Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
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I'm not sure I'm the best for advice since I live in a desert and usually try to slow the drying process. I put dry towels inside the bag to help keep its shape. The towels will get damp as they absorb moisture from the bag. I would periodically replace the towels with dry ones to speed the drying process. Also replace the towel it is laying on to a dry one. As you do that, you should also turn the bag from one side up to the other. These should all help speed the drying.
In addition to AggieK's great suggestions, you could use a gentle fan to move the air around it.
Ladies, I would appreciate your ideas.
I found this small wallet at Goodwill and for $4.00, I took the risk of not being able to help it. I don't know what the green stains are.
Anything I could do to clean or at least improve its condition? I know... patent leather is not an easy material to work with, but you never know.... I tried Coach leather cleaner, fabric cleaner, regular dish washing soap and alcohol with no luck.
I found this small wallet at Goodwill and for $4.00, I took the risk of not being able to help it. I don't know what the green stains are.
Anything I could do to clean or at least improve its condition? I know... patent leather is not an easy material to work with, but you never know.... I tried Coach leather cleaner, fabric cleaner, regular dish washing soap and alcohol with no luck.
Probably nothing will work. When patent leather gets stained, somehow the stain gets under the glossy finish. You would have to use something strong enough to remove the gloss. That's weird that it is green. I think it is possible that it was actually bleached out and that caused the color to change from blue to green. Your best bet would be to paint over it.Ladies, I would appreciate your ideas.
I found this small wallet at Goodwill and for $4.00, I took the risk of not being able to help it. I don't know what the green stains are.
Anything I could do to clean or at least improve its condition? I know... patent leather is not an easy material to work with, but you never know.... I tried Coach leather cleaner, fabric cleaner, regular dish washing soap and alcohol with no luck.
I was thinking also that could be bleach stained. I will follow your advice and get some glossy paint to try to cover it. Not really a big deal if I fail.
Thank you for your input.
also in addition to Aggie's good ideas (and also note, I too, live in a desert)...after a certain point the leather is dry enough that it is no longer floppy, and at that point I removed the towels so the air can dry the inside of the bag. The bag might also be dry enough to safely hang at this point and if that works with the style it will dry a little faster. When the bag is completely dry you can restuff to keep it's shape.
I live in an area where it's humid a majority of the time and I use a fan on low/medium to help my bags dry. I also turn them and change towels frequently. [emoji4]
Hi friends!
I just won this duffel on eBay, which never happens cuz I'm so bad at bidding haha. It just came in the mail, and I'm bordering on having some buyer's remorse...haven't quite decided yet. It's generally in great shape, except for one side has a bunch of little rips [maybe from cat scratches?] I'm not expecting mint condition or anything, since I did get it used and should expect some scuffs, and probably should've looked closer before bidding, but would love to know what yours thoughts are or if it's worth keeping [or even rehabbing somehow...?]
Thanks for thinking this thru with me!
I just won this duffel on eBay, which never happens cuz I'm so bad at bidding haha. It just came in the mail, and I'm bordering on having some buyer's remorse...haven't quite decided yet. It's generally in great shape, except for one side has a bunch of little rips [maybe from cat scratches?] I'm not expecting mint condition or anything, since I did get it used and should expect some scuffs, and probably should've looked closer before bidding, but would love to know what yours thoughts are or if it's worth keeping [or even rehabbing somehow...?]
Thanks for thinking this thru with me!
It seemed like a great deal at the time! I think the wallet alone is worth what you paid.
If you decide to keep it, I think you can repair those rips with leather cement but I'm not sure how well it will come out. I've had some that came out so good you couldn't ever tell there was anything there and other times, I couldn't get it to look good at all. The main thing is to get all those little flaps to lie down.
At least it's only on one side. You can keep that side to the inside. And it is darker color so it doesn't stand out so much.
The seller didn't mention this at all in her listing, saying it's in good condition. Even though there is a photo, that is damage, not general wear, so you definitely have cause to return it if you decide to.
I have been following a fellow collectors rehab of a musette that has similar damage- deeper cracking all over. She is using leather cement and toothpicks or needles to slide leather glue under each little flap. Tedious work, but totally worth it. I think you could do the same, and you'd have a good bag, especially with the wallet, for a great price. And, like Cyndy said, it's a dark bag so it shouldn't show too terribly after conditioning. Good Luck!
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Ladies, I would appreciate your ideas.
I found this small wallet at Goodwill and for $4.00, I took the risk of not being able to help it. I don't know what the green stains are.
Anything I could do to clean or at least improve its condition? I know... patent leather is not an easy material to work with, but you never know.... I tried Coach leather cleaner, fabric cleaner, regular dish washing soap and alcohol with no luck.
I think this might be color loss too. Here's a blog post I found where the gal dyed a tan patent Louis Vuitton wallet black. Might help. Your wallet is really cute!(Mods please delete if this kind of link isn't permitted)
http://frumptofabdesign.blogspot.com/2012/11/dye-patent-leather.html