Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[weiste]

Getting much darker from conditioning is a sign that the surface has worn away, similar to the way scratches look darker when conditioner is added. There isn't much you can do to fix it. You could try a thin coat of leather cement or leather refinisher.

Thank you Whateve for your reply!
It totally makes sense to me why the surface of the strap turned dark. I'm all right as long as it's not rottening. I don't have experience with leather cement or refinisher but maybe someday down the road i'll check them Out.

 

[weiste]

The middle of the strap looks like a buildup of oil and dirt...hand cremes, sweat, etc. will naturally accumulate there. This weakens the fibers of the leather. Since the area is already showing signs of deterioration, I would probably just accept that it is always going to be darker there, rather than continuing to work on it.

Thank you Catbird, i think you are right about that. I have already had a conversation with myself and tell myself to face the reality
Someday along the road i might order a custom-made strap long enough for cross-body, but of course it'll be totally un-orginal un-Coach, so i might do it or might not...

 

[whateve]

Thank you Catbird, i think you are right about that. I have already had a conversation with myself and tell myself to face the reality
Someday along the road i might order a custom-made strap long enough for cross-body, but of course it'll be totally un-orginal un-Coach, so i might do it or might not...

Sometimes people list authentic Coach straps on ebay, or you might find another bag in the same color that can share its strap.

 

[houseof999]

Swag bags don't come along very often. It took me a couple of years to find mine. I think it was priced about right, and I'm not surprised it sold quickly. I like my Swag bag better than I liked the Pony Express I used to own.

I see I was wrong about the lack of offers. Lol!

 

[whateve]

Swag bags don't come along very often. It took me a couple of years to find mine. I think it was priced about right, and I'm not surprised it sold quickly. I like my Swag bag better than I liked the Pony Express I used to own.

It doesn't appeal to me. I have no need for a briefcase sized bag. I imagine it is really heavy.

 

[coach943]

It doesn't appeal to me. I have no need for a briefcase sized bag. I imagine it is really heavy.

It is heavy. When I bought it, I was told the former owner was a college professor who liked to use it to carry around heavy textbooks. I cannot imagine how heavy that made it to carry. Mine has been restored, but it definitely had a hard life. I don't use it very often, but it is a favorite of the briefcase-size bags in my collection.

 

[Lake Effect]

A whole day free for rehabs = Murphy Day!
British Tan, Red, Mahogany, & Black. Still need Bottle Green (drool), Navy (meh), & Tan (meh).
Are there other colors I'm forgetting??

View attachment 3552960

@Ravvie99 I did a little searching and found this post of yours. I have a Beekman brief I want to dunk / condition and see if I can get it stand up on it's own as it it slumping from the way prior owner stored it. I can't see why not, it is in good shape. Is that cardboard you are using in your Murphy's? I bought a piece of foam board I was going to cut to size and use as a form when it is drying.
p.s. nice little stable of Murphy's going there

 

[Ravvie99]

@Ravvie99 I did a little searching and found this post of yours. I have a Beekman brief I want to dunk / condition and see if I can get it stand up on it's own as it it slumping from the way prior owner stored it. I can't see why not, it is in good shape. Is that cardboard you are using in your Murphy's? I bought a piece of foam board I was going to cut to size and use as a form when it is drying.
p.s. nice little stable of Murphy's going there

I prefer foam board but didn't have enough pieces so had to use some cardboard on those. Highly recommend fb! When I don't use it, I kick myself later.
I'm confident you can get the Beekman to stand up, but I don't know how to maintain it. Mine looked great, then started to slump again after a few months...Maybe I should've stored it on its side??
Thanks for the reminder to get the final BR on the Murphys!

 

[Lake Effect]

Well, I hope to sell it so that will be on the new owner. Probably benefit from being stuffed, when not in use for a long time. If I end up gifting it to a nephew, I will talk his ear off on how to store it. Thanks for the response. It had been on my mind and I even picked up a piece of fb at the $tree around the corner.

 

[whateve]

This seller has some vintage replacement straps.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coach-Vinta...565999?hash=item2124c1426f:g:0A0AAOSwvihY8s7L
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coach-Vinta...566693?hash=item2124c14525:g:AKAAAOSwmCVY8s9z

 

[Lake Effect]

Okay, finally showing a before and after dunking! It doesn't feel as impressive as some I have seen, but there is nothing like taking a bag suffering from *storage squash* and water damage (and mildew) and giving it a bath and having it stand up on it's own again! I had decided last September I wanted start researching the products I would need to rehab a few vintage bags I picked up years ago that where in need of deeper conditioning that the Lexol I had been using. I had lurked here on occasion. I found some old posts where someone was dunking a black bag and my jaw almost hit the floor when I saw photos of the immersion! I picked up this bag and another for $10 each at a flea market. I figured I could experiment away and I could live with spending that much on a bag for "science" if it all went south.
When I bought these bags, they sat in my car for a few hours and when I returned I could smell a whiff of mold/mildew. Lovely. Impulsive, I couldn't even wait for my order of Leather Therapy to arrive. I soaked this bag in Lexol cleaner and 1 cup of bleach in about 2 1/2 gallons of water for about 30 minutes and scrubbed with a toothbrush. I had read a post on sacs magnifiques/ tetondeb's blog where she had used bleach and figured I had nothing to lose. There was very little dye transferred to the water. Then a 30 minute rinse/soak with another scrub down followed. And I let it dry and it took shape to stand on it's own. It did dry stiff as a board without a deep conditioner. It was almost dry when the Leather Therapy came a few days later. I just applied it several times and it seemed to respond okay. I also ordered Obenauf's oil. I was not prepared for how messy the Obenauf's would be to apply and definitely applied way too much, it ran all over and what a hot mess. It literally seeped thought the bottom seams to inside! Major Obennauf's lesson learned. Lol. Then some Black Rocks. And here she is before, I could just balance it enough to get it to stand:

 

[Lake Effect]

And initally there was a lot areas of deeper shading on the front and sides that I felt were from overdoing with the Obenauf's. But since it has been 6 months, they have leveled out alot. And she smells like leather, amazingly. I notice that with all the bags I have used Obenauf's on. The bonus is that it turned out to be a NYC bag with anchors on the clasps.

 

[Catbird9]

And initally there was a lot areas of deeper shading on the front and sides that I felt were from overdoing with the Obenauf's. But since it has been 6 months, they have leveled out alot. And she smells like leather, amazingly. I notice that with all the bags I have used Obenauf's on. The bonus is that it turned out to be a NYC bag with anchors on the clasps.

Simply beautiful! I love the Convertible Clutch.

 

[houseof999]

And initally there was a lot areas of deeper shading on the front and sides that I felt were from overdoing with the Obenauf's. But since it has been 6 months, they have leveled out alot. And she smells like leather, amazingly. I notice that with all the bags I have used Obenauf's on. The bonus is that it turned out to be a NYC bag with anchors on the clasps.

It looks great! Great transformation!

 

[Lake Effect]

And yes, if you look closely, you can see the outlines of some of the water damage. However the leather is soft and squeezable and the stains lightened nicely and now just looks like a little "vintage glow" lol. And she stands on her own.