actually have some polishing cloths, but they're for silver. Any idea if using silver polishing cloths will damage brass? Also, when I did a board search for disinfecting the bag, the responses seemed to say that using Lysol wipes was ok on the glove tanned leather. I don't have Lysol, but I have non-bleach Clorox wipes. Any idea if that will hurt the bag?

Thanks again for all your help! :D
 
Hey there! So, cleaning and conditioning burnished legacy bags? What do you guys suggest. I'm a dunk only if absolutely necessary kind of person (sorry if that grosses any one out).

But, I have a variety of cleaners and conditioners. But, I also love the patina leather gets over time.

This backpack is clean, just scratched up.
Very nice! I'd use Leather Therapy and Black Rock. The LT will make it darker so leave it until it's really soaked in and lightened up again before buffing and BR.
 
Hi everyone! Total newbie here. I'm working on my first rehab, a basic black station bag. I'm super excited and nervous. The bag has been dunked and is drying though I wasn't able to pry off the turnlock. (It's on so tight, it wouldn't come loose even with a knife!:sad:) I want to polish the hardware with brasso, like just about everyone has suggested. However, when I went to buy a bottle on amazon, the rating from the reviews have gone down, with most people saying how the formulation has changed. Anyone have any ideas about this or suggestions of what to buy instead? Thanks in advance!

I've used Brasso on a few of my bags successfully. Does a great job of removing tarnish and adding gleam back to your hardware...unless it's brass plated. Not sure what to use on brass plating. Good luck!

I've never encountered a tabbed turn lock that couldn't be removed. Bass is very malleable so it's a matter of finding something thin enough to get under the tabs to prise them up. It really is the best way to polish the brass and to clean off the verdigris that is underneath. It also eliminates the risk of damaging the leather around it. I use Brasso to remove the tarnish then super fine steel wool to polish. Most Coach hardware is brass plated, and has a sealant to prevent tarnishing but it breaks down over time and the turn lock looks blotchy. The 'steel wooling' removes the sealant.

There's no way I could have cleaned this turn lock without removing it!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    313.7 KB · Views: 283
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ava_13579
This is all super helpful!!

Working on my first rehab project (coach city bag) and got a little overzealous with trying to get the conditioner in all the surfaces of the bag. I have a question about the unfinished/suede side-in the process of moisturizing it, I got some leather conditioner on the suede side that's right next to it. Now I the suede side is a little "flatter" so to speak. Does anyone know what I should do to revive the unfinished side? Should I start all over with another bath to get conditioner out (even though I've already dunked it and used a ton of conditioner on the finished surfaces and would hate to have wasted that whole process!) ? Any help would be much appreciated!!
 
Last edited:
This is all super helpful!!

Working on my first rehab project (coach city bag) and got a little overzealous with trying to get the conditioner in all the surfaces of the bag. I have a question about the unfinished/suede side-in the process of moisturizing it, I got some leather conditioner on the suede side that's right next to it. Now I the suede side is a little "flatter" so to speak. Does anyone know what I should do to revive the unfinished side? Should I start all over with another bath to get conditioner out (even though I've already dunked it and used a ton of conditioner on the finished surfaces and would hate to have wasted that whole process!) ? Any help would be much appreciated!!
I think the conditioner will eventually wear off the suede and it will revive if you do nothing. I've had this happen before and I've lightly sanded it.
 
I've dunked a burnished leather lined bag with no problems. If you can't remove the hardware to clean it then use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda and a soft toothbrush, then dunk your bag.

Wow, that turned out great! I love the older Bleekr bags. Did this one have the striped satin legacy lining by any chance? I'm still on the fence about dunking mine - I've dunked others without issue, but it's the lining in this one that I'm worried about. (Then again, I looked at the lining in daylight this week and it really needs a good cleaning too). To dunk or not to dunk? I know myself and I'll probably end up dunking. Like a GlobetrotterI :D
 
Top