how hard/easy is barenia leather to maintain?
- Thread starter lilmonkey
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Try using your fingers first. The Hermes craftspeople I have chatted with are adamant not to use anything on Barenia (no saddle soap, nothing even if it's from Hermes) although experience and opinions differ greatly on this forum. I assume yours is smooth Barenia as BF doesn't seem to scratch. Is it preloved? I have 4 smooth Barenia bags, a few SLGs, bracelets belts etc, all were new at retail and none came with scratches when they were purchased. Honestly this is how the leather ages, this is an aspect all Barenia connoisseurs expect and rather enjoy. I would relax and just enjoy the bag, add a few scratches of your own and wait for the patina to develop! Congrats!
Agree with @periogirl28
There is no way to keep Barenia perfect unless you keep it unused in its box but that will totally defeat the purpose of having the bag. You should be able to buff out light scratches with your fingers, else they may just lighten overtime with use anyway. The beauty of barenia is that it will acquire signs of use unique to you and you only, so sit back and appreciate the patina that develops overtime.
There is no way to keep Barenia perfect unless you keep it unused in its box but that will totally defeat the purpose of having the bag. You should be able to buff out light scratches with your fingers, else they may just lighten overtime with use anyway. The beauty of barenia is that it will acquire signs of use unique to you and you only, so sit back and appreciate the patina that develops overtime.
Agree, Barenia gets marks when you breathe on it basically. Rub the bag lightly with clean fingers to blend the scratches back in. I've had a Barenia Birkin hit by a bike messenger and I could rub the marks away.
That said, if the scratches really bother you and you don't want a bag that gets marks and patina, then this might not be the leather for you, which is totally understandable.
That said, if the scratches really bother you and you don't want a bag that gets marks and patina, then this might not be the leather for you, which is totally understandable.
The Hermes craftspeople I have chatted with at NYC Madison said it is ok to treat it with saddle soap from Hermes. Barenia is an equestrian offerings leather before it was even introduced to bags. I have done so on my bag it has done wonders removing all scuffs and light scratches.
How did the leather look after applying? Did it get any darker and/or shinier?
Thank you in advance.
Negative, neither. It's darker as its wet but then goes back to the caramel look. Do some search on how to go about it. I used a 100% horse hair brush to lather the soap and brushed it. Then wipped it off with a micro fiber and left alone for 24 hours to dry.
Pics before and after, might look a shade darker because this was a couple of hours after cleaning it. It bounced back to caramel.
+1
i once had a fauve smooth barenia HAC 32 and it wore like iron. It was like the magic bag
i also had a 35 trim II fauve barenia. the leather felt thinner, and it took on this amazing shine.
(I did nothing to either of them)
I personally advise leaving smooth barenia alone (though I do have box treated as per @docride)
Omg no magic sponge. Magic sponge is abrasive!
simply rub it gently with your fingers to blend the edges, or if you absolutely must, a little saddle soap or leather cream.
but barenia will show all the marks of use and if you do this to every scratch, you will eventually ruin the bag. Use it and the scratches wear in and the bag color deepens a little.
My craftspeople (including Edouard at Madison) have always said that the "passage au savon" with saddle soap is an option (they will do it themselves if you ask, no idea what it costs as I haven't tried). I was told it will darken the bag, but my Barenia B is still REALLY light, no real patina yet. Basically if you don't yet have patina, this treatment is supposed to speed it up.
In the end the only thing I ever had done to my Birkin was, when I came in the boutique with the bag and it had the bloom coming up (the white fats at surface), the artisan whisked it away to blow-dry it.
Personally I wouldn't try to soap my bag because I am a klutz, but I know many folks here use saddle soap and/or saddle baume and are very happy.
ETA: DH has a Barenia bag now a good five years old and has done nothing to it, and has not even worried about it for a second, and it looks fabulous, but definitely has scratches and patina. He shoves it under airplane seats and drop-kicks it across rooms (the latter may be a *slight* exaggeration).
This is pretty much why we love this leather so much.
The beauty of Barenia is that it ages like a saddle. If you start buffing and soaping and polishing every scratch you will ruin your bag because you will damage the top layer of the skin. This is an elegant, sexy, casual leather, not a prim, perfect, pristine leather. If marks, spots and scratches will really bother you, (and we all have our likes and dislikes so that’s fine) you might want to consider selling it now, before it loses value and getting a more mainstream leather like Togo or Clemence.
Etriers says it perfectly! The beauty of this skin is that it ages so elegantly - like a gorgeous person who conspicuously refuses to get Botox or fillers in middle age. My barenia B is 18 years old & to me, the leather just gets more interesting & alluring the more time & wear it accumulates…
