My LV washing experiment

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#61
fabuleux said:
I post too much. :lol:
When the bag is newer (let’s say the first ten years), I recommend not applying any product to the leather. It slowly develops a patina from use, which is the beauty of this untreated cowhide.

Vintage bags sometimes require a leather moisturizer, depending on the condition of the vachetta. I keep that for old bags only.

These are the things that LV craftsmen recommend. I’m old school but it’s worked great for me.
Click to expand...

I look forward to your posts and your opinions on things tbh. It’s nice to see opinions from those who have a lot of knowledge about LV :)
 
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#64
When I did mine in the washing machine, I stuffed it with clean white towels to speed up the drying process. I periodically changed out the towels when they got damp. It probably took 2-3 days to dry out. A lot of the stains on the bottom vachetta didn't completely disappear, but they did blend in and weren't so conspicuous after washing. Make sure you really condition the leather well once it's all dried out. Mine looks great now. I'm so excited to see your "reveal" pics! Way to go!
 
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#67
Results breakdown:

Canvas: looks the same to me. I was worried it would get stiff, and was planning to try vinylex if it did, but it came out soft and flexible

Vachetta: a shade darker now, stains still there but a little less obvious, some dirty scuffs came out a bit, dry areas on the bottom corners look better. Overall it looks more gleamy which I like.

Hardware: didn’t do anything about it, not too fussed about tarnished hardware so didn’t bother trying Brasso or anything. Looks mostly the same to me.

Interior: photo makes it look gray but it’s still the same brown color as before. I compared it to my speedy and the shade is the same. Some minor stains came out but pen mark still there. I think it looks a bit looser than before? The faint perfumey smell is decreased but still there, no cigarette smell. Sounds like this is just the natural smell of old LVs?
 
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#68
Other thoughts:

- surprisingly, dish soap and Clorox 2 did not kill the bag

- Lexol cleaner is safe to use on patinaed vachetta without drying it out or taking away the nice shine. However, it doesn’t fully remove stains and doesn’t lighten vachetta. I would use it again.

- cadillac conditioner is great, never had a bad experience with it

- drying time was less than a day, probably because I used a hairdryer on the inside and the damp rid moisture absorber

- would I do it again? Probably not. It was a lot of work and to be honest I’m still a little grossed out by the idea of a preloved bag. I’m probably going to think about the brown water every time I use this bag. I plan to get a samorga or something so my stuff doesn’t touch the inside of the bag! However, it’s good to know I can wash a lv if I want to, and i am satisfied with the results i got.
 
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#69
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