Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[Almmac]

When I first started to read this thread, I remember reading only dunk your bags for about 15 mins. I have been doing that all along and never had that problem.

I believe three hours in water was definitely too long, specially if starting with hot water. You should be able to fix it with the paint.

I agree that 3 hours must have been too long. Next time I will try for 15 mins and make a paste with the OxyClean and apply that to the stained areas with a brush before soaking. I've had really good results doing that. Thanks for the info!

 

[Almmac]

Was that a pun?

A bad one.

I have rehabbed a two-tone bag, a black Dinky with British Tan trim. I had to clean off a layer of shoe polish with acetone before I dunked it, so the poor bag had really been through chemical "stress."

It came out fine, no bleeding. The piping is slightly darker overall, but I think that would have happened anyway.

http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=29892090&postcount=10663

Great job on the bag!

It might help to see a picture of the bag you're asking about, since different types of leather behave differently.

Here are some pics. It's a D&B, all weather leather. I know it doesn't look too bad but the inside is pretty dirty and it's from a thrift store so it will need to be cleaned. The edging is almost gone on the straps too. I think the strap that can be detached will be pretty easy. I'm getting a lot of practice on edging. The main problem will be color matching. I need a product that will be at least as good as edge kote. You would think by now there would be a better product for edging. Something that stands the test of time and doesn't crack or peel. Edging is a problem with for even the most well cared for purses.

 

[Almmac]

Is the navy part fabric or leather? Coach fabrics, even dark or bright, are mostly colorfast (not saying all of them though). I just successfully machine washed fabric Ashley hippie with bright floral pattern. With dark colored leather it's much riskier, but you probably know that already. Let us know how Tandy Edging works when you're done. On Edge Kote it doesn't say you need 8 layers or so, but some of us know otherwise

It's not a Coach so I hesitated to post on this thread but it will need some restoration. I posted pics. I am excited to have found the Tandy edging but I wonder if it will be similar to the Feibing's products. I believe they make an edge kote in neutral too and I'm sure it can be mixed with acrylics. I probably should have ordered that to begin with and then I would know the answer to all these questions. I guess the only way to know for sure is to try it out. There is a learning curve in purse restoration. From now on I am going to try to buy products that can be altered to suit any job because I've already filled a cleaning tote with leather products and a large art supply box with paints, glues, mediums, cements, Edge Kote, and resolene. I'm running out of room and still haven't finished a single bag. Still waiting on the dye to come in for my major project. The edging is looking ok now after many coats (lost count). No cracks or bare places and mostly smooth. It's still not perfect but I will work on it until I can get as close to perfect as possible.

 

[catthecurious]

It's not a Coach so I hesitated to post on this thread but it will need some restoration. I posted pics. I am excited to have found the Tandy edging but I wonder if it will be similar to the Feibing's products. I believe they make an edge kote in neutral too and I'm sure it can be mixed with acrylics. I probably should have ordered that to begin with and then I would know the answer to all these questions. I guess the only way to know for sure is to try it out. There is a learning curve in purse restoration. From now on I am going to try to buy products that can be altered to suit any job because I've already filled a cleaning tote with leather products and a large art supply box with paints, glues, mediums, cements, Edge Kote, and resolene. I'm running out of room and still haven't finished a single bag. Still waiting on the dye to come in for my major project. The edging is looking ok now after many coats (lost count). No cracks or bare places and mostly smooth. It's still not perfect but I will work on it until I can get as close to perfect as possible.

Oh, I see - you and I have the same disease, perfectionism. That's exhausting and you (I'm talking about myself) are never happy with the result and think it could be done better. Sorry, don't have any experience with Dooneys, but maybe there's someone here who's washed a similar vintage Coach bag like Sheridan? As for using universal products, I'm still learning that, and so far it's mostly working with acrylics - I figured you can get almost any color by mixing basic ones, it actually can be a lot of fun, the only problem, since I usually experiment with small amounts, they become dry too soon and if you need several layers and let them dry in between, you have to do it all over again and sometimes it's impossible to get the same result. Yes, Fiebing makes Edge Kote in neutral, I recently bought it on eBay for just under $8 with shipping, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[LondonUK]

So, I had to post this as a laugh. LOOK at the condition of this bag and they have the nerve to say gently used but in excellent condition you have to be kidding me. Here you go ladies, it's a nice rehab project for someone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-COA...194004?hash=item2a62cc7954:g:lzIAAOSwv9hW264y

 

[Almmac]

So, I had to post this as a laugh. LOOK at the condition of this bag and they have the nerve to say gently used but in excellent condition you have to be kidding me. Here you go ladies, it's a nice rehab project for someone!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-COA...194004?hash=item2a62cc7954:g:lzIAAOSwv9hW264y

LOL! The only thing that looks gently used about that bag is the tag, and it doesn't look like it matches the bag. Probably added on later. Definitely a project purse.

 

[Almmac]

Oh, I see - you and I have the same disease, perfectionism. That's exhausting and you (I'm talking about myself) are never happy with the result and think it could be done better. Sorry, don't have any experience with Dooneys, but maybe there's someone here who's washed a similar vintage Coach bag like Sheridan? As for using universal products, I'm still learning that, and so far it's mostly working with acrylics - I figured you can get almost any color by mixing basic ones, it actually can be a lot of fun, the only problem, since I usually experiment with small amounts, they become dry too soon and if you need several layers and let them dry in between, you have to do it all over again and sometimes it's impossible to get the same result. Yes, Fiebing makes Edge Kote in neutral, I recently bought it on eBay for just under $8 with shipping, but haven't tried it yet.

I agree. Perfectionism is very draining and sometimes leads to projects going very slowly due to getting stuck on a single detail. I'll end up working on that one detail over and over and over. On the positive side, it's great when it finally turns out right. Let me know how the Feibing's works and I'll try the Tandy on the next purse and let ya'll know how it goes. It's supposed to have a thicker viscosity than the other edgings so I think that could be a very good thing.

 

[Ravvie99]

I have not been here in a while, but today I wanted to stop and thank whoever first shared the tip to using this product, because it helped to make a very nice (not as new of course) difference on my scratched brass hardware.

I tried Brasso first that cleaned it but made no difference in appearance, then sanded it very slightly and applied the Rub'n Buff.

Pictures of the before and after and the product itself. Thank you!

Thanks for this! I've been eyeing that product, wondering if it might make badly tarnished or scratched brass plated hardware look better than just lightly polishing it with other stuff. Think I'll try it now!

 

[Ravvie99]

A bad one.

Great job on the bag!


Here are some pics. It's a D&B, all weather leather. I know it doesn't look too bad but the inside is pretty dirty and it's from a thrift store so it will need to be cleaned. The edging is almost gone on the straps too. I think the strap that can be detached will be pretty easy. I'm getting a lot of practice on edging. The main problem will be color matching. I need a product that will be at least as good as edge kote. You would think by now there would be a better product for edging. Something that stands the test of time and doesn't crack or peel. Edging is a problem with for even the most well cared for purses.

I dunked a Dooney Spectator that same two tone with no bleeding *except* the bottom lining piece. Recommend taking out the glued in suede bottom piece (if yours has that) and washing that separately b/c it likely has a cardboard layer sandwiched between so you don't want to soak it and warp it (learned that somewhere in here!) and that bottom piece did bleed dye. I dried it between heavy books to prevent warping. FWIW I also did get some big long wrinkle lines in the outside AWL parts after dunking even though I was careful with stuffing and rotating while drying.

 

[Ravvie99]

I guess I'm volunteering to be the guinea pig to see how it does over time! I don't think it has any tarnish protection built in so I expect to repolish And yes it's mint green out of the bottle! Since it's non-toxic, I bet it may struggle on hardware with a lot of verdigris or lacquer/sealant. I'd just try Brasso first and then Flitz for those. We'll see how it goes but boy are my hands thanking me right now...

Well don't throw away your steel wool just yet. As suspected, Flitz won't take off varnish/sealant on brass hardware. But I don't think Brasso does that well either and Flitz still gives a shinier finish after the varnish is off. Flitz is still a keeper, though not a silver bullet, IMHO.

 

[Catbird9]

Hey now! I wonder if that would work on this:

Rub'n Buff worked like a charm:

 

[Catbird9]

A bad one.

Great job on the bag!

Thank you!

Here are some pics. It's a D&B, all weather leather. I know it doesn't look too bad but the inside is pretty dirty and it's from a thrift store so it will need to be cleaned. The edging is almost gone on the straps too. I think the strap that can be detached will be pretty easy. I'm getting a lot of practice on edging. The main problem will be color matching. I need a product that will be at least as good as edge kote. You would think by now there would be a better product for edging. Something that stands the test of time and doesn't crack or peel. Edging is a problem with for even the most well cared for purses.

Sweet bag! I recently dunked a blue Dooney AWL Large Equestrian and was happy with the result.

http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=29709565&postcount=10470

I don't think you'll have any problems with yours. If it were mine I'd go easy on it, 15 minutes, lukewarm water, not much soap, use a nail brush to scrub the inside, the outside looks fine. Rinse well. Shape with towels (don't overstuff) to dry.

I think the neutral Edge Kote would work fine for the strap.

 

[catthecurious]

Rub'n Buff worked like a charm:

Amazing! Looks practically new. How does it work - does it remove whatever is left of varnish and then polishes the bare surface, or leaves leftover varnish, just cleans it and seals the cracks?

 

[catthecurious]

I have not been here in a while, but today I wanted to stop and thank whoever first shared the tip to using this product, because it helped to make a very nice (not as new of course) difference on my scratched brass hardware.

I tried Brasso first that cleaned it but made no difference in appearance, then sanded it very slightly and applied the Rub'n Buff.

Pictures of the before and after and the product itself. Thank you!

Thanks for the info! For those of us who don't faithfully follow this thread and physically can't go through two 700+ message links, posts like yours are priceless. Do you think the same shade will be good for a simple scratched-up brass turnlock on a vintage bag, not lacquered one? Also, I assume the leather around the lock has to be protected to avoid contact, right?

 

[Ravvie99]

Rub'n Buff worked like a charm:

Oh that is amazing! Definitely trying it now - woot!