Nooooooo!!!! The Patina!!!!

[LemonDrop]

So I have had my mono speedy for 14 months. I've babied her and only gotten 2 water drops on her handles in that time. But, in the back of my mind, I knew. I knew one day some kind of unfortunate event would occur scarring both of us.

Today was that day! I was carrying the humidifier from one room to another. I lost my grip and it fell to the hardwood floor, separating and sending water flying everywhere. All over the walls, the couch and sure enough my speedy which was at least 12 feet away.

All I can do is laugh. It was at least 12 feet away!
Anybody else have some crazy mishap with their Patina?

 

[fabuleux]

So I have had my mono speedy for 14 months. I've babied her and only gotten 2 water drops on her handles in that time. But, in the back of my mind, I knew. I knew one day some kind of unfortunate event would occur scarring both of us.

Today was that day! I was carrying the humidifier from one room to another. I lost my grip and it fell to the hardwood floor, separating and sending water flying everywhere. All over the walls, the couch and sure enough my speedy which was at least 12 feet away.

All I can do is laugh. It was at least 12 feet away!
Anybody else have some crazy mishap with their Patina?

Don't worry @LemonDrop, it will even out eventually.

 

[mahinaetoile]

Dont worry I am sure , she is still beautiful !!

 

[jessicasimpson]

this will help you if done correctly

 

[Iridescent]

Awww. OP you just described what nightmares near new beautiful LV patinas feel like to me and the reason I don't think I can buy a brand new LV with vachetta leather.

I really hope the patina champ method works out for you. ❤❤. Good luck ..

 

[jennifer-j]

I live in a country where it rains a lot. I wear my mono bags in the rain. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to enjoy them a lot. I do take care of my bags: I won't touch them with dirty, oil or moisturizer on my hands and I don't throw them around. But I don't baby them. I want to be able to enjoy them. If I should worry about a bag all the time, it would be a burden instead of a joy to have them.

My oldest LV is musette tango with a long cross body strap. I've carried this bag in the rain and in the snow. I've never done anything to clean it or protect it. I did notice the first drops of water on the vachetta. But after a few months they weren't visible anymore. Like fabuleux says, they will even out. The vachetta on my musette looks just as beautiful as the bags from the video from Patina Champ. And they have a nice glow on them. If you clean them too much, the leather will start to look dull.

 

[jessicasimpson]

I live in a country where it rains a lot. I wear my mono bags in the rain. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to enjoy them a lot. I do take care of my bags: I won't touch them with dirty, oil or moisturizer on my hands and I don't throw them around. But I don't baby them. I want to be able to enjoy them. If I should worry about a bag all the time, it would be a burden instead of a joy to have them.

My oldest LV is musette tango with a long cross body strap. I've carried this bag in the rain and in the snow. I've never done anything to clean it or protect it. I did notice the first drops of water on the vachetta. But after a few months they weren't visible anymore. Like fabuleux says, they will even out. The vachetta on my musette looks just as beautiful as the bags from the video from Patina Champ. And they have a nice glow on them. If you clean them too much, the leather will start to look dull.

I personally wouldn't go without cleaning my bags. So much dirt comes from your hands. As you touch all things throughout the day that are dirty and filled with bacteria ( door handles , gas pump, money, and unless u wash your hands everytime u touch something (and thats highly unlikely) your bag gets dirty. Everything needs to be cleaned at some point. My bags look clean all the time but that doesnt mean they are clean. Also these LV bags ARE NOT expensive so that they last forever .They are expensive because of the quality,craftmanship and the label . In the end they are canvas and leather . On that note id rather my bags be beautiful and clean then beautiful and dirty for the time i own them nomatter if its 1 year 20. Also imo wiping down your bag every 2 -3 months is not considered cleaning them too much ♡ Patina Champ

 

[jennifer-j]

I personally wouldn't go without cleaning my bags. So much dirt comes from your hands. As you touch all things throughout the day that are dirty and filled with bacteria ( door handles , gas pump, money, and unless u wash your hands everytime u touch something (and thats highly unlikely) your bag gets dirty. Everything needs to be cleaned at some point. My bags look clean all the time but that doesnt mean they are clean. Also these LV bags ARE NOT expensive so that they last forever .They are expensive because of the quality,craftmanship and the label . In the end they are canvas and leather . On that note id rather my bags be beautiful and clean then beautiful and dirty for the time i own them nomatter if its 1 year 20. Also imo wiping down your bag every 2 -3 months is not considered cleaning them too much ♡ Patina Champ

You're right that there's a lot of dirt on your hands and this will get on the bag. I also wipe down the canvas of the bags regularly, but I don't wipe the vachetta, because I don't think it will remove dirt. Vachetta is untreated leather that doesn't have a protective coating. it soaks up everything. I don't think that cleaning it with water will remove the dirt or the bacteria. You probably should use harsh products for that. If you wash your hands, you have to use soap to clean them properly. And your hands don't even soak up dirt.

I clean my hands a lot and I always have hand sanitizer with me. I also never put my bags on dirty surfaces. Of course you're right that I can't clean my hands every time I touch something and that I can't keep my bag bacteria-free. But you can't clean your bag every time you touch it. There will be a lot of bacteria on the bag, even if you clean it regularly. And cleaning with water probably will not remove the bacteria.

I must agree with you on one thing: the vachetta hand-held bags should be cleaned more regularly. I made this mistake with my Neverfull PM. I always carried this bag by hand and I was afraid to clean it, because the SA told me not to use any products on the bag. Eventually the top of the handles were dark brown (much darker than the rest of the vachetta). Then I tried to clean them, but I had to use soap and magic eraser to clean them. I was happy with the result. The handles didn't look dirty anymore. But the top of the handles kept looking darker then the rest of the bag. The magic eraser also dried out the leather. I used leather conditioner to solve this problem, but they never got their healthy glow back. I was quite happy with the result because there was a lot of difference before and after cleaning. But if I ever get another mono hand-held bag, I will definitely clean it more regularly, with water or a mild soap.

My post wasn't meant as a discussion on your method. I just wanted to encourage people to use their bags without worrying too much. I a lot of countries you can't prevent water spots on a bag, unless you leave them in the closet for most of the time. I also take care of my bags, but I probably would loose the joy of buying and using a bag if I had to worry about it all the time.

 

[jessicasimpson]

I do believe that wiping down my bag with a wet sock does remove the dirt as you can see my bags look perfectly clean . I agree with you when you say that the handles turned dark brown and in some cases even black from not cleaning . That's Exactly what the patina Champ method prevents from happening . It keeps your bag clean and even and the little dullness or dryness goes way within a few days of wearing it . Then you have that natural shine back
However even if that weren't the case I would rather carry a bag with dull handles the one discolored by dirt buildup. Your Absolutely right that their is a lot of bacteria that gets left behind however even if you clean your bag with most leather cleaners it doesn't remove the bacteria either. As far as using hand sanitizer any thing that I have read or been told says Don't use it if you carry a bag with untreated vachetta . My main reason for cleaning my bag is to keep it looking New with a tan by using the Patina Champ Method. My SA did tell my long ago that LV doesn't recommend or sell leather cleaner or conditioner because it isn't needed to keep the bag Beautiful. She told me with just wipe the bag including the vachetta with a damp cloth . I paired that up with some sun tanning to take the edge off of the new vachetta. In the end everyone is going to care for their bags in their own way . I'm not telling anyone to clean your bags the way I clean mine I'm just stating has been proven to work for me for almost 6 years and counting . I believe that we should all enjoy and carry or bags with no worries Trust that that's exactly what I learned to do over the years. I even think that I am a little less worried about my bags then I should be because I trust that every 2 -3 months or so that when I clean them they will turn out Beautiful . If that make sense lol
We all love and care for our bags . If we didn't we wouldn't on the PF posting these crazy posts .

 

[jennifer-j]

Wiping down your bag with a wet sock will remove superficial dirt, but I don't think it will remove the dirt that has already soaked into the vachetta and it won't remove bacteria (humid environments are actually perfect for bacteria). There are a lot of things that just can't be kept perfectly clean or bacteria-free. I could be wrong, but I don't think cleaning the bag every three months with a wet sock will make your bags much cleaner and much more bacteria-free than the bags of people who don't do this.

I always make sure there is no residue of the hand sanitiser left before I touch my bags and I only use them when I feel like I need to wash my hands and there's no water and soap available. If I use them too often, my hands feel dry, so I can imagine it will make the leather dry as well. I know hand sanitisers are not a perfect solution and I don't use them all the time. But it's reassuring to use them, for example when I have to touch the tap in a restroom or when I touched a lot of books in a public library.

I agree that hand-held bags should be cleaned more often to prevent them from looking almost black. If you come to to the point where they look black, you have to use really harsh products and they will give the leather a dull look. I usually wear shoulder or cross body bags and they have a really nice patina without using anything to clean it. But hand-held bags require more maintenance. I always thought if I would every get a hand-held mono bag again, I would clean the vachetta with water and mild soap as soon as the top of the handle is starting to darken, but I will try your method first. I like the thought of using only water. I always figured this wouldn't suffice, but your speedy does look in perfect condition.

 

[jessicasimpson]

Wiping down your bag with a wet sock will remove superficial dirt, but I don't think it will remove the dirt that has already soaked into the vachetta and it won't remove bacteria (humid environments are actually perfect for bacteria). There are a lot of things that just can't be kept perfectly clean or bacteria-free. I could be wrong, but I don't think cleaning the bag every three months with a wet sock will make your bags much cleaner and much more bacteria-free than the bags of people who don't do this.

I always make sure there is no residue of the hand sanitiser left before I touch my bags and I only use them when I feel like I need to wash my hands and there's no water and soap available. If I use them too often, my hands feel dry, so I can imagine it will make the leather dry as well. I know hand sanitisers are not a perfect solution and I don't use them all the time. But it's reassuring to use them, for example when I have to touch the tap in a restroom or when I touched a lot of books in a public library.

I agree that hand-held bags should be cleaned more often to prevent them from looking almost black. If you come to to the point where they look black, you have to use really harsh products and they will give the leather a dull look. I usually wear shoulder or cross body bags and they have a really nice patina without using anything to clean it. But hand-held bags require more maintenance. I always thought if I would every get a hand-held mono bag again, I would clean the vachetta with water and mild soap as soon as the top of the handle is starting to darken, but I will try your method first. I like the thought of using only water. I always figured this wouldn't suffice, but your speedy does look in perfect condition.

Thank you

 

[Dawn]

OH no! I'm sorry that happened!