Two 70s/80s made-in-NYC bags, going through baths, documentins pics, as was requested

[momtok]

I recently picked up my second "made in NYC", vintage Coach bag, and a request was made on this thread -- http://forum.purseblog.com/coach/theres-nothin-like-the-oldies-657855-4.html#post17868212 -- that I take pics during the "rehab". I decided to do it in a new thread, and will be taking plenty of pics during the bath, rinse, drying, and conditioning. (I'll warn you now, I usually don't work on the brass, primarily because we're very careful about chemicals in our house due to our flock of pet parrots. Birds are more sensitive. Apple conditioner doesn't worry me, but I'm usually pretty careful about any other chemicals I may get on my hands.)

And I also do want to point out that there is already something similar to this out there, for a different vintage bag. It's over in bunnymasseuse's thread, here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-sh...-an-outlet-fiend-393463-158.html#post15610313 . She documented her "bathing" as well, of a 1998 (I believe, based on the creed number?) green bag. I know those were the pics that first gave me the gumption to do something like this.

Since I have two of these bags (heh, I "bag twinned" myself ), I'm going to put both of them in this thread.

Both are of the style "Basic Bag", both were authenticated here by either DemRam or Hyacinth, and both are made-in-NYC, late 70's/early-mid 80's (based on what DemRam and Hyacinth have said).

One is brown, with an old-style "Talon" zipper (that still glides *LIKE BUTTER*).
The other is black, with a YKK zipper.

First I'll post the brown one (which I only have before and after pics from), and then I'll do the black one, which I am literally right this moment bathing, and taking plenty, plenty of pics.


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[momtok]

Ok, first, the brown version of this bag. Again, late 70's/early-mid 80's, made in NYC, Basic bag. Got it for 20$ from a local antique mart.


Initial condition was dry/stiff, plenty of pale ares (which I attribute largely to the dryness). One slightly dirty area, with a thin coating of something dark and sticky that must have caked on some dust. Very minor though. It's mostly the dryness, pale areas, and scratches (due to dryness) that made it look old and beat up.


Before pics:

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[momtok]

Soaked it, rinsed it, dried it, conditioned it (all of which I'm taking lots of pictures of with this bag's twin), and so ...


After pics:

The last pic was an example of how much it actually holds, if packed with thought.


(And guess who's wearing those binding pink pajamas. Hint: it certainly ain't me. )

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[momtok]

Ok, and now to start the black Basic Bag's posts. As I sit here typing, I already have it stuffed and hanging to dry, with hubby pulling lots and lots of pics off the camera for me. I'm going to just keep uploading and typing for a little while. Hope that's ok.


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[inch37]

wow thats amazing

 

[momtok]

(I'm going to go back to doing the pics as attachments. Sorry, it didn't occur to me how much space all those pics would take up, and when I went back to edit them out and convert them to attachments, tpf announced they were down for back-up/maintenance. Sorry.)

Ok, so these are the initial pics of the black bag.

Again, late 70s/early-mid 80s, Black Basic bag, made-in-NYC. Only big difference between this and the brown one, is that this one has YKK zipper.

Initial condition ---- Dry. Scratches from dryness. And inside the inner pocket, it looks like a couple white mints or hard-candies melted (that's in the last of the attached pics). (Ewwww.) Genuinely not worried though, because that's sugar based, and should be even easier to get out than oil/grease based stains. (Though the soapy warm water soak does help on grease based stains too, as shown in bunny's pics which I linked to above in my first post.)

"Before" pics:

 

[momtok]

Ok, now the bath

First pic is the soap. I used Dawn liquid detergent. (I've also used Ivory liquid detergent in the past, and I know some people use Woolite.) I look at it this way -- this is what they use on those poor oiled-birds in the oil spills. We have birds, and I know they're sensitive. So if it's safe enough for them, I can easily trust leather to it, especially this vintage, "bullet-proof" Coach leather.

Second pic is running warm water. I know bunny recommends lukewarm/warm, but I made it a little warmer/slightly-hotter-than-usual this time because I knew I had to get out those melted hard candies. Heat melts sugar. Certainly not painfully hot though. You could hold your hand in it without discomfort. I also used the sprayer to mix the soap into plenty of lather.

Third pic ... Given the melted candy, I actually dumped some Dawn right into that interior pocket, sprayed it with warm/hot water, and let it have about three minutes of pre-soak while I got the rest of the basin ready.

Oh, and a word of advice --- if you're going to detach the shoulder strap in order to fit it more easily into the basin, open those dog-leash-clips *before* you get your hands soapy. Otherwise you stand there fighting to open them with slippery hands, looking like an all-around idiot while you curse.

Fourth pic ... submerged. The strap is folded and underneath. I also "pressed" the bag to get the internal air out, then opened it a little underneath the surface so it would 'refill' with the water.

Fifth pic ... I put a little tub of water on top, just to hold it down. Leather is all completely submerged. And the reason the water in the tub is looking a little dark, is purely refraction.
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[momtok]

Continuing ...

Ok, I let it soak for about 45 minutes. Wanted to give the candy plenty of time to melt away.

First pic ... just came out of the bath. Notice that the soapy water has turned black from the bag. *DO NOT PANIC*

Second pic ... I rinsed out the inner pocket with clean water, then took this picture. The white you see at the bottom of the pocket is not candy, it's just reflection from the thin layer of water still pooling.

Third pic ... I gave the whole bag a simple rinse under the faucet, then started refilling the basin with warm, clear water. (Oh, and I should also add in here that our warm water is "softened" in this house, so there *is* "water-softener-salt" in that water too. Not a problem.) Anyway, bag is being re-submerged in warm, clear water.

Fourth pic ... I let the bag soak for about fifteen minutes in that clear rinse water, just to make sure the soap had all diffused back out of the leather. So this picture is the rinse water after the bag was removed again.

Fifth pic ... bag fresh out of the rinse, still dripping wet and water pooling on top.

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[momtok]

Continuing ...

First pic ... Pat it dry with dry paper towels. Both inside and out.

Second pic ... After I patted dry that inside pocket, I took this pic. Leather is still very wet of course. But anyway, this is the inside pocket, where the melted candy had been.

Third pic ... This is the inside of the main part of the bag, after being patted dry. That little "spot" was another area where something had been, but I'd forgotten to take a pic prior to bath. Certainly nothing major though. We'll see how it looks after it dries all the way.

Fourth pic ... Some of the towels I used to pat dry the bag (including the inside of the bag). Slightly darkened from the remainder of whatever dye came out, but again, *do not panic*. You'll discover it's really not that much dye that was lost, and once the leather is conditioned properly, the color will get richer anyway. Remember, dry leather is paler (I point to the before/after pics of my earlier Brown Basic bag as proof).

Fifth pic ... Stuffing the main section of the bag with dry paper towels.

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[momtok]

Continuing ...

First pic ... I also stuffed that inner pocket with a couple dry towels too.

Second pic ... Hanging to start drying. That black section in front is the inner pocket, stuffed and "flopped" out of the bag while it dries.

Conditions in the room .... We keep good ventilation in this room, via a large air filter about ten to fifteen feet away from where the bag is hanging. (We have the air cleaner since we have so many parrots ... gets the feather dust out of the air. And this is the main section of the house -- where living room meets dining room.)
So the bag is well ventilated, but the air is not blowing directly onto it.

That's where it's hanging now, about three hours after the bath. In another couple hours, I'll take those dry towels out, photograph them, and re-stuff the bag to hang overnight. (Oh, and that orange thing hanging above the bag is a paper windsock that daughter made in Bible School. Let's just ignore that, shall we? )


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[CoachVB]

Looks wonderful so far.

Thank you so much for taking the time to document for all to see.

 

[LuvsElvis]

Great Job!!!
Congrats on the rehab and your two "new" classic bags!!!!
They are very nice!!!
Enjoy!!!

Lynne

 

[LinzP]

very neat, thanks for posting all of those pictures of the process

 

[Jersey Girl]

This is a great thread, thanks for showing us the process and for all the information!
Congrats on these 2 classic bags. I bet the black bag will be beautiful when you're finished!

 

[momtok]

(I promise I'll continue this through til the bitter end. But it'll take a couple days, obviously, until it's dry, then another few days while I condition it. I'll do the pics the whole way, but remember this takes time.)

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