Wow! I know this is an old post, but the "after" results are really impressive given the "before" state. Thanks for giving me the courage to thoroughly clean the vintage buckle satchel I bought from Poshmark. It's in really good shape, but smells a tiny bit musty.
Dooney rehab thread
- Thread starter missy_g
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Any chance you have photos of before, during, after, for any D&B AWL cleanings? I was initially looking at vintage coach bags and realized I could save a lot of money getting one that needed cleaning and doing it myself, but instead found a vintage D&B buckle satchel in good shape that had everything I wanted in a bag. It's in good shape, just a bit of edge wear, but smells like it was probably stored in a basement. A funky, musty odor. It might dissipate over time, but a good cleaning would speed up the process. I'd really love to see photos of how a vintage AWL bag looks with the dunking process. I've seen plenty of Coach examples and it's impressive on those bags! Hoping it's the same on a D&B AWL.
Hi everybody! I'm wondering if anybody has tips for cleaning the DB Italia line leather handbags? I have a Valentina that needs some cleaning. Thank you in advance.
No persoal experience, maybe someone else will chime in.
But... check the Dooney web site for care info and start there.
I am new to vintage D&B bags. I just purchased this satchel bag today at a second hand shop. It has mold on the outside and also the brass lock has some discoloration on it, probably from moisture also. I have dunked Coach bags to give a good cleaning but never Dooney's. I see there are several methods of removing (or attempting to) mold on leather, including lemon juice/water, vinegar/water, rubbing alcohol/water. And sunlight. Then condition. For those of you who have experience in this, I would love to pick your brain. Thank you in advance! 
If it were my bag I would dunk it. Give it a vinegar and water rinse. There are several good step by step posts on this process on the Coach rehab thread. I have dunked 2 vintage awl Dooneys and both came out fine. If you don’t want to do a full dunk then definitely a good wipe down with vinegar and water to kill the mold, then conditioner.
Thank you for your reply; I ended up not dunking it; after removing all the removable parts I did give it a good wash-down with vinegar water then set it in the sun. I cleaned up all the leather accessories the same way, replaced the leather fob holder (made one), used brasso on the brass and it looks really good! I can tell that since I got it pretty wet that some of the black ran onto the tan leather, but after treating it all with CPR leather conditioner then Blackrock, it looks so much better. The only thing that I can't really salvage is the brittle tan leather shoulder strap; it's pretty shot, so I will just use a similar strap from another handbag for now. I'm happy with how it turned out. I still need to take photos of that and another Dooney bag that I cleaned up; then post them.
I do not know if this is the right place to ask, but I own a vintage DB bag which is stiff and hard enough to be a murder weapon. My question - are all older DB leathers this hard and stiff and second, is it possible to soften the leather. As it is, the bag is not comfortable to carry and use. Thanks for any help.
I ask this again, because I really love one specific vintage DB bag and would love to buy one. However, if all the DB leather is as hard and stiff as it is on the bag I have, I will not purchase another. My question is all their pebbled leather that stiff and if so, is there a way to soften the leather. Thanks in advance for any insights.
I can't address all vintage DB, but the few I own are not hard or stiff.
The leather is thick. which can make it seem firmer than thinner (lower quality) leathers
or more modern leathers that have been tumbled during manufacturing to make them
softer. The vintage DB leather pebbled texture was created by shrinking the leather.
This means there was more leather per square inch after the process.
I don't know if the one DB vintage bag you have was previously treated/mistreated by the
owner or just dried out from age and/or storage conditions.
Thank you @lavenderjunkie for your reply. I do suspect that the leather might have dried out, so I will give another DB purse a chance 
. I love their vintage equestrian purses, so I will keep an eye peeled for those.
. I love their vintage equestrian purses, so I will keep an eye peeled for those.If you still have the bag, and at this point you have nothing to lose, so why not dunk it and go through the basic Coach rehab process to try and get some moisture back into that leather? You can find more info further back in this rehab thread or in the Coach rehab thread.Thank you @lavenderjunkie for your reply. I do suspect that the leather might have dried out, so I will give another DB purse a chance
Thanks @pammbw, I have thought about doing that, but I'm not sure that this pebbled awl can deal with being immersed. I would rather pass is on to someone who can deal with hard leather, than completely ruin it. I will cogitate on it .
.