Coffee, Vachetta, perfectly even Vachetta Patina and why Apple Garde is a must, not an option!

Camaro Chic

LVoe Hermes!
Dec 6, 2011
3,383
686
This is why Apple Garde is a NECESSITY for vachetta, suede and any natural or porous leather. Meet my beautiful preloved MC Alma. I've been waiting almost a decade to find this bag for a steal. My MC speedy was my ultimate holy grail but this bag has been longed for almost as much and I got it for $400 earlier this week and with IMO the perfect patina.

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So tonight, I proudly toted her out with friends and she got complimented left and right. I was so proud! But I was almost physically ill after I tripped and my late night iced coffee splashed down the front of my new beauty . On the right side it ran from above the zipper pocket VVN trim all the way down to the bottom of the bag over the studded vachetta base.

Thanks to the previous owner and myself using Apple Garde, I wiped it off without a trace. Apple not only makes a bag patina more slowly, but much more evenly/uniformly with less handle darkening; it makes the patina process much prettier but it also saves the horribly difficult to care for VVN leather from liquids! It's saved my Artsy, which got caught in a thunderstorm and poured on for at least 30 seconds.

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Get Apple Garde and follow the directions. Use it every few months if you carry the bag regularly. Apple will save you a LOT of misery and potentially money and help hold your bag's value, potentially doubling its visually pleasing lifespan! :flowers: I treat and restore bags regularly and I wanted to share how important this treasure of a product is. It's the only spray repellant/protectant i have found that won't darken Virgin Vachetta. It's less than ten dollars on amazon.

Photos of the "downpoured upon nearly giving me an apoplexy/seizure/meltdown" 5 year old Artsy in 2nd post. Apple has kept it to almost no patina and nearly flawless.

HTH! :flowers:
 
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This is why Apple Garde is a NECESSITY for vachetta, suede and any natural or porous leather.

.. it makes the patina process much prettier...

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I'd personally never treat my bag with anything that wasn't sanctioned by the manufacturer themselves, and I think the natural patina process is beautiful, natural, and shouldn't be impeded or altered. Stains and all. The few rain spots I have on the vachetta on my NF remind me of the nighy my husband and I left our favorite Italian restaurant after a long, lazy, impromptu dinner, and it started to rain unexpectedly. They've actually faded as the patina has darkened, but they never bothered me.

To each their own! As the French say, des goûts et des couleurs.
 
Thank you for this, Camero Chic; especially the pictures of your Azure Artsy. I prefer the lighter color vachetta with the Azure pattern and didn't know that Apple Guard would keep it from darkening. Off to purchase this product. : )

BTW, I would have gasped out loud tripping and spilling coffee all over a much-wanted bag....cried even. She looks beautiful and you would never have known about the almost ruining of her. Bravo!
 
Wow! That is amazing! So happy the spray saved the day! I am purchasing my first LV today (YAY!) and I am going to order some of this spray right now! This is probably a silly question, but how do you recommend covering the canvas in order to spray the vachetta? I am getting a NF and am worried about the trim, which is right next to the canvas...Thanks in advance!
 
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Wow! That is amazing! So happy the spray saved the day! I am purchasing my first LV today (YAY!) and I am going to order some of this spray right now! This is probably a silly question, but how do you recommend covering the canvas in order to spray the vachetta? I am getting a NF and am worried about the trim, which is right next to the canvas...Thanks in advance!
When I sprayed my KA I didn't bother covering the canvas. As soon as I finished spraying the vachetta I grabbed a towel and wiped the canvas and it came right off. Can't wait for the reveal of your NF :biggrin:
 
Another question for those who use Apple Gard: if the patina has developed to a darker honey, is it too late to use Apple Gard? Thanks.
I got my KA preloved (it was made in 1999) about 3 years ago and I just recently sprayed it about a month ago and it still protected it (I placed a drop of water on the vachetta after it was dry and it just wiped right off). Hope this helped!
 
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i love apple guard. I have a VVN wish bracelet that came to me from Japan with pretty much no patina and apple guarded it up right away. So glad I did, because I got caught in a downpour one day and when it dried, it was still perfectly uniform. No water spots and the patina is being aquired slowly and evenly. I love it.
 
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I'd personally never treat my bag with anything that wasn't sanctioned by the manufacturer themselves, and I think the natural patina process is beautiful, natural, and shouldn't be impeded or altered. Stains and all. The few rain spots I have on the vachetta on my NF remind me of the nighy my husband and I left our favorite Italian restaurant after a long, lazy, impromptu dinner, and it started to rain unexpectedly. They've actually faded as the patina has darkened, but they never bothered me.

To each their own! As the French say, des goûts et des couleurs.
I agree, I don't spray my bags with anything. I don't mind water spots or uneven Patina because it makes the bag unique and tells a story!
 
This is such an interesting thread! I am actually a bit against the pre-treating with Apple ( or anything else). My first bag, the NF MM in Azur, made me paranoid. I was afraid of the vacate and treated it with Apple. I can't overstate how careful I was. It left a residue. I can feel it every time I use the bag. Never again. My Mono NF GM was never treated and I MUCH prefer the feel/look of the straps. I have other bags with vachetta that I left alone, and they're fine. Just my experience. I sort of feel like if the vachetta were meant to be treated, LV would sell a product for that. Your bag is super pretty and glad it's ok!!!
 
I am a newbie to vachetta and have just bought my first azur bag. I would love for the patina to develop slowly and evenly, so this threat is very interesting for me.

How is this apple guard applied? Is it difficult? I would hate to ruin my bag by applying a protective spray wrongly. How often do you refresh it?

By the way: your bags look amazing [emoji7]