Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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As an update, Flitz looks promising for taking off gnarly scratches on nickel hardware. Just tried it on this Donald Pliner before I risk it on a Soho tote. If only it could remove that pesky varnish coating on brass...
Wow, amazing! I have a Bleecker large flap that has heavy scratches on the (antiqued) brass buckle. I wonder if this would help.
I tried the Wood 'n Stuff Leather Refinish in black and was impressed! Now that I'm hooked, does anyone have advice on which LR colors might match these? Any feedback would be much appreciated! I'll report back if I'm able to wrangle combined shipping.

ETA: LR color chart : http://www.wood-n-stuff.com/leatheraidcolorchartbig.html

Reds:
Chili Carly (maybe Scarlet?)
Hampton demi bag. (Red?)
random non-Coach (Scarlet?)
Prairie (Red?)
Dinky and Basic Bag just for comparison

White:
off-white trim on Spectator City bag (maybe Cream?)
I have the scarlet. It's a darker red. Coach made two reds for vintage and 90s bags, and scarlet is a close match for the darker one. Your two darker bags look a little closer to burgundy. Maybe those are autumn red? Scarlet might match your Carly and possibly the Prairie. The red looks like it might be close to Coach's brighter red. Sometimes you have to mix. None of your bags look like they need much help.

I've only once used Leather Refinisher on an entire bag. The bag was covered with ink and was unusable the way it was, so I had nothing to lose. It is difficult to get it even but not as difficult as Fiebings dye. Most of the time I use the Refinisher sparingly. I've used it on faded bags or worn edges to refresh the color by mixing it with Lexol.

I rehabbed a spectator city bag. If I recall correctly, I use acrylic paint in the color called linen mixed with conditioner. I have Refinisher in vanilla. It is too yellow but it doesn't look like that chart. Most of the colors on that chart aren't accurate. I might think bone might be right. The bag isn't as white as you think.
 
Hello everyone!! I have this metro attaché/lap top bag. The overall finish is fine. The areas I need to address are a few light areas on the finish and the corners. So far, I have only given it a bath. Any suggestions? Opps! Pictures in the next post.
 
He ran out into traffic to get across the street and an off duty police officer went after him. He chased him for quite a distance but wasn't able to catch him. My knee was shredded quite a bit but I had my bag still. Funny thing wasi had just picked up some of my jewelry and had a fair amount of cash in there. I wasn't letting go of the handle for anything! :roflmfao:


Wow!! So glad you were reasonably ok!! Surely could've been worse. Too bad they didn't catch the b....bad guy.
 
I just wanted to share some info on one of my favorite tools that I use often in everyday life as well as for rehabbing vintage bags. Sorry if this has been posted before. It's Gingher embroidery scissors that are great for many uses - trimming hairy old leather straps before putting Edge Kote, cutting loose threads etc. They could be found on eBay for under $15 with shipping. Here're some pictures:
 

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Hello everyone!! I have this metro attaché/lap top bag. The overall finish is fine. The areas I need to address are a few light areas on the finish and the corners. So far, I have only given it a bath. Any suggestions? Opps! Pictures in the next post.

Doesn't look too bad. Leather CPR followed by Black Rock is what I would use.
 
I know some people around here have recommended it, but I recommend you think twice about using Wood-n-Stuff on vintage handbags that can be restored. It can ruin your vintage bag. I think it should only be used for bags that can't salvaged. Here's a post on Debi's blog:

http://sacsmagnifiques.com/2015/02/trends-bad-bad-bad-trends-wood-n-stuff-leather-refinisher.html

Thank you - as a newbie I appreciate your bringing up issues that I might not have considered. I hadn't seen her post, but have read some folks are conditioners-only restorers. I've been thinking of LR as a last resort after trying all spot removal and conditioners and trying to use only a teeny bit with conditioner on a small area. I will give this more thought.

Dumb question: I get why dyes like Tarrago that sit on top of the leather would be lumped in with acrylics, but what about penetrating oil dyes like Fiebings mixed with conditioner for touching up corners? Do those still smother leather/stitching? Or is it more about preserving the bag's original integrity? These are honest questions - I really do want to understand the risks of different restoration approaches better.
 
Wow, amazing! I have a Bleecker large flap that has heavy scratches on the (antiqued) brass buckle. I wonder if this would help.

I have the scarlet. It's a darker red. Coach made two reds for vintage and 90s bags, and scarlet is a close match for the darker one. Your two darker bags look a little closer to burgundy. Maybe those are autumn red? Scarlet might match your Carly and possibly the Prairie. The red looks like it might be close to Coach's brighter red. Sometimes you have to mix. None of your bags look like they need much help.

I've only once used Leather Refinisher on an entire bag. The bag was covered with ink and was unusable the way it was, so I had nothing to lose. It is difficult to get it even but not as difficult as Fiebings dye. Most of the time I use the Refinisher sparingly. I've used it on faded bags or worn edges to refresh the color by mixing it with Lexol.

I rehabbed a spectator city bag. If I recall correctly, I use acrylic paint in the color called linen mixed with conditioner. I have Refinisher in vanilla. It is too yellow but it doesn't look like that chart. Most of the colors on that chart aren't accurate. I might think bone might be right. The bag isn't as white as you think.

Thank you for the color tips! I might try the all-over on the non-Coach. Not positive I'll need to touch up any others but the Demi (pen mark) since I'm not finished conditioning them all yet. I just hate stopping a rehab to wait for products!

I'll see if I have some expendable antique brass hardware to try the Flitz on for you.
 
Thank you - as a newbie I appreciate your bringing up issues that I might not have considered. I hadn't seen her post, but have read some folks are conditioners-only restorers. I've been thinking of LR as a last resort after trying all spot removal and conditioners and trying to use only a teeny bit with conditioner on a small area. I will give this more thought.

Dumb question: I get why dyes like Tarrago that sit on top of the leather would be lumped in with acrylics, but what about penetrating oil dyes like Fiebings mixed with conditioner for touching up corners? Do those still smother leather/stitching? Or is it more about preserving the bag's original integrity? These are honest questions - I really do want to understand the risks of different restoration approaches better.

I've used Fiebings dye mixed with Lexol on a non-Coach briefcase that had sun and water damage, and it worked great. It evened out the color back to its original. I may have used it on a Coach bag that had an ink stain, but I can't remember now. I'm not sure whether that damages the stitching. I wouldn't think so, but I'm not sure.

Personally, I'm probably in the middle as far as restoration products go. I've definitely used more than just conditioners on restoration, and I dyed a bag that would have been unusable to me otherwise, but I'm careful about what products I choose and how I use them. I don't think using a small amount of Wood-N-Stuff mixed with conditioner to touch up corner wear would be a huge deal, but I'd hate to see a bag covered with it that would've been ok otherwise. I think there is a balance when it comes to rehab. In the end, if it is your bag for your enjoyment, you should do what you want to it.
 
Oh no, another product?!? Lol!! I also have lexol and leather therapy. Are either one similar to leather honey??

I think it's like Leather Therapy on steroids, thicker with a thick honey-like consistency and it does darken the leather a bit. I've been painting it on using artist brushes - think I got that idea from Whateve. I've used it on a couple of pretty dry bags that still looked 'meh' after multiple layers of other conditioners and it really helped.

Sorry for being a product enabler!
 
I think it's like Leather Therapy on steroids, thicker with a thick honey-like consistency and it does darken the leather a bit. I've been painting it on using artist brushes - think I got that idea from Whateve. I've used it on a couple of pretty dry bags that still looked 'meh' after multiple layers of other conditioners and it really helped.

Sorry for being a product enabler!


Lol!! You enabler, you!! Lol!!! Maybe next paycheck. Oh, I forgot, I have cadillac too. I just bought it to condition some vachetta.
 
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