I tried to repair this ragged Saint Louis Goyard

[Sferics]

Hi there!

I found this very, very, very preloved Saint Louis online for a low price and to keep my tinker-gene busy I bought it and tried my best to refurbish it.
The leather was very greyish and there were holes in all four corners, also the glacing was cracked.
It's not perfect now but I think it is pretty ok and I will enjoy using it
The unnerving part was to bring back some of the points on the edges, mix the right colour and let them look a little faded as the original ones around...Neither did my smallest brush the job, nor a toothpick. In the end I used one of my cat's whiskers (of course one he lost previousely! )

I don't know how to clean the fabric the inside (it's not bad, just pursuant it's age), so if s.o. has some tipps I would greatly appreciate to hear them


This is how it looked before:







...and here it is now:

 

[indiaink]

Hi there!

I found this very, very, very preloved Saint Louis online for a low price and to keep my tinker-gene busy I bought it and tried my best to refurbish it.
The leather was very greyish and there were holes in all four corners, also the glacing was cracked.
It's not perfect now but I think it is pretty ok and I will enjoy using it
The unnerving part was to bring back some of the points on the edges, mix the right colour and let them look a little faded as the original ones around...Neither did my smallest brush the job, nor a toothpick. In the end I used one of my cat's whiskers (of course one he lost previousely! )

I don't know how to clean the fabric the inside (it's not bad, just pursuant it's age), so if s.o. has some tipps I would greatly appreciate to hear them


This is how it looked before:

View attachment 4851195View attachment 4851196View attachment 4851197View attachment 4851198View attachment 4851199





...and here it is now:


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View attachment 4851205
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That's amazing! Looks like you DID repair it! Good job, you!

 

[Four Tails]

Holy moly! Want to take a crack at mine? Sheesh. You did an awesome job with that Saint Louis! Bravo.

 

[RT1]

Hi there!

I found this very, very, very preloved Saint Louis online for a low price and to keep my tinker-gene busy I bought it and tried my best to refurbish it.
The leather was very greyish and there were holes in all four corners, also the glacing was cracked.
It's not perfect now but I think it is pretty ok and I will enjoy using it
The unnerving part was to bring back some of the points on the edges, mix the right colour and let them look a little faded as the original ones around...Neither did my smallest brush the job, nor a toothpick. In the end I used one of my cat's whiskers (of course one he lost previousely! )

I don't know how to clean the fabric the inside (it's not bad, just pursuant it's age), so if s.o. has some tipps I would greatly appreciate to hear them


This is how it looked before:

View attachment 4851195View attachment 4851196View attachment 4851197View attachment 4851198View attachment 4851199





...and here it is now:


View attachment 4851200View attachment 4851201View attachment 4851203View attachment 4851204View attachment 4851206

View attachment 4851205
View attachment 4851222

Wow, this looks great!!!
I think you could start a sideline business doing repairs as this turned out really well!

 

[A1aGypsy]

Wow. You did an amazing job. That’s incredible!

Lol. Using your cat’s whisker. Ingenious and so laborious!

 

[Evia]

Remarkable! Well done!

 

[Joule]

Your cat's whisker. That. Is. FABULOUS.

You did a great job and it looks terrific, but the cat's whisker thing has made my whole year better. Thank you.

 

[dirienelaine]

Did you have to take in the corners? All my corners have holes

 

[More bags]

Wow, you did an outstanding job! Congratulations, it looks amazing!

 

[pony]

Well done! You did a great job!

 

[Venessa84]

This looks amazing! I agree with the above post that you could start this a 2nd job. Great seeing this.

 

[doni]

What you did to those corners is nothing short of impressive... wow.

 

[Sferics]

Thanks to everyone, thank you so much!
No one around me is very interested in bags and no one would understand why I would waste time with something like this when one could clearly buy just any new bag for a few coins
I am glad for the chance to share these little "projects" here!

Did you have to take in the corners? All my corners have holes

What does it mean to "take in" the corners? Something sewing?
What I did is to put some thin synthetic leather from the insinde and clued it in with cobbler-glue (it stays flexible).
Then I refilled and leveled the edges from outside with liquid leather - layer upon layer - and after that I used some of the acrylic paint (mixed with a fabric-medium to keep it flexible) I used for the cracked handles to fill in some lines.

It is not very difficult, more a exercise of patience and self control ...All joking aside, you can do it, too!

 

[880]

Thanks to everyone, thank you so much!
No one around me is very interested in bags and no one would understand why I would waste time with something like this when one could clearly buy just any new bag for a few coins
I am glad for the chance to share these little "projects" here!



What does it mean to "take in" the corners? Something sewing?
What I did is to put some thin synthetic leather from the insinde and clued it in with cobbler-glue (it stays flexible).
Then I refilled and leveled the edges from outside with liquid leather - layer upon layer - and after that I used some of the acrylic paint (mixed with a fabric-medium to keep it flexible) I used for the cracked handles to fill in some lines.

It is not very difficult, more a exercise of patience and self control ...All joking aside, you can do it, too!

I love this! Sometimes I have the urge to buy old bags bc I feel sorry for them Plus I hate to see stuff just go to landfill, and what you did is amazing!

 

[Sferics]

bc I feel sorry for them Plus I hate to see stuff just go to landfill

This is so true
Thank you so much!