Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
ooh, I don't think I would trust myself with that method!
Please let us know what you decided to do and how it worked out. I have a bag I'm going to work on soon that has a bit of this all over. The frayed parts are so short though it might be hard to cut them off. I only really notice because the bag is dark navy and the frayed parts are lighter colored.
yes and no. I think that other brands don't handle the dunking as well as Coach. Remember that unlined Coach bags used to come with instructions to give them a bath when they got dirty.
I know what you mean. Some of my 80s bags have stiffer, glossier leather than the 90s bags. I think it was intentional for some of the more structured styles. I think conditioning may soften it some. Maybe over time, once the conditioner soaks in, the texture will be restored.Actually 'patina' is probably the wrong term to describe the 'before' bag--it wasn't that it was darker before, it was somehow glossier. Instead of that soft, glove leather feel like my 90's bags it was firmer and glossier. This is the oldest of my bags, from around 1982 according to our experts on the Authenticate thread, so I didn't know if the leather was originally different on that particular bag, or if it was just from age.
With one or two more CPR treatments and a finish of Blackrock's I am hoping the luster it had before will be restored.
The first pic below is right after purchase; the second one is post-bath. Can you tell any difference? Perhaps I am just overthinking this one!
Thanks as always for your advice!
Really? They did? I didn't know that. That's actually pretty cool. I have quite a few unlined Coach bags and at least 3 of them probably could benefit from a bath. I've just been scared to do it.
Well for $2.50 it's no big loss if this doesn't work. It's a yellow bag and was dirty this really was the only way to save it.
OK Girls..Here goes AAAARRRRRGGGGHH!!! ..That's me weeping & wailing today.
I just spent days washing, conditioning & pampering a bag that turned out gorgeous..only to decide last minute to 'gild the lily' and put a coat of Leather Honey on it.
It instantly pulled dark spots out of the leather that heretofore was not apparent.
DANG! What made me even madder was the fact this is not the first time this has happened (slow learner) So..In all seriousness..anybody not experienced with Leather Honey..Beware. It states on the label it can make defects look worse, but, since there were none I thought I was in the clear. (sigh)
I just spent days washing, conditioning & pampering a bag that turned out gorgeous..only to decide last minute to 'gild the lily' and put a coat of Leather Honey on it.
It instantly pulled dark spots out of the leather that heretofore was not apparent.
DANG! What made me even madder was the fact this is not the first time this has happened (slow learner) So..In all seriousness..anybody not experienced with Leather Honey..Beware. It states on the label it can make defects look worse, but, since there were none I thought I was in the clear. (sigh)
I can see what you mean. The before bag looks more golden. The after bag does look softer and less dry though. You may find the Black Rock brings out the golden tones again and once it 'settles down' you might be happier with it. I remember you asking about this a while ago and I posted a pic of my same bag back in post #1129. I agree with Whateve that the leather on the older bags is stiffer and seems to age differently.Actually 'patina' is probably the wrong term to describe the 'before' bag--it wasn't that it was darker before, it was somehow glossier. Instead of that soft, glove leather feel like my 90's bags it was firmer and glossier. This is the oldest of my bags, from around 1982 according to our experts on the Authenticate thread, so I didn't know if the leather was originally different on that particular bag, or if it was just from age.
With one or two more CPR treatments and a finish of Blackrock's I am hoping the luster it had before will be restored.
The first pic below is right after purchase; the second one is post-bath. Can you tell any difference? Perhaps I am just overthinking this one!
Thanks as always for your advice!
I definitely will and I'll post pics when I'm done. for your short frayed edges, maybe try a sharp cuticle trimmer (like they use in nail salons) or even a nail trimmer?
Whateve and Two.time: Thanks for your input! Sorry I forgot about my earlier post (always so much info to digest)--I'll try to go back and look that up.
Stiffer and glossier is exactly how I would describe it. But my daughter seems to think the bag looks cleaner now, so I guess that is a plus. Have either of you dunked those old 80's bags and if so did you have similar results?
Anyway, on to more conditioning. I will post "after" pics once I'm finished.
Thanks!
OK Girls..Here goes AAAARRRRRGGGGHH!!! ..That's me weeping & wailing today.
I just spent days washing, conditioning & pampering a bag that turned out gorgeous..only to decide last minute to 'gild the lily' and put a coat of Leather Honey on it.
It instantly pulled dark spots out of the leather that heretofore was not apparent.
DANG! What made me even madder was the fact this is not the first time this has happened (slow learner) So..In all seriousness..anybody not experienced with Leather Honey..Beware. It states on the label it can make defects look worse, but, since there were none I thought I was in the clear. (sigh)
Oh that is so discouraging. I think that is why I didn't buy Leather Honey when I was researching leather conditioners. It can darken some leathers too, I think. Similarly, I've been very judicious in using the Leather Milk that I bought recently. It seems to darken leather, too.
That's good to know..I haven't tried the Leather Milk but The Leather CPR & Apple work well on the light colors. So far I have not been thrilled over any of the results with Leather Honey..and as costly as it is..will not be buying anymore!
O.K., paranoia is starting to set in! I bought a gorgeous Stewardess bag on ebay....link here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coach-Handb...gyCv6SJiFcqVnqX9qQRRU%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
So it came today and I was thrilled when I opened the box. This is a truly vintage bag in great condition. So what's my problem? It doesn't 'smell' like leather! It has a strange "off" smell and I've already dunked it and it's drying. It seriously looks new but it's missing that leather smell.
Has this happened to anyone else? Is it common depending on the way the bag was stored over the years? This was sold by a guy who said he was selling off his mom's Coach collection and he has several Coach's that are vintage.
This just has me stumped but maybe I'm just looking for trouble when there isn't any to be found?
I'll make sure to post my before and after pics of my (hopefully) new and improved LEATHER Coach bag!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Coach-Handb...gyCv6SJiFcqVnqX9qQRRU%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
So it came today and I was thrilled when I opened the box. This is a truly vintage bag in great condition. So what's my problem? It doesn't 'smell' like leather! It has a strange "off" smell and I've already dunked it and it's drying. It seriously looks new but it's missing that leather smell.
Has this happened to anyone else? Is it common depending on the way the bag was stored over the years? This was sold by a guy who said he was selling off his mom's Coach collection and he has several Coach's that are vintage.
This just has me stumped but maybe I'm just looking for trouble when there isn't any to be found?
I'll make sure to post my before and after pics of my (hopefully) new and improved LEATHER Coach bag!