Docride's Hermes Lazarus Thread (can this Hermes be Saved? )

[frankiextah]

Whoa, hang on there ....I would recommend letting a professional do it for you , I don’t think this is a simple do it yourself project. Even if I tell you want to do and what to use it’s not the same as having experience.
Hugs doc

Thanks Docride! Yes, totally going to reach out for professional help but would like to source the best possible quality edge coat paint and the exact color so that they can assist the best way possible... AND of course to kindly ask for you to help weigh in any details to be aware of - would sanding be needed, could a single coat be ok, etc etc, so that I can discuss and make clear with the professional.

 

[docride]

Thanks Docride! Yes, totally going to reach out for professional help but would like to source the best possible quality edge coat paint and the exact color so that they can assist the best way possible... AND of course to kindly ask for you to help weigh in any details to be aware of - would sanding be needed, could a single coat be ok, etc etc, so that I can discuss and make clear with the professional.

Black is straight forward you’ll want them to prep the area and be careful not to get black leather paint on other areas of the bag , finished with clear bees wax and buff afterward you do NOT want black burnishing wax on it.
The tricky part is all the edges which are sewn onto the bag ! That’s what can be a disaster....
Personally I’d just not accept the bag
And wait to get what you really want rather than possibly jacking up a beautiful new bag
Just my 2 cents
Hugs doc

 

[frankiextah]

Black is straight forward you’ll want them to prep the area and be careful not to get black leather paint on other areas of the bag , finished with clear bees wax and buff afterward you do NOT want black burnishing wax on it.
The tricky part is all the edges which are sewn onto the bag ! That’s what can be a disaster....
Personally I’d just not accept the bag
And wait to get what you really want rather than possibly jacking up a beautiful new bag
Just my 2 cents
Hugs doc

Thank you Docride, always know I can count on your kind advice! I am letting the bag sit for a little so I can see if I can accept the color combo as-is, while weighing in the risks that you mentioned above... in the meantime, is there any way to darken the edge coat without needing to replacing it entirely? I can definitely settle with even a shade darker and less reddish...

 

[docride]

Thank you Docride, always know I can count on your kind advice! I am letting the bag sit for a little so I can see if I can accept the color combo as-is, while weighing in the risks that you mentioned above... in the meantime, is there any way to darken the edge coat without needing to replacing it entirely? I can definitely settle with even a shade darker and less reddish...

A professional can darken it , the question is just how good will the result be?
The area would need prepped so that a new color will adhere as prior mentioned. The glossy waxy layer would need to come off.


All the best. Doc

 

[jejunity]

Hi Doc,
I'm looking at purchasing the following vintage kelly sellier in rouge H. Can I ask about what you think of the condition of the bag? Is the dryness on the handle and sides / corners something that can be repaired by a professional? Or will it need to be replaced eventually?
thanks so much in advance!

 

[docride]

Hi Doc,
I'm looking at purchasing the following vintage kelly sellier in rouge H. Can I ask about what you think of the condition of the bag? Is the dryness on the handle and sides / corners something that can be repaired by a professional? Or will it need to be replaced eventually?
thanks so much in advance!

Hi there,
It’s a nice vintage Kelly
The dryness can most likely be addressed
The cracks and tears can not be fix although possibly the cracks can stabilized a bit depending upon how deep they are. Yes eventually the handle and the handle bases might need replaced.
It comes down to this is the price reasonable ? If you considered keeping this as a forever bag would factoring in a handle replacement still make this bag reasonably priced?
Comparison of this bags price plus eventual handle and handle bases replacement and one without need of such repairs how does it look then?
If you love the bag and it’s priced well you might be able to enjoy it for years with some TLC before replacing anything.
I’d say see how it is in person possibly take the bag to Hermes craftsman if that’s possible and make sure the seller has a return policy.
All the best doc

 

[jejunity]

Hi there,
It’s a nice vintage Kelly
The dryness can most likely be addressed
The cracks and tears can not be fix although possibly the cracks can stabilized a bit depending upon how deep they are. Yes eventually the handle and the handle bases might need replaced.
It comes down to this is the price reasonable ? If you considered keeping this as a forever bag would factoring in a handle replacement still make this bag reasonably priced?
Comparison of this bags price plus eventual handle and handle bases replacement and one without need of such repairs how does it look then?
If you love the bag and it’s priced well you might be able to enjoy it for years with some TLC before replacing anything.
I’d say see how it is in person possibly take the bag to Hermes craftsman if that’s possible and make sure the seller has a return policy.
All the best doc

Thanks so much for you quick reply doc! It's priced reasonably well as far as I know ($4000 AUD). It will be my first Hermes kelly, and I'm actually contemplating between this and another kelly in gulliver leather in noisette (i think?). Do you mind taking a look at the condition of the corners and the structure in this second bag? Is this something that can be fixed easier compared to the Rouge H box? The price point on this one is $8000 AUD but is from year 2000 and includes a strap.

I saw in one of you previous posts that noisette is a difficult colour to work with/repair? I'm not too familiar with Hermes maintenance so would love your opinion on which you think will repair better/ maintain better? Also taking in the price and condition, do you think you could give your opinion on which is the better buy?

Thanks again so much for your help! I really appreciate all your incredible knowledge!

 

[docride]

Thanks so much for you quick reply doc! It's priced reasonably well as far as I know ($4000 AUD). It will be my first Hermes kelly, and I'm actually contemplating between this and another kelly in gulliver leather in noisette (i think?). Do you mind taking a look at the condition of the corners and the structure in this second bag? Is this something that can be fixed easier compared to the Rouge H box? The price point on this one is $8000 AUD but is from year 2000 and includes a strap.

I saw in one of you previous posts that noisette is a difficult colour to work with/repair? I'm not too familiar with Hermes maintenance so would love your opinion on which you think will repair better/ maintain better? Also taking in the price and condition, do you think you could give your opinion on which is the better buy?

Thanks again so much for your help! I really appreciate all your incredible knowledge!

Hi
If it has no cracks or tears then I’m liking the veau gulliver much more! Plus it has a strap awesome! The noisette color on box calf for some reason can sometimes have issues but
I haven’t seen the same problems with it on other leathers.

If you can pencil out the investment price and you will use this color with your wardrobe I say go for it.

If you are just excited to buy your first Kelly and actually want a different color or hardware or both than wait.
I’m happy to look over your possible purchases
All the best doc

 

[jejunity]

Hi
If it has no cracks or tears then I’m liking the veau gulliver much more! Plus it has a strap awesome! The noisette color on box calf for some reason can sometimes have issues but
I haven’t seen the same problems with it on other leathers.

If you can pencil out the investment price and you will use this color with your wardrobe I say go for it.

If you are just excited to buy your first Kelly and actually want a different color or hardware or both than wait.
I’m happy to look over your possible purchases
All the best doc

Thanks doc! I actually love both colours and combination hardware! Thats why I'm struggling to pick between the well priced vintage Box Rouge H, or the more expensive but overall better condition Veau Gulliver. If I could, I would buy both! ahaha. There are no cracks or tears on the gulliver according to the listing, just the wear and tear that can be seen on the corners. I know there's a huge price difference between them, but I'm just trying to figure out if long term additional difference will mean it will wear better. So hard to decide!

Thanks so much for you help so far!

 

[docride]

Thanks doc! I actually love both colours and combination hardware! Thats why I'm struggling to pick between the well priced vintage Box Rouge H, or the more expensive but overall better condition Veau Gulliver. If I could, I would buy both! ahaha. There are no cracks or tears on the gulliver according to the listing, just the wear and tear that can be seen on the corners. I know there's a huge price difference between them, but I'm just trying to figure out if long term additional difference will mean it will wear better. So hard to decide!

Thanks so much for you help so far!

Hi,
Ok you have a dilemma, here’s how I’d handle it. Take the forever bag commitment aspect out, it could turn out you’ll want to sell the bag and buy something different. Maybe you’ll like a different size color leather or style bag. With that In mind, try to purchase your bag thinking about can you get most of your investment back out should You resell it in future. Think about losing about 20/30% depending on sellers fees. Check and see how much similar bags have sold for. Factor in the condition after use for a couple of years. Factor in the cost of use . Your Hermes bag should hold its value very well. That’s the way to buy.
I my opinion. There’s such a jump in price between the two my thoughts are find another option in between these prices before you jump?
Doc

 

[zen1965]

Good luck [emoji256]
Doc

Just a quick update: After airing the bag for a bit the outside smells fine (neutral). The inside however.... I bought a "charcoal pouch", placed it inside the bag, zipped it shut and put the bag in a trash bag. Unfortunately, this did not do a thing regarding the perfume smell inside the bag.
I let it air overnight outside in a secure, protected place. Maybe that will help. Otherwise I will try the "newspaper treatment" tomorrow.

 

[docride]

Just a quick update: After airing the bag for a bit the outside smells fine (neutral). The inside however.... I bought a "charcoal pouch", placed it inside the bag, zipped it shut and put the bag in a trash bag. Unfortunately, this did not do a thing regarding the perfume smell inside the bag.
I let it air overnight outside in a secure, protected place. Maybe that will help. Otherwise I will try the "newspaper treatment" tomorrow.

Hello
News paper treatment ? I have no idea what that means ...
I can say that putting newspaper inside a bag which has perfume in the leather is not going to remove the perfume .
Why not use alcohol to clear the perfume scent ? Or any of the other proven products for this problem ?
Good luck doc

 

[MmeRouge]

Dear Doc -

I fear I may have made a mistake - I “jumped the gun” on a bag that suddenly appeared on eBay today for a very low price. Unfortunately I was taken with the color and price ..... she looked so pretty! .... and I hit “Buy It Now” without a great deal of thought. Examining photos of the bag AFTER I purchased it, I realized it must have been touched up, treated, polished ..... and it turns out I’m correct. The seller proudly admitted to giving it a “total facelift” using “Meltonian Red cream polish (#107)” and polishing it to a “shine.” [emoji20] Is it ruined?

I’m the crazy person, by the way, to whom you were so kind on eBay last night - discussing the very similar (if not almost identical) bag that had been misidentified as barenia and whose photos are on here a few posts back. As you can see, I impulsively bought this one, but still hope to find a Barenia one day!

Any advice on what to do with this bag would be greatly appreciated. Do I use it as is, or try to remove some of the polish and shine? Do you think this is Rouge Chamonix as we discussed the other bag probably was? That makes me particularly sad, as I now realize this would never have been a shiny polished bag. I’m also concerned from the photos that the red polish got into the white stitching - which is one of my favorite details. *Sigh*

Thank you for taking a look - and for all of your help!

PS - these are the seller’s photos, as I have not received it yet.

 

[docride]

Dear Doc -

I fear I may have made a mistake - I “jumped the gun” on a bag that suddenly appeared on eBay today for a very low price. Unfortunately I was taken with the color and price ..... she looked so pretty! .... and I hit “Buy It Now” without a great deal of thought. Examining photos of the bag AFTER I purchased it, I realized it must have been touched up, treated, polished ..... and it turns out I’m correct. The seller proudly admitted to giving it a “total facelift” using “Meltonian Red cream polish (#107)” and polishing it to a “shine.” [emoji20] Is it ruined?

I’m the crazy person, by the way, to whom you were so kind on eBay last night - discussing the very similar (if not almost identical) bag that had been misidentified as barenia and whose photos are on here a few posts back. As you can see, I impulsively bought this one, but still hope to find a Barenia one day!

Any advice on what to do with this bag would be greatly appreciated. Do I use it as is, or try to remove some of the polish and shine? Do you think this is Rouge Chamonix as we discussed the other bag probably was? That makes me particularly sad, as I now realize this would never have been a shiny polished bag. I’m also concerned from the photos that the red polish got into the white stitching - which is one of my favorite details. *Sigh*

Thank you for taking a look - and for all of your help!

PS - these are the seller’s photos, as I have not received it yet.

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Hi gosh it’s either rough h Charmonix or brique box calf the photos have me scratching my head about that. Anyhow just cancel the transaction don’t sweat it. It looks like there’s colored polish in the stitching already and I believe it will only get worse trying the remove the colored polish. The lady didn’t know she was trying her best . Colored polish can come off on clothing and hands. Colored polish is best used on boots and shoes. Some colored polishes are pretty stabile and some are less so...if it were on a bag with out contrasting stitches it might be worth removing the polish.
Anyhow I’d say pass and wait for the barenia Evelyne you want
So my advice is to cancel the transaction ask the seller if you don’t get help you can ask eBay to step in
All the best doc

 

[MmeRouge]

Hi gosh it’s either rough h Charmonix or brique box calf the photos have me scratching my head about that. Anyhow just cancel the transaction don’t sweat it. It looks like there’s colored polish in the stitching already and I believe it will only get worse trying the remove the colored polish. The lady didn’t know she was trying her best . Colored polish can come off on clothing and hands. Colored polish is best used on boots and shoes. Some colored polishes are pretty stabile and some are less so...if it were on a bag with out contrasting stitches it might be worth removing the polish.
Anyhow I’d say pass and wait for the barenia Evelyne you want
So my advice is to cancel the transaction ask the seller if you don’t get help you can ask eBay to step in
All the best doc

Thank you Doc. Unfortunately the seller will not cancel the transaction and has been very clear about that. Do you think I have any recourse? I’m not an expert but it looks authentic. I also got a shipping notice this morning. I fear I may be stuck with this .... [emoji20]