Red box reveal!
- Thread starter Maels
- Start date
Lol, looks like your cute cat is very proud too! Lovely bag(and cats) - many congrats!
Looks like you've made a good job of nourishing Roxy - well done, she looks much better now 
What order did you do it all in please?
What order did you do it all in please?Restoring is pretty simple, actually... you just need a lot of patience (something I didn't have the other day).
I started off with a round of Apple brand leather cleaner - make sure you spot test first, and never apply the cleaner directly to the leather, as it's likely to leave a mark. Instead, put the cleaner on a (lint-free) cloth and rub gently in a circle. This will lift grimy bits from your leather. Don't apply a huge amount here, a little goes a long way. I only did one round here, but I'm probably going to do another one when my next secret weapon comes in the post.
After you're done with the cleaner, use a good leather conditioner. I used Apple brand here, as I got a reasonable deal on getting a bottle of cleaner and conditioner together. Apply as you did with the cleaner - put on cloth first, then apply in a circular motion to your leather. Start with one thin coat, but you leather may need several rounds of this before it's fully happy. I did one round on my bag the other day, but will be doing several more rounds before I call myself done.
When you're done with the cleaner, apply a good waterproofing cream or gel to it. I used collonil - now, the smart thing here is to make sure you've got at least one layer of this in before your leather has absorbed everything it can of the conditioner, as it will help condition and waterproof everything. My bag absorbed a TON of this stuff - I bought a 200 ml bottle, and my bag absorbed 1/2 of it before it was done. The good thing about collonil gel is that it can be used on suede *and* smooth leathers, so I did my entire bag, inside and out. Once it's been applied, let the collonil gel set into your leather for several hours, and then buff it gently. If you have a buffing brush, use that. If you don't, use a clean dry cloth, and rub it briskly back and forth across your leather. Lift the nap on your suede to re-invigorate it using a semi-stiff to stiff bristled brush. I just used my buffing brush to do this, but it really does need to be re-done with something a bit stiffer.
At this point, re-evaluate your bag. Take a look at all of the spots you were worried with. Do they look better? Is the tone more even? Now is the time to make sure you've made the changes you want. If you have spots that still need to be worked on, make a list of what you want to change, and work on it slowly. For me, I want to brighten/intensify the color on my bag a bit more, and even it out some - the outside of my bag has gone a bit brown from sunlight exposure. It's not something you can really see unless you look under the flaps to see the difference in color, but I'm aiming to get as even a tone as I possibly can, which is going to take a lot of work! I'll keep posting progress shots as it goes on to let y'all see what I do. It's going to take me a while of working on this lovely bag off and on before she's completely up to speed, but it takes a lot less work than when I'm working on a poor abused bag.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has about bag restoration, so please do ask away!
And for those who were curious, here are some more pictures of all of my cats. The first kitty is my little girl Skuld, who my husband found on her very last day in a shelter. We adopted her on a 'we'll-keep-her-for-a-few-weeks-and-then-find-her-a-new-home' basis, but it's been 8 months and I just can't bear to get rid of her.
The orange kitty is our first cat, Frak, the 13-pound monster. He's totally mellow and (for some strange reason) loves pot pie.
The last kitty is my tiny boy Tesla, who is a frenetic marvel. Given time with their favorite toy, Tesla will chase it until he falls over panting like a dog.
Some day we hope to have a dog, but that's going to have to wait until we have a yard!
I started off with a round of Apple brand leather cleaner - make sure you spot test first, and never apply the cleaner directly to the leather, as it's likely to leave a mark. Instead, put the cleaner on a (lint-free) cloth and rub gently in a circle. This will lift grimy bits from your leather. Don't apply a huge amount here, a little goes a long way. I only did one round here, but I'm probably going to do another one when my next secret weapon comes in the post.
After you're done with the cleaner, use a good leather conditioner. I used Apple brand here, as I got a reasonable deal on getting a bottle of cleaner and conditioner together. Apply as you did with the cleaner - put on cloth first, then apply in a circular motion to your leather. Start with one thin coat, but you leather may need several rounds of this before it's fully happy. I did one round on my bag the other day, but will be doing several more rounds before I call myself done.
When you're done with the cleaner, apply a good waterproofing cream or gel to it. I used collonil - now, the smart thing here is to make sure you've got at least one layer of this in before your leather has absorbed everything it can of the conditioner, as it will help condition and waterproof everything. My bag absorbed a TON of this stuff - I bought a 200 ml bottle, and my bag absorbed 1/2 of it before it was done. The good thing about collonil gel is that it can be used on suede *and* smooth leathers, so I did my entire bag, inside and out. Once it's been applied, let the collonil gel set into your leather for several hours, and then buff it gently. If you have a buffing brush, use that. If you don't, use a clean dry cloth, and rub it briskly back and forth across your leather. Lift the nap on your suede to re-invigorate it using a semi-stiff to stiff bristled brush. I just used my buffing brush to do this, but it really does need to be re-done with something a bit stiffer.
At this point, re-evaluate your bag. Take a look at all of the spots you were worried with. Do they look better? Is the tone more even? Now is the time to make sure you've made the changes you want. If you have spots that still need to be worked on, make a list of what you want to change, and work on it slowly. For me, I want to brighten/intensify the color on my bag a bit more, and even it out some - the outside of my bag has gone a bit brown from sunlight exposure. It's not something you can really see unless you look under the flaps to see the difference in color, but I'm aiming to get as even a tone as I possibly can, which is going to take a lot of work! I'll keep posting progress shots as it goes on to let y'all see what I do. It's going to take me a while of working on this lovely bag off and on before she's completely up to speed, but it takes a lot less work than when I'm working on a poor abused bag.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has about bag restoration, so please do ask away!
And for those who were curious, here are some more pictures of all of my cats.
The first kitty is my little girl Skuld, who my husband found on her very last day in a shelter. We adopted her on a 'we'll-keep-her-for-a-few-weeks-and-then-find-her-a-new-home' basis, but it's been 8 months and I just can't bear to get rid of her.The orange kitty is our first cat, Frak, the 13-pound monster. He's totally mellow and (for some strange reason) loves pot pie.
The last kitty is my tiny boy Tesla, who is a frenetic marvel. Given time with their favorite toy, Tesla will chase it until he falls over panting like a dog.
Some day we hope to have a dog, but that's going to have to wait until we have a yard!
