Did I kill my Speedy handles!?

G

grangerpotter

Member
Aug 13, 2009
32
0
#1
Hi everyone,

I hope someone here can help me with this as I'm trying very, very hard not to fall into full blown panic mode. Anyway, I have this Speedy 25 which I really love. It's a few years old so it has a lovely honey-ish patina.

I noticed yesterday that the handles seemed a little grimey/dirty and so I decided to clean them with baby wipes (Pampers brand unscented and without alcohol). To my horror, I think the handles "turned" darker after the cleaning and even worse, there appears to be a bunch of tiny "cracks" on the handles. OMG! :shucks: I thought perhaps it just needed time to dry so I waited 24 hours but the results seemed even worse now. Also, the handles feel just the tiniest bit dry. I just feel so upset over this :sad:

Anyway, I have a few questions that I hope someone can help answer:

1) If the baby wipes did cause the colour to "turn" darker, is there anything at all I can do to "brighten" it up (I love the shade of the patina pre-wipe and really want the handles to go back to the same honey-ish colour before I stupidly wiped them). I don't mean to reverse the patina (I like the patina) but to somehow get rid of the extra darkened area due to the baby wipes so that the handles are one colour again. How I wish I hadn't used those wipes! :mad:

2) What on earth can I do about those "cracks"? Is there any way to "seal" them? Maybe with beewax or leather conditioner? Anything??

3) I've never used anything on the leather parts of the Speedy before this, I usually just clean the canvas with baby wipes...I have no idea what possessed me, argh!!!!!

4) I live in Europe so I would be most grateful if there's anyone who also lives in Europe who can suggest any products to either help with the lightening (or restoring the colour to its pre-wiped state) or with the "cracks" as it might be easier to get the products. Of course, those who don't live in Europe please do suggest any products that can help with these two problems and I'll try my very best to get them somehow.

I'd give anything to have the pre-wiped colour back and would really appreciate it if someone can please help me with this and those "cracks". This Speedy means a lot to me and I really hope something can be done. Thank you for any help!

p/s- Still very sad :sad:
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0305.jpg
    DSC_0305.jpg
    123.4 KB · Views: 6,684
  • DSC_0308.jpg
    DSC_0308.jpg
    117 KB · Views: 6,530
  • DSC_0309.jpg
    DSC_0309.jpg
    118.4 KB · Views: 6,368
  • DSC_0310.jpg
    DSC_0310.jpg
    117.8 KB · Views: 6,527
  • DSC_0311.jpg
    DSC_0311.jpg
    116.2 KB · Views: 6,428
#3
I did the same thing to my speedy handles a while back. I did put some mink oil on them after to try to moisturize them but it really didn't help much. I hate to say it but baby wipes are no good on vachetta and now I am living with the results of a very bad decision.
 
#4
I think I'm going to cry now...after I bang my head on the wall...several times...hard :sad:

Anyone who can give me some good news? Please?

Ana and Kerpea thanks for replying and sorry that happened to you too, Kerpea.
 
#5
Omg ! I hope someone here can provide you with a solution. Unfortunately I don't have one. I used baby wipes (pampers unscented alcohol-free) on my mono deauville. I used it all over, on vach on canvas, inside (it's a washable interior lining) and had absolutely no problems. It didn't darken the patina and no cracking. It actually cleaned some dirt marks and the one water spot became less visible. So I'm surprised this happened to you !!!! How aggressive were you? I was fairly liberally in my application but maybe you went at it a little too hard and for too long ?!?

So sorry!!! Hope you can fix it. Worst case scenario, you replace the handles.
 
#6
Hi Keepallboi,

Thanks for replying. No, I was very gentle with the wiping...the first baby wipe turned brownish so I thought that was the grime/dirt coming off. I then finished off with a second baby wipe which only had a faint brownish colour to it (not as strong as the first baby wipe). The whole cleaning lasted no longer than a few minutes. I've used baby wipes on my Gucci leather bags before and never any problem so am totally devastated this happened to my poor Speedy.

Really hope someone can provide some solution/help as it hurts my heart to even look at the handles now. Ouch!
 
#7
grangerpotter said:
Hi Keepallboi,

Thanks for replying. No, I was very gentle with the wiping...the first baby wipe turned brownish so I thought that was the grime/dirt coming off. I then finished off with a second baby wipe which only had a faint brownish colour to it (not as strong as the first baby wipe). I've used baby wipes on my Gucci leather bags before and never any problem so am totally devastated this happened to my poor Speedy.

Really hope someone can provide some solution/help as it hurts my heart to even look at the handles now. Ouch!
Click to expand...

Wow you did exactly what I did to my deauville but we had different results !!!! Maybe it depends on the Stage of the patina? My deauville was quite light, but I did it bc it was preloved and I wanted to "clean" it before putting cosmetics inside !!!
 
#8
Yeah, I don't get it either :Push: I've read several threads where no one had any problem when using baby wipes. Only now did I find posts where people said baby wipes should not be used. Luck of the draw maybe?

To be on the safe side, I'm never going to use baby wipes on the handles again but first, hoping there's some way to fix this. Is there someone out there who had a similar experience but managed to salvage the situation? Please help.
 
#10
grangerpotter said:
I think I'm going to cry now...after I bang my head on the wall...several times...hard :sad:

Anyone who can give me some good news? Please?

Ana and Kerpea thanks for replying and sorry that happened to you too, Kerpea.
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to your Speedy :sad: I did this to my pre-loved Galliera (I also used Mr. Magic Eraser which made things even worse) and ended selling the bag. I bought a brand new Galliera from the store and haven't regretted my decision. I learned my lesson and I will NEVER EVER use any products when cleaning my bags. Neither do I use any protector products such as Apple Guard etc. I learned the hard way to leave the vachetta alone.

The only thing I can tell you as a advice is that you can try to moisture the handles for example with Loving My Bags products which are meant for the vachetta leather. Moisturizer can make the cracks less noticeable. But I'm sorry to tell you there's nothing you can do with the darkening of the handles. Believe me I tried everything out there with my Gal.

Personally if I were you I'd get the handles replaced in a LV store or I'd sell this damaged bag and get a brand new one from the store.

Good luck with your decision :hugs:
 
#11
grangerpotter said:
Hi everyone,

I hope someone here can help me with this as I'm trying very, very hard not to fall into full blown panic mode. Anyway, I have this Speedy 25 which I really love. It's a few years old so it has a lovely honey-ish patina.

I noticed yesterday that the handles seemed a little grimey/dirty and so I decided to clean them with baby wipes (Pampers brand unscented and without alcohol). To my horror, I think the handles "turned" darker after the cleaning and even worse, there appears to be a bunch of tiny "cracks" on the handles. OMG! :shucks: I thought perhaps it just needed time to dry so I waited 24 hours but the results seemed even worse now. Also, the handles feel just the tiniest bit dry. I just feel so upset over this :sad:

Anyway, I have a few questions that I hope someone can help answer:

1) If the baby wipes did cause the colour to "turn" darker, is there anything at all I can do to "brighten" it up (I love the shade of the patina pre-wipe and really want the handles to go back to the same honey-ish colour before I stupidly wiped them). I don't mean to reverse the patina (I like the patina) but to somehow get rid of the extra darkened area due to the baby wipes so that the handles are one colour again. How I wish I hadn't used those wipes! :mad:

2) What on earth can I do about those "cracks"? Is there any way to "seal" them? Maybe with beewax or leather conditioner? Anything??

3) I've never used anything on the leather parts of the Speedy before this, I usually just clean the canvas with baby wipes...I have no idea what possessed me, argh!!!!!

4) I live in Europe so I would be most grateful if there's anyone who also lives in Europe who can suggest any products to either help with the lightening (or restoring the colour to its pre-wiped state) or with the "cracks" as it might be easier to get the products. Of course, those who don't live in Europe please do suggest any products that can help with these two problems and I'll try my very best to get them somehow.

I'd give anything to have the pre-wiped colour back and would really appreciate it if someone can please help me with this and those "cracks". This Speedy means a lot to me and I really hope something can be done. Thank you for any help!

p/s- Still very sad :sad:
Click to expand...
Try going to the website lovinmybags.com They have lots of cleaning/restoration solutions for all types of handbags...the lady who owns the business is VERY nice & helpful. I bought her products to clean my Chanel & it turned out beautifully. She actually has special solutions just for LV.
 
#12
Ouch. Sorry to hear/see this. I recommend going into an LV store and having them replace the straps? At least that is what I would try... best of luck.
 
#13
Yeah, bring it back to LV and have the handles replaced. You can then start the patina process all over again. I think that's the best way out. It will cost you about $70 per handle. Good price to be happy with your speedy again. :smile:
 
#14
Thanks everyone for your kind words...I knew you guys would understand my sadness :hugs: There's one bright spot in the horizon: my other half has just sweetly promised me a new Speedy for my birthday in June :love:

But this Speedy has great sentimental value to me hence my heartache. It's not my first bought brand new LV (that honour belongs to my beloved Papillon) but it's my first LV bag which I bought pre-owned after I had saved up for ages (I was a uni student then) and it reminds me always of those days not to mention it was the bag that started my whole love affair with expensive bags...gosh, now I feel all teary eyed again :cry:

I'm not sure if I could bear to sell it but it hurts to see it all "injured" like this...does anyone know if beeswax would "seal" the cracks? I read in a different thread that someone used beeswax on the Mono canvas and it sealed the cracks. At this point, the darkened colour doesn't bother me as much as the cracks and dryness.

Should I perhaps buy Apple Leather Care or as kindly suggested by GenieBottle (thanks!) something from lovinmybags? Just the thought of putting something else on those poor handles terrify me but if it could help condition it and make it soft and less dry or even help with the cracks, I'm all for it. Any thoughts on this?

Regarding replacing the handles altogether, anyone know how much that would cost in Germany or Switzerland (both these two countries are easily accessible to me)? I'm hesitant to go with this option though because new handles would mean the Speedy is no longer completely its whole self anymore. Wow, I'm really sentimental :blush:

I still hope someone out there could help me fix the handles somehow...gotta have faith and stay positive! :yes:
 
#15
I had, stupidly, use some wet wipe on a part of my handles and it turned a darker brown too. I then took it o the LV store and they used an eraser of sorts to swipe the patch and that kind of fixed the problem but I don't recall mine had any cracking. Perhaps u could take your bag to the LV store and ask them what they can do about it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back