Some handbags can present quite a challenge.
Firstly, the manufacturers of handbags never intended that their
handbags ever be cleaned. As a result, they use materials (suede,
leather, canvas, nylon, patent leather, plasticized canvas, etc.)
and combinations of materials without any consideration of the
effort it would take to remove the stains, dirt, scuffing and
scratches that are bound to occur in the normal course of
usage.
A perfect example of this problem is a Prada brown leather
handbag sent to us by the wife of the owner of a high-end Phoenix
men's store.
At the outset, we recognized that, even if we were able to
remove all the staining, the handbag would have to be redyed
afterwards in order to achieve a consistent finish. That's because
this handbag displayed numerous issues, the two most important of
which was a large coffee stain and oil stains that had penetrated
the skin in numerous place, particularly in the handles.
We started out by extracting as much of the oil as possible from
the skin and the handles. Then we focused on the coffee stains. The
coffee presented quite a problem as ink and protein (the milk in
the coffee is a protein stain) are, in all probability, the two
most difficult stains to remove from suede and leather. After
removing all the coffee stains, we then cleaned the inside of the
handbag using a process that kills 99.9 percent of all viruses and
bacteria.
The next task was to mask off all the metal hardware, to mix the
dye to achieve a color that was as close to the original color as
possible, and to carefully apply the newly-mixed dye to achieve a
finish that was as consistent and uniform as possible.
The following before and after photos reflect the transformation
of this Prada leather handbag from oil-stained and coffee stained
to as-good-as-can-be-achieved-without-buying-a-new-handbag..
BEFORE
AFTER
Please note that all handbags, purses, backpacks, wallets,
belts, etc. should be cleaned BY HAND only. Never allow a cleaner
to clean your accessories in a dry cleaning machine in much the
same way as they would clean, say, a black leather jacket.
RAVE FabriCARE is the only dry cleaner in Arizona that employs a
full-time handbag cleaner whose SOLE job is to hand clean handbags,
purses, backpacks, wallets and belts. Unlike other
cleaners, we never send your accessories to outside parties for
cleaning. In that way, we are able to deliver the very best
technologically achievable results and to return your items, in
most cases, in about a week and a half.
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