There are numerous vintage Louis Vuitton products available due to the brand’s popularity and high quality. Although most of their bags are still trendy, they may show signs of wear. This article aims to reveal ways to refurbish all of the common spots that exhibit wear, as well as how to lighten and level out the vachetta leather and shine the metal fittings to make your bag appear newer.
Take a look at our bag before it was refurbished. This beautiful Speedy 30 is a vintage item that has clocked 22 years old. It can still be worn as is, but we can modify its appearance to look much better!
The image displayed clearly shows that the monogram canvas holds up really nicely. It hasn’t been torn and shows very little wear. The metal fittings, lock, and zipper, on the other hand, no longer have their luster. It has faint bronze with a tint of rust rather than shiny gold.
In addition, the vachetta leather shows signs of wear. Vachetta leather is a lovely leather with a patina that develops with time. Some customers want their Louis Vuitton to have a deeper patina, but a blotchy, uneven patina is often unappealing. Apart from these two flaws, this iconic vintage bag is in excellent condition. The good news is that we can repair dark blotchy vachetta leather and dismal metal hardware.
Also, bear in mind that this guide works on all Louis Vuitton canvas and vachetta leather bags, not only Speedy bags!
Essential Requirements for Refurbishing a Louis Vuitton Handbag
- Paper towels
- A minimum of 5 q-tips
- BlueMagic metal polish cream
- 1 Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean
- Care leather conditioner for boots and shoes
- Neat soft cloth (not pictured)
Because of its efficacy, I highly suggest using Blue Magic metal polish cream. It removes tarnish and dirt while leaving etching and brand marks intact. Metal polish should not be used on plated hardware. A brand like Chanel, for example, commonly makes its handbags with gold-plated hardware.
Cadillac leather conditioner is another essential requirement that I strongly suggest. Having experienced a lot of other leather conditioners like Apple and other well-known brands, Cadillac is by far the best and most versatile. few a few leather conditioners available in the market would fail to darken vachetta leather while rehydrating it substantially when used responsibly and sparingly, and Cadillac is one of them.
Let’s get started on making your purse look awesome!
Fixing Rusty Brass Hardware
STEP 1: Wipe out the best possible amount of rust around any of the fittings using a dry paper towel.
Look at how much rust has accumulated over the years!
STEP 2: Apply a tiny amount of metal polish lotion to the small metal fitting parts using the q-tips. Make sure the cream doesn’t get on the leather.
STEP 3: Buff the metal items that have been treated with metal polish with a dry paper towel. Continue polishing until the metal is gleaming and there is no longer any black residue.
STEP 4: Buff major metal components, such as the lock. When applying polish cream and buffing, use a paper towel instead of a q-tip. This procedure will need to be performed a few times before the lock is polished.
This is how the bag now looks after polishing all its metal hardware. The zipper is also not left out.
Getting Dirt and Oil Out of Vachetta Leather
Endeavor to check the glossiness of the vachetta leather before moving on to the next process (Magic Eraser). If the leather does not appear to be shiny, skip the magic eraser stage. This is because, if the leather does not appear shiny, it was just cleaned, and cleaning it again may be harmful to it, or it is too dry or fresh for cleaning.
STEP 5: Wet your Magic Eraser and squeeze out all of the extra water. Rub the vachetta leather handles and tabs with this. Remember to rub rather than scrub! For 15 seconds, concentrate on each point. Don’t spend much time on one spot since this cleaning procedure is vigorous, and spending too much time in one area might cause the leather to dry out.
As a result, the small end tabs each required 15 seconds of rubbing, whereas each handle with a greater surface area required 1.5 minutes of rubbing. Because the Magic Eraser acquires a lot of residues, you’ll need to rinse it off from time to time. Before returning to clean the vachetta leather, squeeze off any extra water. It is essential to perform this step in a big sink because the Magic Eraser will begin to dissolve and crumble. Maintain as much dryness in the bag as possible.
When you finish this stage, the vachetta leather will appear darker. Don’t be alarmed! This is merely a temporary situation. Within 3 minutes after completing this process, the leather will begin to brighten!
Cleaning and conditioning the canvas
STEP 6: Apply a small quantity of Cadillac leather conditioner to a mild clean cloth and use it to condition the whole bag as soon as the leather has dry (about 30 minutes – 1 hour).
With a little quantity of Cadillac leather conditioner, the cleaned vachetta leather will be moisturized, smooth, and buttery with a faint sheen. This final step is crucial in keeping your stuff safe.
STEP 7: Dab a nice clean cloth with some Cadillac conditioner and wipe down the monogram canvas, Damier canvas, or epi leather.
Although this approach went off without a hitch for us, we must stress that results cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, you have to proceed cautiously.