Dooney rehab thread

Nataluccia3 · Sep 16, 2020

Hi Dooney friends! I usually work on vintage Coach so I have no idea what to do with this bag. It’s hard as wood, it’s so stiff. Any thoughts?

I have on hand:
Leather honey
CPR
Chamberlains leather balm
Renapur
BlackRock
Kiwi Saddle soap
Lexol
Cadillac

and probably some more bottles of things I don’t use regularly. I’m planning to spot test on the inside of the strap. Maybe chamberlains or cpr first. What do you all think?

Narnanz · Sep 16, 2020

Nataluccia3 said:
Hi Dooney friends! I usually work on vintage Coach so I have no idea what to do with this bag. It’s hard as wood, it’s so stiff. Any thoughts?

I have on hand:
Leather honey
CPR
Chamberlains leather balm
Renapur
BlackRock
Kiwi Saddle soap
Lexol
Cadillac

and probably some more bottles of things I don’t use regularly. I’m planning to spot test on the inside of the strap. Maybe chamberlains or cpr first. What do you all think?

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Ha..great minds...was going to direct you here.

Nataluccia3 · Sep 16, 2020

Narnanz said:
Ha..great minds...was going to direct you here.

Teehee. I do see some familiar peeps over here so hopefully we can make this bag wearable again! I’ll look back through the older posts for thoughts on the satchel type thingie (see my technical verbiage :graucho:

)

it’s missing the strap, unfortunate. But hopefully it’ll clean up well. It also has loads of pockets and such on the inside - a feature I’m not accustomed to. I usually prefer them naked, but we’ll see if it grown on me.

Nataluccia3 · Sep 16, 2020

@RadhaDB hi!! Do you think there’s paint on this bag? It looks like a thin layer on top that is cracking. Strange. Here’s the top flap and the strap:

But the inside of the strap has nothing of the sort. I put chamberlains on the inside of the strap and it has moistened its up nicely. Two coats of CPR so far on the rest of the bag.

I don’t know the history here... maybe it is a layer of paint, or similar top coat of some sort

RadhaDB · Sep 16, 2020

Nataluccia3 said:
@RadhaDB hi!! Do you think there’s paint on this bag? It looks like a thin layer on top that is cracking. Strange. Here’s the top flap and the strap:
View attachment 4850621
View attachment 4850622
But the inside of the strap has nothing of the sort. I put chamberlains on the inside of the strap and it has moistened its up nicely. Two coats of CPR so far on the rest of the bag.
View attachment 4850623
View attachment 4850624
I don’t know the history here... maybe it is a layer of paint, or similar top coat of some sort

I'm not really an expert, I'm afraid- more of a dabbler. But unlike vintage Coach, it seems to me that vintage DB definitely has surface color of some sort on their bags. I have had some with a loss of color that were not the same as faded Coach. What I have observed is that the leather trims and staps are dyed through like Coach, but the more colorful surfaces of the main areas sometimes appear coated.
So, maybe your surface coat has just cracked with dryness?

I'll go look at some of my DB and see if I can find anything comparable.

More expert opinions than mine are definitely welcome!

Nataluccia3 · Sep 16, 2020

RadhaDB said:
I'm not really an expert, I'm afraid- more of a dabbler. But unlike vintage Coach, it seems to me that vintage DB definitely has surface color of some sort on their bags. I have had some with a loss of color that were not the same as faded Coach. What I have observed is that the leather trims and staps are dyed through like Coach, but the more colorful surfaces of the main areas sometimes appear coated.
So, maybe your surface coat has just cracked with dryness?

I'll go look at some of my DB and see if I can find anything comparable.

More expert opinions than mine are definitely welcome!

Exactly. Faded Coach is a completely different thing. My surface has certainly cracked. Also in the strap. But it looks like it’ll lay back down again on the strap. It’s pulled up like scales - on an angle. The top of the flap is a different situation... I’ll search through this thread to see if anyone uses acrylic+cpr like coach or if there’s another trick for these

Nataluccia3 · Sep 16, 2020

RadhaDB said:
I'm not really an expert, I'm afraid- more of a dabbler. But unlike vintage Coach, it seems to me that vintage DB definitely has surface color of some sort on their bags. I have had some with a loss of color that were not the same as faded Coach. What I have observed is that the leather trims and staps are dyed through like Coach, but the more colorful surfaces of the main areas sometimes appear coated.
So, maybe your surface coat has just cracked with dryness?

I'll go look at some of my DB and see if I can find anything comparable.

More expert opinions than mine are definitely welcome!

Thanks for entertaining my rehab process here in DB land!!

pammbw · Sep 26, 2020

Nataluccia3 said:
Teehee. I do see some familiar peeps over here so hopefully we can make this bag wearable again! I’ll look back through the older posts for thoughts on the satchel type thingie (see my technical verbiage )

it’s missing the strap, unfortunate. But hopefully it’ll clean up well. It also has loads of pockets and such on the inside - a feature I’m not accustomed to. I usually prefer them naked, but we’ll see if it grown on me.

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I have this bag in Navy that I inherited from my mom. She was a Dooney fanatic! It's a great bag! It has loops on the side so you should be able to use any strap with clips.

Nataluccia3 · Sep 26, 2020

pammbw said:
I have this bag in Navy that I inherited from my mom. She was a Dooney fanatic! It's a great bag! It has loops on the side so you should be able to use any strap with clips.

It is a cool bag! I’m certainly not used to all of the pockets inside though. It kind of feels like an overgrown wallet. Haha. Tough to swap out bags if you actually use the pockets

Nataluccia3 · Sep 26, 2020

@pammbw have you ever worked on one of these?

Nataluccia3 said:
@RadhaDB hi!! Do you think there’s paint on this bag? It looks like a thin layer on top that is cracking. Strange. Here’s the top flap and the strap:
View attachment 4850621
View attachment 4850622
But the inside of the strap has nothing of the sort. I put chamberlains on the inside of the strap and it has moistened its up nicely. Two coats of CPR so far on the rest of the bag.
View attachment 4850623
View attachment 4850624
I don’t know the history here... maybe it is a layer of paint, or similar top coat of some sort

pammbw · Sep 26, 2020

Nataluccia3 said:
@pammbw have you ever worked on one of these?

Have not worked on that particular bag but I am pretty sure it's not paint. Dooney did some bags using bridle or saddle leather. Much like Hermes, Dooney has an equestrian heritage. The part that is cracking is basically the finish on the leather. Maybe Google saddle leather restoration and see if there is any useful info? I would not attempt to fill the cracks with paint. I prefer to leave the patina but that is totally personal preference.

Nataluccia3 · Sep 26, 2020

pammbw said:
Have not worked on that particular bag but I am pretty sure it's not paint. Dooney did some bags using bridle or saddle leather. Much like Hermes, Coach and Dooney have an equestrian heritage. The part that is cracking is basically the finish on the leather. Maybe Google saddle leather restoration and see if there is any useful info? I would not attempt to fill the cracks with paint. I prefer to leave the patina but that is totally personal preference.

Completely agree about not using paint unless it’s a last resort. Also because it’ll crack much the same as what’s currently on the bag. I need something pliable.

I’ll search online as you suggested. Hopefully I can find something useful. It’s a great piece but I’m afraid of it because it’s completely unfamiliar to me.

lavenderjunkie · Sep 27, 2020

Nataluccia3 said:
It is a cool bag! I’m certainly not used to all of the pockets inside though. It kind of feels like an overgrown wallet. Haha. Tough to swap out bags if you actually use the pockets

Switching between different manufacturers handbags with different interior pocket designs
can be a pain. Lot's of ladies use an organizer so they can just pop the whole thing in and out.
And these days pouches (and pouchettes) are very popular as an alternative also.

But, once you get used to using the pockets on a Dooney you realize how useful the
organization can be. If you stay in the same handbag for a while, you remember what
you put in which pocket. Or if you switch between other Dooneys, then the 'standard
Dooney set-up' of interior pockets, as collectors call it, make it every easy too stay
organized. But if you go between brands, as many do, then pouches or a bag organizer
makes the switching easier and takes away the problem of getting used to the interior
organizational differences among brands.

Enjoy your new Dooney once you get it rehabbed.

Nataluccia3 · Sep 27, 2020

lavenderjunkie said:
Switching between different manufacturers handbags with different interior pocket designs
can be a pain. Lot's of ladies use an organizer so they can just pop the whole thing in and out.
And these days pouches (and pouchettes) are very popular as an alternative also.

But, once you get used to using the pockets on a Dooney you realize how useful the
organization can be. If you stay in the same handbag for a while, you remember what
you put in which pocket. Or if you switch between other Dooneys, then the 'standard
Dooney set-up' of interior pockets, as collectors call it, make it every easy too stay
organized. But if you go between brands, as many do, then pouches or a bag organizer
makes the switching easier and takes away the problem of getting used to the interior
organizational differences among brands.

Enjoy your new Dooney once you get it rehabbed.

Oh hello!! Thanks for your response

I do enjoy pockets in my large bags. They’re all designated for particular things and serve me well in various types of outings. I usually use them to stay organized but don’t switch out those bags often. Whenever I need that arrangement of items, I grab that bag and go. For these, I’m not quite sure how I’ll put them to good use. Once I’ve seen it in action, it’ll be easier to move in. I typically prefer the bags within bags approach for handbags because I do switch out often. I’ll grab various bags depending on what I need but they typically fit well together (mostly snack and diaper bags, first aid kits, sunscreen or big spray if outside activities, extra socks for play gyms, etc. haha).

I have seen your name a bit in this thread. do you have any experience with the older bridle leather? I have a bag that I adore from about ‘82 or ‘83 and I’m not sure where to begin with the rehab. I’ve done some online searches of repairing cracked bridle leather but nothing has been useful thus far. Here’s the bag: