Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[shannonmarie]

What a shame! Since you got it for free and it is so badly soiled and smells bad I would go ahead and try running it through the washing machine.

I was bummed when I opened the box I was really excited to have another Leigh. I will try the washer and see if it helps the stink. Thank you for your advice, I am still hopeful she can be saved.

 

[whateve]

Several new projects, all of which were authenticated today.

This one just needs to be cleaned. i think I can fix the wear on the edges with Blackrocks.

This one has a sticky kind of stain on the bottom, but I hope it will come out with a dunk and some bushing. I love those dusty 1990s colors. Anyone know what this color is called in the Sonoma line?

Not sure why I bought this one, except for being a sucker for small, cute bags. Will probably give it as a present.

Great bags! The Sonoma color looks like elderberry.

 

[tek_kee]

Hi all,

I am now on another rehab project, a Watson bag which I got for ard usd10 with shipping. she has abit of musty smell to it, so I gave her a bath thinking the smell might go away after. But now as she is drying, the smell got worst. So bad I am considering to re-dunk her.

I have read the earlier threads that some of you did a bath with vinegar for smelly bags. May I know how much vinegar should I mix with the water (warm?) and do I have to rinse again after that? Will a 15 minutes dunk in the vinegar water mix be enough? Do appreciate some advise. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sonoma]

Several new projects, all of which were authenticated today.

This one just needs to be cleaned. i think I can fix the wear on the edges with Blackrocks.

This one has a sticky kind of stain on the bottom, but I hope it will come out with a dunk and some bushing. I love those dusty 1990s colors. Anyone know what this color is called in the Sonoma line?

Not sure why I bought this one, except for being a sucker for small, cute bags. Will probably give it as a present.

Great find, and I love that Sonoma nubuc elderberry color! Haven't had the courage to try rehabbing nubuc yet - please let us know how it turns out.

 

[whateve]

Hi all,

I am now on another rehab project, a Watson bag which I got for ard usd10 with shipping. she has abit of musty smell to it, so I gave her a bath thinking the smell might go away after. But now as she is drying, the smell got worst. So bad I am considering to re-dunk her.

I have read the earlier threads that some of you did a bath with vinegar for smelly bags. May I know how much vinegar should I mix with the water (warm?) and do I have to rinse again after that? Will a 15 minutes dunk in the vinegar water mix be enough? Do appreciate some advise. Thanks in advance!

I have no idea how much vinegar is the right amount. Vinegar is helpful in killing mold spores if that is what is causing the smell. Often if the smell gets worse after a bath it is because the moisture of the bath has fed the mildew. You can also wipe the bag down with alcohol to kill the mold. Placing it in the sun helps.

 

[whateve]

I have a few bags that have spots that need to be covered up. Two 2012 Legacy duffles and a swingpack from within the last 10 years. Leather Refinisher doesn't seem to work well on these leathers so I'm thinking about trying something else. Maybe Meltonian? Any suggestions?

 

[Sonoma]

Hi all,

I am now on another rehab project, a Watson bag which I got for ard usd10 with shipping. she has abit of musty smell to it, so I gave her a bath thinking the smell might go away after. But now as she is drying, the smell got worst. So bad I am considering to re-dunk her.

I have read the earlier threads that some of you did a bath with vinegar for smelly bags. May I know how much vinegar should I mix with the water (warm?) and do I have to rinse again after that? Will a 15 minutes dunk in the vinegar water mix be enough? Do appreciate some advise. Thanks in advance!

Hi tek_kee

I had the same thing happen with a light colored vintage Sonoma pebbled leather that reeked of cigarettes after the first bath.

I soaked it again in 3 parts body temperature water/1 part white distilled vinegar until the leather was completely, evenly wet. I rinsed the lining only, blotted the bag then stuffed and let it dry, and the smell seemed much better. (I was going to spray with fabreeze next, but lost my nerve.) I conditioned it with Blackrock, and the smell seems to be gone.

One thing I would do differently (on a sonoma anyway) is not soak the strap as long as the bag, I think the water it made it buckle a bit.

Hope that helps!

 

[tek_kee]

Thanks whateve and Sonoma for your replies. I have tried Febreeze spray and wiping it on the unlined part of the leather but doesn't seem to work so I think I will attempt a bath with vinegar and hopefully it will work.

 

[ledobe]

I have a few bags that have spots that need to be covered up. Two 2012 Legacy duffles and a swingpack from within the last 10 years. Leather Refinisher doesn't seem to work well on these leathers so I'm thinking about trying something else. Maybe Meltonian? Any suggestions?

This isn't going to be much help, but I had a Cobalt Candace with some fading and a minor scuff. I matched it with Meltonian and it was a perfect match. It looked better but didn't really cover anything. On the plus side it seems pretty permanent and bonded with the leather. I doubt it would rub off at all.

What colors are you trying to cover?

 

[ledobe]

What a shame! Since you got it for free and it is so badly soiled and smells bad I would go ahead and try running it through the washing machine. Put it in a net laundry bag, or tie it up in a pillow case when you wash it. I have used Woolite to successfully machine wash leather goods, but you might consider buying Leather Therapy's leather laundry products. They come in 4 oz, 20 oz, and 1 gallon sizes. Below is a link for the 4 oz set.

I would not put it in the dryer. Stuff it with clean rags or old towels and let it air dry while sitting on a towel. Turn it and change position during the drying. You can apply conditioner lightly during the drying process to slow it down and reduce spotting. But use the conditioner lightly, you don't want any stains bleeding through to that beautiful striped lining.

After a day or so, remove the towels, maintain the desired shape, but pull the lining out a far as you can so that it will dry. Again turn it and consider a light application of conditioner during drying.

After it dries, if there is some spottiness or unevenness of color, using Blackrock's Leather n Rich cream and then buffing it with a brush or soft cloth usually helps even out the color.

I would be careful about trying to polish the hardware. The 65th legacy bags are supposed to have dull-looking "antique" hardware. You may not like it at first but you can get used to it. I did!

You might just try rubbing it vigorously with a dry jewelers cloth to burnish it a bit. I once had to polish the hardware on a small legacy wristlet because it was badly scratched and I had no choice. It was a lot of work and I needed to use a dremel power tool to get rid of the scratches. It came out bright and shiny but that's not the natural look for this line of products.

There's a lot of hardware on that Leigh bag and I would leave it alone as much as possible unless it has verdigris or some other serious condition issues. Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Thera...75583&sr=8-3&keywords=leather+therapy+laundry

Since I've worked on Legacy bags in this color, I would second whateve's suggestions (if you haven't already done it, I'm behind on reading this thread).

I would probably soak it in the sink for awhile instead of washing it in the machine, as they get HEAVY when they are wet. What causes spotting issues with this leather is that it is so thick it sometimes drys unevenly. One of my bags ended up with some minor spots on the bottom but with conditioning and BlackRocks they are barely noticeable. I really think any burnishing on the leather just adds to the beauty in these colors...sigh, I want to carry one of mine right now just thinking about it!

I dunked a natural Mandy and a Legacy Satchel, if you search the thread there might be a few more details about what I did. The Mandy might be in the old thread but pretty sure it's recent enough to be here.

 

[whateve]

This isn't going to be much help, but I had a Cobalt Candace with some fading and a minor scuff. I matched it with Meltonian and it was a perfect match. It looked better but didn't really cover anything. On the plus side it seems pretty permanent and bonded with the leather. I doubt it would rub off at all.

What colors are you trying to cover?

That's not good news. The reason I was thinking about Meltonian was partly because they seem to make a lot of colors. My fuchsia duffle has corner wear and some blueish spots. Leather Refinisher didn't cover at all; I'm not sure why. I think it made the worn areas darker and more apparent than they were before, like I had just applied water to them. I can't figure out what I can use that will actually cover this kind of the leather. The other duffle is the tourmaline. I haven't actually tried the Refinisher on it yet so it is possible it could work, but since it made a mess of the fuchsia, I'm a little afraid to try it. The swingpack is a cream color. Leather Refinisher works but doesn't cover the spots completely.

 

[ledobe]

That's not good news. The reason I was thinking about Meltonian was partly because they seem to make a lot of colors. My fuchsia duffle has corner wear and some blueish spots. Leather Refinisher didn't cover at all; I'm not sure why. I think it made the worn areas darker and more apparent than they were before, like I had just applied water to them. I can't figure out what I can use that will actually cover this kind of the leather. The other duffle is the tourmaline. I haven't actually tried the Refinisher on it yet so it is possible it could work, but since it made a mess of the fuchsia, I'm a little afraid to try it. The swingpack is a cream color. Leather Refinisher works but doesn't cover the spots completely.

I almost guessed what colors you were looking for (and I would have been right!). Meh, I wish I had more suggestions, but I don't. Can you post pix of the Fuschia? I'm curious what it did.

 

[Bucketbagger]

Great bags! The Sonoma color looks like elderberry.

Thanks. Rehabbing Nubuc was a bit different than glove leather; it involved a bunch of gentle scrubbing with a tooth brush. I think it came out OK. The sticky stain on the bottom is pretty much gone. I can tell where it was, but if you didn't know, you probably couldn't. Here's the before and after.

 

[Sonoma]

Thanks. Rehabbing Nubuc was a bit different than glove leather; it involved a bunch of gentle scrubbing with a tooth brush. I think it came out OK. The sticky stain on the bottom is pretty much gone. I can tell where it was, but if you didn't know, you probably couldn't. Here's the before and after.

Nice job - and such a pretty color.
Did you wash the bag and then scrub with the toothbrush when wet?
Or just worked on it dry?

 

[Bucketbagger]

Nice job - and such a pretty color.
Did you wash the bag and then scrub with the toothbrush when wet?
Or just worked on it dry?

Thanks! I did both. Toothbrush when wet. Finishing off the stain by buffing with a paper towel when dry.