Wow she’s a looker!
Great job!
The LV Rescue Club
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Great job!
Hi All,
Just bought my first pre-loved vintage LV Alma monogram from a Japanese seller in Ebay. It arrived better than expected and it’s nearly 28 years old! I’ve given her a good clean, I used collonil clean & care for the canvas and base and also collonil leather cream on the vachetta. However after buffing it up, have noticed some cracks appear on the handle and corner. Not sure if the cracks were already there and the cleaning made the cracks visible or have I over cleaned it? What can I do to treat the cracks? Thanks for your help. xxx
Just bought my first pre-loved vintage LV Alma monogram from a Japanese seller in Ebay. It arrived better than expected and it’s nearly 28 years old! I’ve given her a good clean, I used collonil clean & care for the canvas and base and also collonil leather cream on the vachetta. However after buffing it up, have noticed some cracks appear on the handle and corner. Not sure if the cracks were already there and the cleaning made the cracks visible or have I over cleaned it? What can I do to treat the cracks? Thanks for your help. xxx
You may have overdone it. Let the products soak in and you can put a little more conditioner only on the handles and that corner to plump it up.
Someone else had a similar problem with their vintage bag's handles. Unfortunately I guess it's like anything very dry getting a sudden rush of moisture. The cracks may have eventually surfaced but the moisture may have hastened the process. As @BowieFan1971 said, keep adding moisture to plump the leather up but some of the cracks may stay visible now. If you're a crafty person, you can try filling the cracks with a leather filler and paint with an Angelus colour (Vachetta + some brown) or get someone to do it for you. I'd just wait and see first.
Amazing! She looks great! I’d love a speedy 18. They’re so hard to get! Where did you find/buy yours?
Thanks so much for your replies. Which leather lotion would you suggest is best? I’m thinking of Collonil leather lotion but I’ve also heard of Cadillac?
Have heard good things about Cadillac, but I have used AppleCare on my vachetta and really like it.
I got it off the TheRealReal. It was incorrectly labeled as a “mini speedy,” but I knew it was the Speedy 18 after seeing photos and the alignment of the monogram. I waited until the 20% coupon was available to use. I got it authenticated after buying it (risky, but TRR assured me I could return the bag for a refund if it was inauthentic).
I know eBay had a Speedy 18 listed 10 days ago, but the listing ended (though the bag appeared in worse shape). See the link below. This Japanese seller tends to have rare finds and maybe they will have another one!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/353454566558
Oh amazing! Thanks so much. I’ll keep an eye on that seller on eBay. I haven’t looked at The Real Real for ages. I just went through all their speedies and didn’t see anything (it’s probably going to be a while before another pops up there as they’re so hard to find!). If you ever decide to part with yours or you see one pop up soon, let me know!
Enjoy your beautiful bag in good health and I hope it serves you well!
Hi everyone! This is my first post here.
I was inspired by all your fantastic results and decided to try myself as a lockdown project. I found an inexpensive Epi Passy on eBay that needed some attention and thought it would make a great work bag once cleaned up. It soon proved very difficult to clean without ruining the finish, so I thought if I dyed it a darker shade, it would help even out the dirty looking areas.
I ended up accidentally removing too much of the Cannelle finish from the surface of the Epi in preparation for dyeing (oops). Then I decided to just go for it and take it all off so it would look even and not like a botched project (the thick coating had dissolved in some areas and the grain of the leather was visible).
In the end, I did not dye it after all! I just moisturized the heck out of the leather since I liked the colour and look once it was all deglazed, and I’m pretty happy with how it looks now (considering what a disaster it could have been).
Here are some photos of before, how it looked once deglazed and the end result.
I was inspired by all your fantastic results and decided to try myself as a lockdown project. I found an inexpensive Epi Passy on eBay that needed some attention and thought it would make a great work bag once cleaned up. It soon proved very difficult to clean without ruining the finish, so I thought if I dyed it a darker shade, it would help even out the dirty looking areas.
I ended up accidentally removing too much of the Cannelle finish from the surface of the Epi in preparation for dyeing (oops). Then I decided to just go for it and take it all off so it would look even and not like a botched project (the thick coating had dissolved in some areas and the grain of the leather was visible).
In the end, I did not dye it after all! I just moisturized the heck out of the leather since I liked the colour and look once it was all deglazed, and I’m pretty happy with how it looks now (considering what a disaster it could have been).
Here are some photos of before, how it looked once deglazed and the end result.
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Wow!!!!!!! What color was it? How did you remove the finish? I have an Epi Speedy that might be worth trying it on.
I was lucky that the initial colour of the purse was a “natural” colour, and very close to the colour of the actual leather. I think if this had been a red or black bag, for example, the deglazing would probably look more obvious and I would have had to dye it. What colour is your Speedy @BowieFan1971?
I used Fiebing’s Deglazer initially, and then acetone and 70% isopropyl separately (which all definitely needs doing in a ventilated area) to get as much of the colour off as possible. The Fiebing’s worked very well, but I ran out and decided to keep going with what I had on hand and it was VERY smelly. I used a cloth and Q-tips to wipe off as much dissolved colour as possible (made the cloth very wet with the solvent which might have been what got me in trouble in the first place). Once dry, I treated the leather with some Cadillac lotion, and then rubbed with Obenauf’s the next day (since it still looked kind of dry) to help restore the moisture.
Here’s a pic I found online of how it would have looked brand new. Such a great colour!
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My Speedy is blue, so maybe it wouldn’t work. The handles are in good shape, but so much of the original wore off they look horrible and the edges have wear. Maybe paint would be the better way to go.
That Passy is a great color- now and originally!
Oh that’s too bad! The blue Epi is so pretty. I hope you find a solution for the handles @BowieFan1971.
Thanks for your kind words about the Passy! I’m excited to add a caramel colour bag back in to my collection!
Hello everyone! (This is my first post & my first "handbag rescue"!) I got a great deal on a Saint Cloud GM knowing I was going to have to put some work in. I have watched countless videos on YouTube, but I still have some questions - hopefully someone here can help (Thank you in advance!)
#1. The Saint Cloud is a very firm bag - and this one unfortunately looks like it has been crushed. How do I restore shape in a more structured bag?
#2. I have seen many videos on removing sticky pocket lining using acetone, but on the back pocket one side is the LV canvas - how do I avoid getting the acetone on that? And how do I remove the stickiness that has glued itself onto the canvas side?
I hope I didn't bit off more than I can chew, but I'm not afraid of some hard work
Thanks everyone!
#1. The Saint Cloud is a very firm bag - and this one unfortunately looks like it has been crushed. How do I restore shape in a more structured bag?
#2. I have seen many videos on removing sticky pocket lining using acetone, but on the back pocket one side is the LV canvas - how do I avoid getting the acetone on that? And how do I remove the stickiness that has glued itself onto the canvas side?
I hope I didn't bit off more than I can chew, but I'm not afraid of some hard work
Thanks everyone!
