Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

[CaseyBoston]

Hi: I did a search but could not find an answer. I just became obsessed with vintage coach bags after seeing a few restored ones on social media. Thanks to you experts, I learned the basics of authentication and felt confident enough to take a stab at buying bags in rough shape and then rehabbing them. (I don’t plan to sell them - my goal is to restore about 8 and give them as holiday gifts to the women in my family.) So to begin, I bought both a Court (pre-94) and Curtis (1995?) bag off of eBay that need a little work. Because I’m new and excited, I bought the bags without realizing they both were not only missing their crossbody/long straps but the Curtis is also missing the D rings. (Plus the Curtis has some deep gauges that weren’t photographed well in the ad.) In any event, here is my question: I want to give these as meaningful gifts. Is it a breach of protocol/“disrespectful” to use non-brand hardware? If not, are there reputable replacement part brands/sellers you’d recommend? If I want authentic coach vintage replacement part, what’s the most economical source? The branded replacement parts I’ve seen cost more than the bags themselves, which just might be the cost of my lesson learned, I suppose. Thank you in advance.

The Buckle Guy sells replacement hardware.

 

[Aurora-B]

Industrial sized Leather CPR. I’m going to dream about this!

 

[dodso012]

Fiebings suede dye is terrible. I don't know how they can continue to sell it. I tried it twice and as soon as I brushed it, all of it came off. It didn't matter how long I waited before brushing.

What I ended up doing is using RIT liquid fabric dye. I painted it on. It is tricky getting it on evenly. It won't help with the bald spots. I would recommend lightly sanding those areas to try to raise some nap.

Here are the After pictures of my Camel/Brass 65th Anniversary Legacy Bridgit. The bag looked to be intact and in good shape in the auction pictures, just a little dry and grubby.

I've had good luck rehabbing other 65th Anniversary Legacy bags but they were mostly darker colors, like blacks and browns, but light colors can be tricky; so I hoped that it would just need to be "lightly refreshed", but I was wrong!

When I received the bag it was actually more dirty, spotted, and worn than I had anticipted. First, I tried wiping it down with leather cleaner and then applying Leather CPR. It looked better, but it still looked dirty and and the lining was also dirty. So, I decided to go for the full rehab treatment.

I gave the bag a bath in Dawn and Water and scrubbled the worst areas and I also scrubbed the lining. Next, I rinsed the bag in clean water, stuffed it with towels and let it dry. Then I applied Leather CPR followed by Black Rocks, and I buffed the outside of the bag with a soft horsehair brush. The hardware is antique brass so I didn't try to polish it. The bag survived the bath very well and I am much happier with the results after dunking it.

Here are the After pictures of my Camel/Brass 65th Anniversary Legacy Bridgit 11622.

Also below are screenshots of the Coach listings for this bag as found on the Wayback Machine, it retailed for $398 in 2008:

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This looks amazing! I just purchased a 65th anniversary bag on Mercari in bad shape (seller didn’t disclose everything about it). I was going to return it but then thought about rehabbing it instead. I don’t have any experience w the leathers from this line o bags. It looks and feels different (more luxurious) than for glove tanned leather. The bag is very very dirty. I would like to dunk it in Dawn in warm water but I’m nervous I’ll ruin it. The satin is dirty and the leather is too. So, dunking these bags is ok to clean them? Did u dunk, then use leather CPR? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[KiltyR45]

Hello! Has anyone done a bit of upkeep to their Rogues? I got the 25 recently, and it needs a bit of upkeep - the red(?) glazing is cracked and some stitching. I’m trying to match the gold thread used on this. Also, the handles left indentations, would a steamer help to smooth this? I cut some cardboard from the box to place inside, to give the bag more support. This bag is much slouchier than the other rogue I have.

I looked at Coach’s website and read about their repair. I’ve also heard mixed reviews.

Just looking for some feedback. TIA!

 

[whateve]

This looks amazing! I just purchased a 65th anniversary bag on Mercari in bad shape (seller didn’t disclose everything about it). I was going to return it but then thought about rehabbing it instead. I don’t have any experience w the leathers from this line o bags. It looks and feels different (more luxurious) than for glove tanned leather. The bag is very very dirty. I would like to dunk it in Dawn in warm water but I’m nervous I’ll ruin it. The satin is dirty and the leather is too. So, dunking these bags is ok to clean them? Did u dunk, then use leather CPR? Thanks so much in advance!

The leather on those bags is probably vachetta. If it is black, it might not matter but lighter colors can end up water stained. @katev had good results so I would follow her procedure.

 

[whateve]

Hello! Has anyone done a bit of upkeep to their Rogues? I got the 25 recently, and it needs a bit of upkeep - the red(?) glazing is cracked and some stitching. I’m trying to match the gold thread used on this. Also, the handles left indentations, would a steamer help to smooth this? I cut some cardboard from the box to place inside, to give the bag more support. This bag is much slouchier than the other rogue I have.

I looked at Coach’s website and read about their repair. I’ve also heard mixed reviews.

Just looking for some feedback. TIA!

I don't know how you could reverse the slouch. With a vintage bag that you can dunk, it can end up more structured after the bath but I would be afraid to dunk that bag, especially being a light color. A steamer or some kind of warmth should help with indentations. Work them out with your hands when the leather is warm. You could try stuffing the bag to the correct shape, then hang it in your bathroom when you take a shower. Fixing the edge coating takes a lot of patience. It usually works best to remove it all, then add in new edge coating, which usually takes a buildup of many layers. You can probably fix the stitching yourself but it is very difficult to push a needle through the leather, even when using pre-existing holes.

I used Coach repair service many years ago. I wasn't very happy with results. On one bag there was a loop to attach a hangtag that needed restitching. Instead of restitching it, they cut it off. It took a very long time to get repairs done. One of the major problems was that you had to rely on the SA at the store to write down the problem. You had no contact with the actual people doing the repair so you couldn't clarify what they would do in advance. It's like rolling the dice, not knowing what you are going to get back.

 

[KiltyR45]

I don't know how you could reverse the slouch. With a vintage bag that you can dunk, it can end up more structured after the bath but I would be afraid to dunk that bag, especially being a light color. A steamer or some kind of warmth should help with indentations. Work them out with your hands when the leather is warm. You could try stuffing the bag to the correct shape, then hang it in your bathroom when you take a shower. Fixing the edge coating takes a lot of patience. It usually works best to remove it all, then add in new edge coating, which usually takes a buildup of many layers. You can probably fix the stitching yourself but it is very difficult to push a needle through the leather, even when using pre-existing holes.

I used Coach repair service many years ago. I wasn't very happy with results. On one bag there was a loop to attach a hangtag that needed restitching. Instead of restitching it, they cut it off. It took a very long time to get repairs done. One of the major problems was that you had to rely on the SA at the store to write down the problem. You had no contact with the actual people doing the repair so you couldn't clarify what they would do in advance. It's like rolling the dice, not knowing what you are going to get back.

Yeah, I wasn't even thinking of dunking this bag, mostly due to the honey colored raw suede that is on the 2 open areas of the bag. That color would transfer onto the canvas interior. I did clean it up with a saddle soap, but I used my cleaning brush that has softer bristles due to the white color. I found that the color of this bag is like my Minkoff backpack, where the color lies on top, rather than what we are used to with the vintage bags. Meaning that the color will rub off if using a more abrasive brush. I was poking around and it seems the edging is a known issue with some of these bags - not necessarily the Rogues, but other newish bags in Coach's line. I do have the bag stuffed, mainly in the middle (the canvas zippered interior). The outer 2 open areas, I've vacuumed and used a suede brush to clean it up. I am going to try out a steamer on the leather to work out those indentations. The edge coat, I'm looking for red, so far I haven't found anything. I'll have to pop onto Michaels to see if they have any. I do have a stitching AWL, luckily, there isn't much needle work, just a few spots to restitch.

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Yeah, I wasn't even thinking of dunking this bag, mostly due to the honey colored raw suede that is on the 2 open areas of the bag. That color would transfer onto the canvas interior. I did clean it up with a saddle soap, but I used my cleaning brush that has softer bristles due to the white color. I found that the color of this bag is like my Minkoff backpack, where the color lies on top, rather than what we are used to with the vintage bags. Meaning that the color will rub off if using a more abrasive brush. I was poking around and it seems the edging is a known issue with some of these bags - not necessarily the Rogues, but other newish bags in Coach's line. I do have the bag stuffed, mainly in the middle (the canvas zippered interior). The outer 2 open areas, I've vacuumed and used a suede brush to clean it up. I am going to try out a steamer on the leather to work out those indentations. The edge coat, I'm looking for red, so far I haven't found anything. I'll have to pop onto Michaels to see if they have any. I do have a stitching AWL, luckily, there isn't much needle work, just a few spots to restitch.

Here's someone selling a variety of colors of edge kote on ebay. It does come in red, apparently. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115408507662?

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

This rehab has gone seriously wrong! Gotta figure out what to do. I got this burgundy bag on shopgoodwill. Looked to be in fairly OK shape except top seam was completely separated and edging missing. Conditioning brought back the color nicely and seemed to cover the scrapes to the point of unnoticable. I glued the top back together. It's meant to be "flutey." Then I used black edge kote. Many layers. Ooops. Got edge kote where it didn't belong on the colored area. The bag sat around for quite awhile. When I came back to it, I forgot it was maroon-y burgundy (it looked brown) and I used some brown dye in the spot where the black edge kote got smeared. It looks HORRIBLE now. Should I try to find a burgundy dye and re-do that area. I'm thinking of dying the whole bag black at this point.

 

[KiltyR45]

Here's someone selling a variety of colors of edge kote on ebay. It does come in red, apparently. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115408507662?

Thank you!
I autopilot straight to Amazon.
I didn’t even think to look on eBay!

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

This rehab has gone seriously wrong! Gotta figure out what to do. I got this burgundy bag on shopgoodwill. Looked to be in fairly OK shape except top seam was completely separated and edging missing. Conditioning brought back the color nicely and seemed to cover the scrapes to the point of unnoticable. I glued the top back together. It's meant to be "flutey." Then I used black edge kote. Many layers. Ooops. Got edge kote where it didn't belong on the colored area. The bag sat around for quite awhile. When I came back to it, I forgot it was maroon-y burgundy (it looked brown) and I used some brown dye in the spot where the black edge kote got smeared. It looks HORRIBLE now. Should I try to find a burgundy dye and re-do that area. I'm thinking of dying the whole bag black at this point.

I'm thinking BLACK. Covers a multitude of "oops." First experiment: dye that strip only black, and see how that looks. Maybe, interesting, maybe, cute. If not, the whole bag black.

 

[KiltyR45]

This rehab has gone seriously wrong! Gotta figure out what to do. I got this burgundy bag on shopgoodwill. Looked to be in fairly OK shape except top seam was completely separated and edging missing. Conditioning brought back the color nicely and seemed to cover the scrapes to the point of unnoticable. I glued the top back together. It's meant to be "flutey." Then I used black edge kote. Many layers. Ooops. Got edge kote where it didn't belong on the colored area. The bag sat around for quite awhile. When I came back to it, I forgot it was maroon-y burgundy (it looked brown) and I used some brown dye in the spot where the black edge kote got smeared. It looks HORRIBLE now. Should I try to find a burgundy dye and re-do that area. I'm thinking of dying the whole bag black at this point.

I wonder if letting the bag sit in a bubble bath help lift the dye, possibly a scrub of that area with some dawn. I almost want to say using some denatured alcohol lightly to help just lift the brown dye, and quickly wiping it away. But I think it may lift the entire color.

 

[KiltyR45]

Has anyone had a vintage bag, that you dunked, and applied conditioner to - and after drying, you go to condition again, and see there are cracks in the leather? If so, how did you repair it?

This happened to a vintage D&B I was cleaning up; and because it's a bucket bag, so of course the cracks are in the part of the leather that has to synch close. On different cracks, I applied leather cement, and Angelus filler, just to see which worked best. So far, the angelus filler seems to work, but it dries an ivory color, which means I'm going to have to color match the leather.

Now I'm wondering if I should synch the bag close, and then apply the filler (or cement).

What are your thoughts and/or remedies? TIA!

 

[ConnieinSeattle]

Minimal rehab needed on this cutie. Leather CPR on exterior, and some dawn in water scrubbed on interior bottom marks. Took a chance on this: One not-so-good image with the ebay listing and no size or condition description...I thought it would be a larger tote, but turned out to be a mini. SO CUTE! Missing the strap. Still a good deal for $10. Came with a three-cluster of hangtags, not shown in original photo.

 

[Aurora-B]

Minimal rehab needed on this cutie. Leather CPR on exterior, and some dawn in water scrubbed on interior bottom marks. Took a chance on this: One not-so-good image with the ebay listing and no size or condition description...I thought it would be a larger tote, but turned out to be a mini. SO CUTE! Missing the strap. Still a good deal for $10. Came with a three-cluster of hangtags, not shown in original photo.

You did an amazing job on that cute little tote!