How to keep lightcolored Bag handles clean?

#16
aaallabama said:
yeah, i wanna know the answer to that question too, anyone (?) :shrugs:
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Hiya! I e-mailed Barbara through the website and she was amazingly sweet and friendly. She said that the leather is a bit stiffer afterwards, but with use, it'll soften up. She also said that the bag was actually not a Bubble Gum pink but some other color. She said it would have been much easier to do a Bubble Gum pink because there is less variation in the leather. I think she said it might be a Lilac or Rose that she restored. She said it takes more time to match the color because of he striations in the leather(I guess the distressing). I believe she quoted a full restoration like the one on the site around $100. I'll double check my e-mail and edit it later if I am wrong, but it seemed like a reasonable price for what she can do with a dirty bag.

Disclaimer: Btw, I am not affiliated with this company in anyway.
 
#18
I finally received my can of Shining Monkey protectant spray today,
the girls on the LV thread rave about how wonderful it is....tonight I will
spray my new LV bags and my light colored Balenciaga's as well. Will let you know how it turns out. I am hunting for that elusive handle protectant! (I just don't like dirty handles!)
 
#19
chloe231 said:
I finally received my can of Shining Monkey protectant spray today,
the girls on the LV thread rave about how wonderful it is....tonight I will
spray my new LV bags and my light colored Balenciaga's as well. Will let you know how it turns out. I am hunting for that elusive handle protectant! (I just don't like dirty handles!)
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oh goody, thanks so much chloe-girl, i've been interested in knowing more about this wonderful & mysterious "shining monkey" :nuts:
 
#21
chloe231 said:
I finally received my can of Shining Monkey protectant spray today,
the girls on the LV thread rave about how wonderful it is....tonight I will
spray my new LV bags and my light colored Balenciaga's as well. Will let you know how it turns out. I am hunting for that elusive handle protectant! (I just don't like dirty handles!)
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I've seen the raves on the LV thread as well--all very impressive results! They say the spray dries in about 10 seconds and doesn't alter the patina at all! :yes: I attempted to contact the company, but I haven't received a reply yet. I'm anxious to see the results on your light colored bbags.

As a follow up to the Lovingmybags, here is the e-mail she sent me:

"I would have to say that the bag we did is the 2004 Fall/Winter Rose with raised brass hardware, but don’t quote me on that…J. The bubblegum city bag would have been easier to restore because the color is uniform. The rose has a light veining print that we had to duplicate by hand printing it.

The process does not alter the feel that much, however, like anything new, leather finish needs to be “milled”. At the tannery that means putting it into a huge drum and tumbling it. When we work on a finished handbag, tumbling is not something that we can do…so until it is used a couple of times it may feel a little stiffer…just like a new bag would feel.
The finishes we use are leather finishes used by tanneries; the difference is that we can modify the finishes based on the application. For example if we are dealing with a slouchy bag, the finish must be very flexible to move with the leather and not crack, if we are working with a formed bag, the leather finish doesn’t need to be soft, it may be better harder.

As far as Apple Products, they are ok and typical of what is on the market for leather cleaning etc. Any spray on is fine since it is usually based on 3M Scotch guarding. However I doubt that it will prevent the darkening of the handles since it has a tendency to get “worn off”. Give it a try and see. It certainly can’t hurt.

Conditioners on leather handles is not recommended. The reason the handles get dirty in the first place is that the leather is absorbing hand oils and sweat. Conditioners are not made for removing that from the handles. It is possible with an alcohol based product to drive the oils into the leather, so it leaves the surface (making it look better) but in time the oils surface again…so it is just a temporary solution. If the handles are really dark they should be restored professionally.
When we restore handles we add an oil blocker to prevent oils from being absorbed by the leather, and we give our customers a Lovin my Bags sample of the pre-treatment to continue the protection at home. So far we have not seen anything on the market that can remedy handles."



As a NOTE: Because of the demand for a product to deal with the handle issues, we are developing an oil blocking product specifically for leather handles. I will let you know when it becomes available. J It will be called Lovin my Bags “For Handles Only” Is that original? Hahaha (if you think of a better name let me know!!)"

I'm very intrigued by the "For the Handles Only" oil blocker product! This totally sounds like something we can all use! :yahoo:
 
#22
Very nice and informative...that lady Barbara is super nice....I had asked her for restored bbag pics weeks ago and once she got some she remembered to send them to me...thanks for posting that email pup.....that handles product sounds very promising!!

I am having a hard time placing the color ofthe bag they restored....I am surprised it is not bubblegum pink , since that is what it looks like to me...doesn't really look like lilac or 04 rose....maybe if we had a pic of the metal plate we could place it......what do you guys think about the color?
 
#23
Pupsterpurse said:
As a NOTE: Because of the demand for a product to deal with the handle issues, we are developing an oil blocking product specifically for leather handles. I will let you know when it becomes available. J It will be called Lovin my Bags “For Handles Only” Is that original? Hahaha (if you think of a better name let me know!!)"

I'm very intrigued by the "For the Handles Only" oil blocker product! This totally sounds like something we can all use! :yahoo:
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wooooooooooo-whooooooooooooo, i can't wait for this product :wlae:
 
#26
SerenitySue said:
^^ Yeah and let's hope it's not like toxic fumes, lol!
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Oh, I know! That totally freaks me out about the AG! From what she's said, the ingredients on their products seem to be more gentle than the AG. I haven't actually tried any of the Lovingmybags products myself, though, I can't vouch for it, but the before and after pics are quite impressive. I hope the Handle thing comes out soon. :yahoo:
 
#27
varsha624 said:
Very nice and informative...that lady Barbara is super nice....I had asked her for restored bbag pics weeks ago and once she got some she remembered to send them to me...thanks for posting that email pup.....that handles product sounds very promising!!

I am having a hard time placing the color ofthe bag they restored....I am surprised it is not bubblegum pink , since that is what it looks like to me...doesn't really look like lilac or 04 rose....maybe if we had a pic of the metal plate we could place it......what do you guys think about the color?
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NP! :flowers: I'm going to ask her what the metal plate says so we can find out what color the bag really is. I agree that it definitely looks like Bubble gum pink.:yes:
 
#28
So now I see why everyone on the LV thread is so crazy about Shining
Monkey!! I just sprayed my White Work bag 4 times with the spray, it drys in about 6 seconds, no funky smell, not oily like the AG and no discoloration!! :yahoo: I sprayed the handles really well top and underside, it did not darken the cording, also sprayed my new EXTRA
LARGE (might be the world's biggest!) Speedy 4 times, no darkening,
:P. I am really excited!! :upsidedown: :wlae:


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