Hermes Vintage Bag Nightmares & Hermes Leather Care

[Lifeisgreat]

Doc, I bought a Kelly in gold courcheval leather on ebay late last year. Hermes spa did a wonderful job restoring it. What do I do know to keep it in good condition? I live in a very dry climate, the desert southwest. I've searched the forum for courcheval specifically and didn't see a post on care. I'm sorry if it's there and I missed it!

 

[docride]

Ok, update:
I was able to remove most of the white polish with a Magic Eraser and some Lexol PH wipes (and a lot of elbow grease). Now what's left are the green stains (pretty sure it's not mold but keeping my fingers crossed), which I will wait for doc's expertise before even going near!

Hi there,
Well it looks like the bag has a spill inside I don't think it's mold. Perhaps it was some hand sanitizer,or make up and then when it was cleaned off it was stained,the interior is lambskin so it's not easy to clean up, and certain cleaners will in fact make things look worse. You could send this bag out to a trusted leather restoration professional and let them over dye your bags interior or you can use a bag insert and just hide the stains from site.
Hermes will not do white bag repainting on the interior to my knowledge but you can ask,perhaps they'll send it to Paris and sort it out. A white clemence Kelly bag is such a nice bag to have like a yummy squishy marshmallow... I would just hang in there, a good leather restoration specialist can sort this bag out and keep her looking good for years to come.

 

[docride]

Doc, I bought a Kelly in gold courcheval leather on ebay late last year. Hermes spa did a wonderful job restoring it. What do I do know to keep it in good condition? I live in a very dry climate, the desert southwest. I've searched the forum for courcheval specifically and didn't see a post on care. I'm sorry if it's there and I missed it!

If you use a conditioner the colored polish applied durng spa would be removed so I am not sure how to help you with out undoing what has been done during spa.... Would you liek to show me the areas of concern?

 

[juliet827]

Hi there,
Well it looks like the bag has a spill inside I don't think it's mold. Perhaps it was some hand sanitizer,or make up and then when it was cleaned off it was stained,the interior is lambskin so it's not easy to clean up, and certain cleaners will in fact make things look worse. You could send this bag out to a trusted leather restoration professional and let them over dye your bags interior or you can use a bag insert and just hide the stains from site.
Hermes will not do white bag repainting on the interior to my knowledge but you can ask,perhaps they'll send it to Paris and sort it out. A white clemence Kelly bag is such a nice bag to have like a yummy squishy marshmallow... I would just hang in there, a good leather restoration specialist can sort this bag out and keep her looking good for years to come.

Thank you so much, doc! I think I will just leave her be for now. Now that the white polish is gone it's less of an eyesore and I think I can live with it. Many thanks.

Tomorrow my Lincoln stain polish for my BBK with the color loss is scheduled for delivery, so I am hoping that you can give me advice on how to "push" the stain into the faded/mottled areas! I have her blackrocked and ready to go, with applicator brushes and buffing cloths/brushes all lined up. So excited for this project! This Kelly is my baby - I saved for two years to buy her and she is so dear to my heart.

Many many thanks for your help and wisdom!

 

[Kappa]

Hi Docride! I have another question regarding the leather tearing on this Hermes Kelly Depeche:

You can see there's tearing at the handle attachments. Would this tearing further deteriorate with use, and is it something I should be worried about? Also, If I were to purchase this item, what care should I provide to prevent future tearing?

Edit: The briefcase looks to be in amazing condition otherwise! Lastly (as a Hermes newcomer), this is barenia, right?

 

[Lifeisgreat]

If you use a conditioner the colored polish applied durng spa would be removed so I am not sure how to help you with out undoing what has been done during spa.... Would you liek to show me the areas of concern?

There is nothing worrying me at the moment, Doc. I only fear that since I live in such a hot dry place the leather will eventually need some care or conditioning. Are there any steps I can take going forward? And thank you for your reply and help!

 

[juliet827]

Alrighty, UPS brought my Lincoln Stain wax polish, so I will await your instructions, doc! Here are a few pictures of the color loss to remind you. I'm kind of scared of this polish- it looks so...waxy and intimidating compared to the Meltonian creams I'm used to. But I'm game to try my best!



*not sure why the pictures uploaded sideways - sorry.

 

[skimmy]

hi, doc!

i have a givenchy nightingale in a light-colored (like stone / white khaki) suede that has denim transfer along the bottom. is there anything i can use to clean it? will the lexol ph wipes work? many thanks in advance!!!

 

[docride]

Thank you so much, doc! I think I will just leave her be for now. Now that the white polish is gone it's less of an eyesore and I think I can live with it. Many thanks.

Tomorrow my Lincoln stain polish for my BBK with the color loss is scheduled for delivery, so I am hoping that you can give me advice on how to "push" the stain into the faded/mottled areas! I have her blackrocked and ready to go, with applicator brushes and buffing cloths/brushes all lined up. So excited for this project! This Kelly is my baby - I saved for two years to buy her and she is so dear to my heart.

Many many thanks for your help and wisdom!

Most welcome.

 

[docride]

Hi Docride! I have another question regarding the leather tearing on this Hermes Kelly Depeche:

You can see there's tearing at the handle attachments. Would this tearing further deteriorate with use, and is it something I should be worried about? Also, If I were to purchase this item, what care should I provide to prevent future tearing?

Edit: The briefcase looks to be in amazing condition otherwise! Lastly (as a Hermes newcomer), this is barenia, right?

This leatehr is not Barenia, it's either Vache Natural or Vache Espace but I am leaning toward it being Vache Natural. Those tear indicate that this bag has been allowed to get overly dry and use stress points lost enought flexablity and elasticity to begin to tear under strain/stress. Stabilizing a tear fixing it and then conditioning will help. But this is a warning sign that shoudl garner some serious consideration, is the rest of the bag's leather quite dry? the answer is most likely yes. Are you prepared to send this bag to Hermes spa and possibly repair the handle bases or to do a home remedy now and send it to H for handle base repairs eventually? Do you like leather that looks a bit patina-ed and distressed/weathered? If so, go for it. This is a really cool bag in a rare leather. It will become quite beautiful over the years with care and conditioning. If you decide to take this bag on as a project then you can come on back and I'll help you.
Keep in mind this leather will get water spots,and marks without conditioning and care.
Good luck.
PS> I have written many posts,guides and threads on Vache Natural and the Hermes Saddle leathers so you will have lots of information to guide you in your choice.

 

[docride]

Alrighty, UPS brought my Lincoln Stain wax polish, so I will await your instructions, doc! Here are a few pictures of the color loss to remind you. I'm kind of scared of this polish- it looks so...waxy and intimidating compared to the Meltonian creams I'm used to. But I'm game to try my best!



*not sure why the pictures uploaded sideways - sorry.

Hi there not sure which page but there is a guide to polishing your Hermes bag in this thread with step by step photos which may help...
You will want to get some Tee Shirt Material and wrap it around your first three fingers to use as your applicator.
Rub your wrapped fingers on the stain wax polish cake untill you have got the polish on your cloth
Apply the stain wax polish using your wrapped fingers on the areas of color loss... work the stain wax into the leather with small circles and medium pressure.. working a small section at a time ...Allow the polish to go dull/dry
use a medium polishing brush to bring up the shine and check to see if you have sufficent color coverage.
Now at this point you are simply checking to see if you can get good results with this stain wax on your color loss areas..so, just try one area and let me know how it goes... OK?

 

[juliet827]

Hi there not sure which page but there is a guide to polishing your Hermes bag in this thread with step by step photos which may help...
You will want to get some Tee Shirt Material and wrap it around your first three fingers to use as your applicator.
Rub your wrapped fingers on the stain wax polish cake untill you have got the polish on your cloth
Apply the stain wax polish using your wrapped fingers on the areas of color loss... work the stain wax into the leather with small circles and medium pressure.. working a small section at a time ...Allow the polish to go dull/dry
use a medium polishing brush to bring up the shine and check to see if you have sufficent color coverage.
Now at this point you are simply checking to see if you can get good results with this stain wax on your color loss areas..so, just try one area and let me know how it goes... OK?

Ok! Thank you! Here I go....

 

[Kappa]

This leatehr is not Barenia, it's either Vache Natural or Vache Espace but I am leaning toward it being Vache Natural. Those tear indicate that this bag has been allowed to get overly dry and use stress points lost enought flexablity and elasticity to begin to tear under strain/stress. Stabilizing a tear fixing it and then conditioning will help. But this is a warning sign that shoudl garner some serious consideration, is the rest of the bag's leather quite dry? the answer is most likely yes. Are you prepared to send this bag to Hermes spa and possibly repair the handle bases or to do a home remedy now and send it to H for handle base repairs eventually? Do you like leather that looks a bit patina-ed and distressed/weathered? If so, go for it. This is a really cool bag in a rare leather. It will become quite beautiful over the years with care and conditioning. If you decide to take this bag on as a project then you can come on back and I'll help you.
Keep in mind this leather will get water spots,and marks without conditioning and care.
Good luck.
PS> I have written many posts,guides and threads on Vache Natural and the Hermes Saddle leathers so you will have lots of information to guide you in your choice.

Thanks for all the help! I am in love with the idea of barenia and vache natural. I would be thrilled to have an item change with use and I'm not put off by the marks and imperfections I would add to the item.

However the handle tears are killer if they're going to get worse. I don't think I could live without a briefcase if it took a few months to repair!

 

[docride]

There is nothing worrying me at the moment, Doc. I only fear that since I live in such a hot dry place the leather will eventually need some care or conditioning. Are there any steps I can take going forward? And thank you for your reply and help!

Well, first step would be to see if your bag is in fact dry at this point.... Do you have any micro tears or cracking anywhere on the bag? Checking also to see scratches and rubbed areas and anywhere which may have missing top skin. Photos help me help you....

 

[juliet827]

Reporting back:

Not sure it absorbed that much of the stain - it looks better, but still looks blotchy and a bit faded. But these pics are in direct light - if she's not in direct light she looks great - pretty perfect. The second pic is in indirect light (the lighter spot in the center is just sheen, not discoloration)

What do you think? Should I do the whole bag and see how she looks? I hate to redye unless I absolutely have to.
Thanks so much for being so generous with your time, doc - I appreciate it so very much.