I have been using Leather Therapy, which is pretty oily, on the dryness. Someone on this thread once recommended cocoanut oil; I am sort of curious about that. (She also recommended rubbing a scratched brass part with steel wool, and that worked.) As far as the piping issue goes, I may do leather cement -- puff paint -- Edgekote, which is what I did on the other bag. Or I might just get some thread and darn it like a sock. Haven't decided.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
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Leather Therapy Oil would be my first choice too, but I've used Emu oil for extreme dryness, I wouldn't try coconut oil because it has a strong smell.
I tried the darning like a sock thing on the piping issues on a bag once. It sort of worked, but I'm not sure I would try it again.
I just finished re-doing an earlier rehab. It was an easy job but I am really happy with the results and very pleased that I decided to repeat the rehab!
About 4 years ago I found a great buy on Craigslist, for $80 I got a Bleecker Legacy Flap Bag 11419 B4 IK and the matching Bleecker Checkbook Wallet 41549 B4 IK, made in 2007 - so not vintage. The color of the bag and wallet were Ink and they had tattersall lining - a big favorite of mine!
The Ink color is kind of a dark blue gray and quite pretty, but not easy to photograph.
They were in good shape, they were a bit scuffed and dirty and there were some spots on the lining and the checkbook cover was missing (it still is) but not bad and basically it was a great buy.
I prefer to give pre-owned bags a bath because I feel that they get really clean, but back then I was afraid to dunk a valuable bag with a pretty, light-colored lining. So I just surfaced cleaned the leather and the lining and tried to spot-clean the soil marks on the lining and then moisturized the leather - and they looked pretty good. But they looked better from a distance, if you know what I mean.
There were still a few soil marks and a yellow tinge on the lining and the wallet had some grubby marks of wear. I rarely wore the set and eventually even forgot that I owned them. I came across them recently and noticed that the leather was looking dry and scuffed again and the lining had gotten even more yellow and so I decided to do it right this time!
I gave the bag and wallet a long bath in Dawn and warm water and worked on the spots and made sure that the lining and everything was clean. Then I stuffed them with towels overnight to dry, removed the towels the next day and continued to let them dry. I moisturized with leather therapy oil, apple moisturizer, and finally black rocks. The hardware is antique brass so I just rubbed it gently with a polishing cloth.
I think they look great and I've decorated the bag with my gold Koi Fish Fob 6522 and I'm going to move right in and wear them this weekend!
Here are some pics, the first picture is the way they looked when I bought them off Craigslist 4 years ago and the rest of the photos are after the recent, repeat rehab. What a beautiful set IMO!
About 4 years ago I found a great buy on Craigslist, for $80 I got a Bleecker Legacy Flap Bag 11419 B4 IK and the matching Bleecker Checkbook Wallet 41549 B4 IK, made in 2007 - so not vintage. The color of the bag and wallet were Ink and they had tattersall lining - a big favorite of mine!
The Ink color is kind of a dark blue gray and quite pretty, but not easy to photograph.
They were in good shape, they were a bit scuffed and dirty and there were some spots on the lining and the checkbook cover was missing (it still is) but not bad and basically it was a great buy.
I prefer to give pre-owned bags a bath because I feel that they get really clean, but back then I was afraid to dunk a valuable bag with a pretty, light-colored lining. So I just surfaced cleaned the leather and the lining and tried to spot-clean the soil marks on the lining and then moisturized the leather - and they looked pretty good. But they looked better from a distance, if you know what I mean.
There were still a few soil marks and a yellow tinge on the lining and the wallet had some grubby marks of wear. I rarely wore the set and eventually even forgot that I owned them. I came across them recently and noticed that the leather was looking dry and scuffed again and the lining had gotten even more yellow and so I decided to do it right this time!
I gave the bag and wallet a long bath in Dawn and warm water and worked on the spots and made sure that the lining and everything was clean. Then I stuffed them with towels overnight to dry, removed the towels the next day and continued to let them dry. I moisturized with leather therapy oil, apple moisturizer, and finally black rocks. The hardware is antique brass so I just rubbed it gently with a polishing cloth.
I think they look great and I've decorated the bag with my gold Koi Fish Fob 6522 and I'm going to move right in and wear them this weekend!
Here are some pics, the first picture is the way they looked when I bought them off Craigslist 4 years ago and the rest of the photos are after the recent, repeat rehab. What a beautiful set IMO!
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They look great! Thanks to you I might think about dunking my beloved Bleecker flaps someday. I've only dunked one wallet, a vintage one, and it came out kind of wrinkled looking, and I don't think it really helped. The thinner leather doesn't get plumped up like purse leather does.
I've had mixed luck rehabbing wallets, too. I think that I stuff them too much during drying and they get a little misshapen. This time I just used small pieces of paper towel the first day, changed them the next day, and then let it air dry for several days. For some reason the wallet came out pretty good this time.
So pretty! Very well worth the effort, and what a bargain! And, dang it, I need a Koi fob now!
When I got my koi I thought I found a great bargain and then a few days later Katev found hers even cheaper!
Funny thing, when I bought mine, it was missing the keyring so I bought a cheap Coach keyfob for the ring. Katev bought hers complete with the keyring but she has removed it!
It's one of my favorite fobs, I got lucky on ebay and I love it! I really like the way it looks with the Bleecker Flap Bag.
I still have the key ring but I liked the way it looked without it better on this bag.
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I know you ladies can help me with this! I tried to do a quick search on here in this thread, but all I was seeing was suggestions for rehabbed bags vs. new ones. I ordered the Rogue satchel in Chalk color. I want to make sure that there is NO color transfer done on this bag. What is in your opinion, the best product to prevent color transfer to bags? Thank you in advance!
I always spray light-colored bags with 2 applications of Apple Rain Garde, it protects against water and dirt and I think it also helps to protect against color transfer.
https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Brand-Garde-Stain-Repellent/dp/B007ZBOQIY
I spray mine too, then condition with Blackrocks. I think the wax in the Blackrocks adds a level of protection.
I thought this was the product you've recommended before, thank you!