Vintage Coach Photos & Chat

[Coachaddict4020]

Has anyone had experience with dying a leather bag themselves? I have a vintage Coach bag in a cream colour and it was already somewhat stained when I bought it so I was thnking dying it to a much darker colour.

@Coachaddict4020

Search the rehab and rescue thread for "baby courier". Coachaddict4020 did an amazing dye job recently!

Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

Hello, I have washed and conditioned this Envelope Clutch but the leather looks very puckered. Should I wash again and stuff with towels to dry or is there some way to get rid of the puckering without washing again? Probably don't need to dunk again, but shaping it with warm very slightly...

forum.purseblog.com

(ETA: I linked it for you ^.)

Thank you both for mentioning me!

I’ve dyed a bag with great success but the dye product I used was on the pricy side. If you’re going from light to dark, you should be able to successfully complete the process even with a more affordable leather dye product if you prep the bag properly. You wanna use a dye that you can apply directly to the bag. Don’t use a product you have to dilute with water because it will be too transparent. Can you post pics of the bag? Id recommend if you wanna play it really safe, pick a very dark colour like black or mahogany. I had an excellent experience so Im bias towards doing it. Someone who isn’t happy with their results might not recommend doing it at all. If the bag doesn’t turn out well & you have to “write it off” as a loss, is that something you’d be ok with? I had to weigh that risk when I dyed my bag so it’s something to think about. Also, it’s very time consuming. Make sure you pick a day where you won’t have any disruptions & you can freely work on the bag for about 6-8 hours

ETA: IMPORTANT!! If your cream coloured bag has a “coating” overtop the leather (coach did that on most light coloured bags), you’ll have a very hard time dying it. That coating is extremely hard to remove & dye doesn’t seem to penetrate it well. I can’t believe I forgot to mention that! Sorry!

 

[Coachaddict4020]

@VSUVUS please make sure you read the edit I added to my original post!

 

[americandreaming]

Thank you both for mentioning me!

I’ve dyed a bag with great success but the dye product I used was on the pricy side. If you’re going from light to dark, you should be able to successfully complete the process even with a more affordable leather dye product if you prep the bag properly. You wanna use a dye that you can apply directly to the bag. Don’t use a product you have to dilute with water because it will be too transparent. Can you post pics of the bag? Id recommend if you wanna play it really safe, pick a very dark colour like black or mahogany. I had an excellent experience so Im bias towards doing it. Someone who isn’t happy with their results might not recommend doing it at all. If the bag doesn’t turn out well & you have to “write it off” as a loss, is that something you’d be ok with? I had to weigh that risk when I dyed my bag so it’s something to think about. Also, it’s very time consuming. Make sure you pick a day where you won’t have any disruptions & you can freely work on the bag for about 6-8 hours

ETA: IMPORTANT!! If your cream coloured bag has a “coating” overtop the leather (coach did that on most light coloured bags), you’ll have a very hard time dying it. That coating is extremely hard to remove & dye doesn’t seem to penetrate it well. I can’t believe I forgot to mention that! Sorry!

LunaSilver said she sanded hers down with 800 grit sandpaper to remove it. I haven't done it on mine yet but that could be tried.

 

[VSUVUS]

@Coachaddict4020

Search the rehab and rescue thread for "baby courier". Coachaddict4020 did an amazing dye job recently!

Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

Hello, I have washed and conditioned this Envelope Clutch but the leather looks very puckered. Should I wash again and stuff with towels to dry or is there some way to get rid of the puckering without washing again? Probably don't need to dunk again, but shaping it with warm very slightly...

forum.purseblog.com

(ETA: I linked it for you ^.)

Thank you both for mentioning me!

I’ve dyed a bag with great success but the dye product I used was on the pricy side. If you’re going from light to dark, you should be able to successfully complete the process even with a more affordable leather dye product if you prep the bag properly. You wanna use a dye that you can apply directly to the bag. Don’t use a product you have to dilute with water because it will be too transparent. Can you post pics of the bag? Id recommend if you wanna play it really safe, pick a very dark colour like black or mahogany. I had an excellent experience so Im bias towards doing it. Someone who isn’t happy with their results might not recommend doing it at all. If the bag doesn’t turn out well & you have to “write it off” as a loss, is that something you’d be ok with? I had to weigh that risk when I dyed my bag so it’s something to think about. Also, it’s very time consuming. Make sure you pick a day where you won’t have any disruptions & you can freely work on the bag for about 6-8 hours

ETA: IMPORTANT!! If your cream coloured bag has a “coating” overtop the leather (coach did that on most light coloured bags), you’ll have a very hard time dying it. That coating is extremely hard to remove & dye doesn’t seem to penetrate it well. I can’t believe I forgot to mention that! Sorry!

Thank you all so much! Wow! The bag looks amazing @Coachaddict4020 I see you are in Canada too can I just send mine to you? lol

I'm honestly kinda embarrassed to even post any pics because I've sort of already dyed it...I watched some YouTube videos and did the whole wiping with nail polish remover thing etc to prep the bag but silly ol' me thought a leather wax polish would do the trick (pandemic boredom much? haha) and you can imagine how that turned out lol. The colour obviously isn't saturated at all (maybe it's the coating you mentioned!) so now I'm thinking if I get an oil based dye from amazon I can maybe get thick enough of a coat on there to mask the blotchiness.

I bought this bag almost 10 years ago (preloved) and never worn it once so I wouldn't be too upset if it doesn't work out as you can probably already tell haha.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

LunaSilver said she sanded hers down with 800 grit sandpaper to remove it. I haven't done it on mine yet but that could be tried.

I remembered she said the sanding caused the dye to apply unevenly. I found the original post, here it is copy & pasted:

“Thanks. As to sanding, I am sorry my memory was playing trick on me. Please scratch it, as now I recall the uneven color might had something to do with sanding, the part got sanded more aborb more dye than other part. SO DON'T SAND IT. Leave that as the last option if everything else failed. Sorry for the confusion.”

I wanted to tag her because she’s always been so helpful with dying & leather craft. I miss her!

 

[Coachaddict4020]

Thank you all so much! Wow! The bag looks amazing @Coachaddict4020 I see you are in Canada too can I just send mine to you? lol

I'm honestly kinda embarrassed to even post any pics because I've sort of already dyed it...I watched some YouTube videos and did the whole wiping with nail polish remover thing etc to prep the bag but silly ol' me thought a leather wax polish would do the trick (pandemic boredom much? haha) and you can imagine how that turned out lol. The colour obviously isn't saturated at all (maybe it's the coating you mentioned!) so now I'm thinking if I get an oil based dye from amazon I can maybe get thick enough of a coat on there to mask the blotchiness.

I bought this bag almost 10 years ago (preloved) and never worn it once so I wouldn't be too upset if it doesn't work out as you can probably already tell haha.

LOL honestly I have so much dye left over, if you really sent it to me, Id do it for free! I love saving them!

Hey, you’re in good company, we’ve all experimented on bags! Just take a look at our rehab & rescue thread!

ETA: What’s the style number on the bag if it has one? Or the name of the style?

 

[americandreaming]

I remembered she said the sanding caused the dye to apply unevenly. I found the original post, here it is copy & pasted:

“Thanks. As to sanding, I am sorry my memory was playing trick on me. Please scratch it, as now I recall the uneven color might had something to do with sanding, the part got sanded more aborb more dye than other part. SO DON'T SAND IT. Leave that as the last option if everything else failed. Sorry for the confusion.”

I wanted to tag her because she’s always been so helpful with dying & leather craft. I miss her!

Thanks - I might go with the cobbler's suggestion of repainting rather than dye then since I have no choice but to remove the top dubbin layer on mine at least no polish rubbing off on clothes and hands!

I miss her too!

 

[whateve]

Thank you all so much! Wow! The bag looks amazing @Coachaddict4020 I see you are in Canada too can I just send mine to you? lol

I'm honestly kinda embarrassed to even post any pics because I've sort of already dyed it...I watched some YouTube videos and did the whole wiping with nail polish remover thing etc to prep the bag but silly ol' me thought a leather wax polish would do the trick (pandemic boredom much? haha) and you can imagine how that turned out lol. The colour obviously isn't saturated at all (maybe it's the coating you mentioned!) so now I'm thinking if I get an oil based dye from amazon I can maybe get thick enough of a coat on there to mask the blotchiness.

I bought this bag almost 10 years ago (preloved) and never worn it once so I wouldn't be too upset if it doesn't work out as you can probably already tell haha.

I've dyed a few bags with varying results. The worst result was with Fiebings. I had better results with Wood n Stuff leather refinisher. It is more of a paint so it might be good for your light colored bag. The most recent bag I'm using Angelus. It has worked really well on a fabric bag that I'm just doing the trim. The jury is still out on the other bag that I'm doing an all over recolor. That one is very challenging because first I started painting it a different color. I've done a couple coats but you can still see the other color showing through in some parts. I'll finish eventually.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

Thanks - I might go with the cobbler's suggestion of repainting rather than dye then since I have no choice but to remove the top dubbin layer on mine at least no polish rubbing off on clothes and hands!

I miss her too!

I think repainting would be your best option too. It’s never gonna feel the same due to the shoe polish anyways. At least with the paint it won’t be a total loss & you can still use it! fingers crossed it turns out ok!

 

[VSUVUS]

LOL honestly I have so much dye left over, if you really sent it to me, Id do it for free! I love saving them!

Hey, you’re in good company, we’ve all experimented on bags! Just take a look at our rehab & rescue thread!

ETA: What’s the style number on the bag if it has one? Or the name of the style?

I'll definitely give that thread a read and if by the end of it I feel not up to the task I might for real send the bag to you LOL

Couldn't find any tags on the bag except on the inside pocket where the Coach logo is embossed it says "Nō H9N-9061". It also says it's made of natural glove-tanned cowhide.

I did find this bag on the Coach website which looks very similar to mine if it helps!

 

[whateve]

I'll definitely give that thread a read and if by the end of it I feel not up to the task I might for real send the bag to you LOL

Couldn't find any tags on the bag except on the inside pocket where the Coach logo is embossed it says "Nō H9N-9061". It also says it's made of natural glove-tanned cowhide.

I did find this bag on the Coach website which looks very similar to mine if it helps!

View attachment 5075004

Your bag is a different style. It's a Rambler's Legacy made in 1999.

 

[Coachaddict4020]

I'll definitely give that thread a read and if by the end of it I feel not up to the task I might for real send the bag to you LOL

Couldn't find any tags on the bag except on the inside pocket where the Coach logo is embossed it says "Nō H9N-9061". It also says it's made of natural glove-tanned cowhide.

I did find this bag on the Coach website which looks very similar to mine if it helps!

View attachment 5075004

You can private message me the pics too if you don’t wanna post them publicly! Ill try to help as much as I can

 

[pammbw]

Has anyone had experience with dying a leather bag themselves? I have a vintage Coach bag in a cream colour and it was already somewhat stained when I bought it so I was thnking dying it to a much darker colour.

Dyeing a very light bag to a dark color is difficult. You end up needing to do many many coats of dye, and uneven streaky application is probable. Going a shade or 2 darker is better and will give better results. My advice is to get some scrap in a similar color and experiment first

 

[Lucyblue13]

Huge d'oh moment this morning!

I have never compared my two darker brown bags side by side, but thanks to somebody who knows more than me, I think my Basic bag might be mocha. It's NOT mahogany. I just thought it had darkened more with age. When I put them side by side, definitely different colors! I dont know how I haven't noticed.

 

[americandreaming]

My new to me squeeze key case