Fix for Galliera Black Ring Marks Problem

[ilvoelv]

Thank you for this suggestion shutterbug! I can't wait to do this on my galliera. We need more guys like you out there!

 

[RoseNBloom]

Old thread, but very much appreciated. Not to scared to buy this bag preloved now. Will clean with LMB then cover the rings to prevent recurrence. Thanks.

 

[Mrs Darling]

Old thread, but very much appreciated. Not to scared to buy this bag preloved now. Will clean with LMB then cover the rings to prevent recurrence. Thanks.

You Will be very happy with the results.
My Galliera is like brand new and have never seen the black marks again. Congratulations on your Galliera

 

[northerndancer]

I know this is an old thread but with the Galliera being discontinued people are scrambling around looking for preowned so the problem still exists for bags that never got the new rings. So I thought this thread deserved a bump.

I have had the skins on my mono Galliera for two years now and they are still working great. And no black marks since then.

 

[forespec]

Wonderful idea

 

[aga5]

I know this has been bumped. I took my my bag in land lv replaced the rings with the new ones for free. They had to send the bag out.

 

[hippieLVoe]

I know this has been bumped. I took my my bag in land lv replaced the rings with the new ones for free. They had to send the bag out.

I'm glad you were able to get the new rings!

This older thread inspired me to stop by my favorite LV store to ask about getting the rings on my 2010 Galliera replaced with the new ones. My SA seemed confused about what I was talking about or he played dumb. I'm not sure which one.

Then, I called another LV store to ask if they replaced the Galliera rings due to the black marks. The lady that I spoke with said yes and to bring my bag in for them to replace the rings, and that it would be complimentary.

Today, I drove 40 minutes to the store and the (different) SA was very confused about what I was talking about and told me "you can't believe everything you read on the internet regarding Louis Vuitton." It took all of my self-control to be polite after this comment. Then, he said that he would look up how much it would cost me to replace the rings (which he said wouldn't have the plastic inserts) and that it would need to be shipped out for 6-8 weeks. I then explained to him again that my rings weren't damaged, but they were causing the black marks since they had no protectors. Then, he looked at the corners and said that there was no way the rings were causing the black marks.

Even after I explained that I had spoken to a lady from his LV about the issue and she told me to bring my bag in to be fixed due to the defective rings, he wouldn't budge and acted terse with me. So, I thanked him and left with my Galliera.

So, now I'm back on this thread to try to fix the defective rings myself. I'm so confused as to why different LVs and SA's within the same LV's tell me different things. I've never experienced this at any other retailer.

Have any other Galliera owners been able to get the new rings with the plastic inserts on your bag in 2014? If so, how did you go about it?

 

[hippieLVoe]

I'm glad you were able to get the new rings!

This older thread inspired me to stop by my favorite LV store to ask about getting the rings on my 2010 Galliera replaced with the new ones. My SA seemed confused about what I was talking about or he played dumb. I'm not sure which one.

Then, I called another LV store to ask if they replaced the Galliera rings due to the black marks. The lady that I spoke with said yes and to bring my bag in for them to replace the rings, and that it would be complimentary.

Today, I drove 40 minutes to the store and the (different) SA was very confused about what I was talking about and told me "you can't believe everything you read on the internet regarding Louis Vuitton." It took all of my self-control to be polite after this comment. Then, he said that he would look up how much it would cost me to replace the rings (which he said wouldn't have the plastic inserts) and that it would need to be shipped out for 6-8 weeks. I then explained to him again that my rings weren't damaged, but they were causing the black marks since they had no protectors. Then, he looked at the corners and said that there was no way the rings were causing the black marks.

Even after I explained that I had spoken to a lady from his LV about the issue and she told me to bring my bag in to be fixed due to the defective rings, he wouldn't budge and acted terse with me. So, I thanked him and left with my Galliera.

So, now I'm back on this thread to try to fix the defective rings myself. I'm so confused as to why different LVs and SA's within the same LV's tell me different things. I've never experienced this at any other retailer.

Have any other Galliera owners been able to get the new rings with the plastic inserts on your bag in 2014? If so, how did you go about it?

I finally ordered the Zagg flexible shield and followed the OP's directions to put them on my Galliera rings. Then, I erased the dark marks as best as I could. The only thing that I changed was shortening the length of the Zagg templates. As a result, my shields don't overlap in the middle, but they almost meet. I hope that the small piece of the ring that is exposed won't cause any dark marks.

I'll update after awhile to share the results because I know that there have to be other Galliera owners that are having this same problem.

Also, last week, I followed the "patina champ" method to clean up my Vachetta and canvas. It looks much cleaner, but my vach is a little dry. Now, I'm waiting for my first LMB kit so I can condition and protect my leather.

 

[La française]

Many of you know about the problem with the Galliera bags and the brass rings which over time leave black marks on the vachetta. This thread details the issue pretty well:

http://forum.purseblog.com/louis-vu...-wearing-really-badly-anyone-else-563481.html

First off, I'm a guy and I bought the Galliera GM for my GF about a year ago, and soon after she started noticing the black marks. Being the type of person who likes to take care of her bag, this bothered her tremendously and she resorted to using an eraser every day to clean off the black marks. I mean, every day, multiple times a day. Eventually, however, this started discoloring the vachetta itself (turning it a lighter color), and that's when I researched the issue and found the thread above.

Long story short, we brought it in, me armed with a printout of the whole thread to show this was a common issue, and had them replace the rings AND the leather trim. We got the bag back 6 weeks later, she was ultra excited, but guess what...the problem soon resurfaced. Every day when she used her white eraser it would remove black dust from under the rings. It was a huge disappointment!

That's when I had an idea.

I use this product called Invisible Shield to protect my iPhone. It is a super resilient material that's intended to prevent scratches to delicate surfaces like the iPhone screen. Once applied, it stays tight and is very hard to notice, but it can be peeled off very easily and leaves behind no residue.

Since I had some leftover pieces I decided to cut them into strips and basically line the inside part of the rings with them. This way wherever the rings touched each other (which is where the oxidation occurs and black dust is generated), the Invisible Shield would act as a barrier between them. It's basically the coating that LV should have had on the rings to begin with.

Well I'm happy to report that 2 weeks later there are NO marks whatsoever. Whenever she uses the eraser, whereas before it would remove black dust, now it comes away totally clean. She has completely stopped worrying about the issue and loves the bag the way it deserves.

If anyone is interested in this fix, you might want to visit your local mall and see if there is an Invisible Shield booth set up. They may or may not help you, but if they're bored and you're nice to them maybe they'll help you with this.

If you want to DYI, I would suggest you order online from a cheaper company called Best Skins Ever. Same product, but much cheaper because their marketing and packaging is minimal. For instance, you could buy the iPhone back skin for $5.99 (http://www.bestskinsever.com/iphone-3g-3gs-skin) and that would be enough to cover the rings.

All you want to do is cut the material into strips just wide enough to cover the inner ring surface. You'll need 2 strips per ring: each strip just long enough to cover half length wise, because it would be too difficult to have 1 strip cover the whole ring.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. It's a crazy thing to have to worry about this for such an expensive bag, but if a quick and easy solution like this can help relieve some of that anxiety, then I say go for it.

Hi,

I am having hard time finding Invisible Shield in Europe.
First of all I wonder if this kind of product is still on the market as we now all use silicon shells.
Does anyone have a clue on where I could order a similar product to put on my Galiera rings ?

 

[Debbie65]

Many of you know about the problem with the Galliera bags and the brass rings which over time leave black marks on the vachetta. This thread details the issue pretty well:

http://forum.purseblog.com/louis-vu...-wearing-really-badly-anyone-else-563481.html

First off, I'm a guy and I bought the Galliera GM for my GF about a year ago, and soon after she started noticing the black marks. Being the type of person who likes to take care of her bag, this bothered her tremendously and she resorted to using an eraser every day to clean off the black marks. I mean, every day, multiple times a day. Eventually, however, this started discoloring the vachetta itself (turning it a lighter color), and that's when I researched the issue and found the thread above.

Long story short, we brought it in, me armed with a printout of the whole thread to show this was a common issue, and had them replace the rings AND the leather trim. We got the bag back 6 weeks later, she was ultra excited, but guess what...the problem soon resurfaced. Every day when she used her white eraser it would remove black dust from under the rings. It was a huge disappointment!

That's when I had an idea.

I use this product called Invisible Shield to protect my iPhone. It is a super resilient material that's intended to prevent scratches to delicate surfaces like the iPhone screen. Once applied, it stays tight and is very hard to notice, but it can be peeled off very easily and leaves behind no residue.

Since I had some leftover pieces I decided to cut them into strips and basically line the inside part of the rings with them. This way wherever the rings touched each other (which is where the oxidation occurs and black dust is generated), the Invisible Shield would act as a barrier between them. It's basically the coating that LV should have had on the rings to begin with.

Well I'm happy to report that 2 weeks later there are NO marks whatsoever. Whenever she uses the eraser, whereas before it would remove black dust, now it comes away totally clean. She has completely stopped worrying about the issue and loves the bag the way it deserves.

If anyone is interested in this fix, you might want to visit your local mall and see if there is an Invisible Shield booth set up. They may or may not help you, but if they're bored and you're nice to them maybe they'll help you with this.

If you want to DYI, I would suggest you order online from a cheaper company called Best Skins Ever. Same product, but much cheaper because their marketing and packaging is minimal. For instance, you could buy the iPhone back skin for $5.99 (http://www.bestskinsever.com/iphone-3g-3gs-skin) and that would be enough to cover the rings.

All you want to do is cut the material into strips just wide enough to cover the inner ring surface. You'll need 2 strips per ring: each strip just long enough to cover half length wise, because it would be too difficult to have 1 strip cover the whole ring.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. It's a crazy thing to have to worry about this for such an expensive bag, but if a quick and easy solution like this can help relieve some of that anxiety, then I say go for it.

I know your message was from 2010 and here it is 2025, but I want to say THANK YOU! I just bought a Galliera with newer like vachetta so I don't want to get marks on it. Thank you for taking the time to mention a solution!

 

[Pallor]

I also wanted to say Thank You! I just did this to my bag tonight.

I actually had ordered some hyrdogel screen protectors for my iPhone since it needed the glass protector replaced. And I was ecstatic when the one I ordered had three in them - I used one to cut 4 strips for my rings on my Galleria GM. And then I cut out a plate protector (like the bluish one the original shipped with) so that I can help alleviate getting more scratches. I have minimal scratches (oddly from sadly trying to just buff the plate). It's super shiny.

Bonus - with the rings wrapped, the bag makes less noise.

It's time to break out the classics and wear them proudly!

 

[Debbie65]

I also wanted to say Thank You! I just did this to my bag tonight.

I actually had ordered some hyrdogel screen protectors for my iPhone since it needed the glass protector replaced. And I was ecstatic when the one I ordered had three in them - I used one to cut 4 strips for my rings on my Galleria GM. And then I cut out a plate protector (like the bluish one the original shipped with) so that I can help alleviate getting more scratches. I have minimal scratches (oddly from sadly trying to just buff the plate). It's super shiny.

Bonus - with the rings wrapped, the bag makes less noise.

It's time to break out the classics and wear them proudly!

Oh cool! That's great! I did mine a few weeks ago but couldnt find the clear cell phone protector (maybe I didn't search enough lol) but I came across the clear car wrap paint protector for cars on Amazon so I ordered that. I just bought a small roll for like $9, .MORE then what I need. I had a hard time keeping it from curling at the edges as it didnt want to flex that easily with the curve of the ring. I need to use a blow dryer or heat gun with it I suppose. Hummm...i need to go see if it's still on there. Lol. I did get it to bend, and its pretty invisible, just not sure if it eventually lifted up again. I'll check on it later. Lol. If not Ill try again with my heat gun. Yes time to take our large Y2K bags out for some sunshine!

 

[Barginhntr]

Can anyone post a link to the type of screen protector to use? I'm in the US. The ones I see are the harder more rigid plastic types and I don't think that will bend to fit the Galliera rings. Wish someone would do a Youtube video showing how to do this also. It's hard to envision how to do it by looking only at the pictures.