PRADA Python Leather Handbag Started to Turn Color and dries up that turn the scales up.

[Roger Koh]

I live in Germany and I have a beautiful Python snakeskin handbag in untreated, natural grey python leather.

Unfortunately, the bag started to turn into a yellow/lvery very light green colour at the handles and got a pretty dark patina (from hand oil etc).

The rest of the leather seems to be very dry as the scales turn up. I have to admit that i wore thebag quite often.


Is it possible to order some products for cleaning and conditioning from you?

Do you have any other advice?


Here are some pictures of the bag with description:

Front_bag: You can see the light green colour on the corners and in the upper part of the bag.

Handle: the handles turned in to a brown/greenish (somewhat dirty) colour

Scales: the scales are turning up

back of the bag: the bag has a light greenish tone in the middle part

sideview and inner pocket picture: you can see the original (light grey) colour here.

I just wish that my bag will someday look as beautiful as in the beginning! Do you have any hopes for the bag? The most disturbing thing is the greenish colour for me.


#1. Back View


#2. Front View


#3. Handle


#4. ?


#5. Inner Pocket


#6. Scales Turning Up


#7.Side View

[Roger Koh]

Problems:

1] Color change from Grey into yellow/green.

2] Pretty Dark Patina (from hand oil etc).

3] Leather seems to be very dry as the scales turn up.


Possible Causes to the Problems:

1] Color changes may be due to pH phenomenon; as the leather tends to behave as a pH paper; the perspiration shift to alkalinity due to the present of urea is most likely reason for this color change to happen.

2] Dark Patina from hand oil may also include the present of perspiration that turns alkaline; the darkening is mainly due to the unsaturated fatty acids that go browner in sunlight; compounded with hydrolysation and oxidization.

3] Scales turn-up is sure sign of leather dryness; due the diminishing of the original fatliquor (fat, oil and water).


Possible Products required to solve the Problems:

Prep-4.4 is the general preparatory cleaner to remove foreign contamination, follows by Cleaner-3.8 with Rinse-3.0.

Penetrated oils may require further treatment with Degreaser-2.2 follows by Rinse-30.

The remaining yellowing effect may be reduced by d’Yellow-6.7 treatment.

These above process should improve the appearance of the patina and the yellowing effect problem in 1] and 2].

Problem 3 can be solved by Hydrator-3.3 follows with Fatliquor-5.0.


Here are the product descriptions:

Leather Doctor® Degreaser-2.2:
It's for all Pigmented, Aniline, Vachetta, Nubuck and Suede leather types.
This is a pH 2.2 high viscosity aqueous formulated leather degreaser.
It’s primarily for degreasing leather of penetrated oil and grease stains from skin and hair contact.

Leather Doctor® Prep-4.4:
It's for Aniline, Vachetta, Nubuck, Suede and all Absorbent leather types.
This is the leather-safe milder version of Prep-7.7 with a pH value of 4.4.
For its high viscosity; it is designed to be painted on neatly; with a foam brush onto the leather.
It works by allowing sufficient dwell-time; to penetrate, lubricate and suspense foreign soil contamination; prior to extraction with towel.
It’s is used to strip foreign soil contamination prior to refinishing

Leather Doctor® Cleaner-3.8:
It's for all Pigmented, Aniline, Nubuck and Suede leather types.
This is a pH 3.8 all purpose leather-safe anionic cleaner that is particularly effective in emulsifying oily soils and in suspending particulates.
It cleans by penetrating, lubricating and suspending soiling safely and effectively through gentle chemical reaction.
With its leather-safe pH value, it works in perfect harmony with all leather constituents that include the tanning agent, preservative, dyestuff and especially the fatliquor.

Leather Doctor® Rinse-3.0:
It's for all Pigmented, Aniline, Nubuck and Suede leather types.
This is a pH 3.0 aqueous leather-safe rinse to neutralize harmful alkaline and perspiration residues.
It’s for stabilizing and strengthening leather constituent pH chemistry integrity.
And cationizing (+ve) protein fiber below its isoelectric point to increase hydrogen bonding prior to anionic (-ve) Fatliquor-5.0.

Leather Doctor® d’Yellow-6.7:
It's for Pigmented, Aniline, Nubuck, Suede, Hair-on and Woolskin leather types.
This is a pH 6.7 when dilute with 20 parts by weight with distilled water becomes an aqueous fluorescent whitening agent.
It’s to remove yellow stains associated with prolonged hydrolyzed and oxidized oil or grease stains.

Leather Doctor® Hydrator-3.3:
It’s for Pigmented, Aniline, Nubuck, Suede, Hair-on and Woolskin leather types.
This is a pH 3.3 aqueous leather-safe hydrator.
It’s for hydrating dried, stiffed or shrunk leathers (to separates the crushed, stick together fibrils and relax them) prior to strengthening and softening with Fatliquor-5.0.
And it’s also used for facilitating colloidal water movement within the leather structure capillary motion during the wicking process.
That will cause suspended soil particulates to be moved to the leather surface to be extracted with rag while damp and erase with Leather Eraser-4 when dry.

Leather Doctor®Fatliquor-5.0:
It’s for Pigmented, Aniline, Vachetta, Nubuck, Suede, Hair-on and Woolskin leather types.
This is a pH 5.0 anionic charged micro emulsion fatliquor leather rejuvenator.
It’s for replenishing original fatliquor that diminishes thru sun-bleaching, ageing, heat and alkaline exposure or cleaning.
It penetrates and lubricates the leather fibers so that after drying they will be capable of sliding over one another smoothly.
Besides softening the leather with stretchability, compressibility and flexibility, fatliquor enhances its rip tensile strength greatly.
Thus relaxes coarse breaks, creases and wrinkles to provide drapes, suppleness and prevents cracking.
It helps to keep leather at its optimum physical performance and prevent premature ageing.

We shall go into details on the How-To when you have the necessary products at hand.

Roger Koh
[email protected]

[Jibstar]

Hi,

I just received the kit. How do I start cleaning?

[Roger Koh]

Can the tag be remove from the bag?

Otherwise put the whole bag into a plastic bag with only the tag hanging outside and we are going to do a testing if the system is safe for the tag.

When ready either way, find a small ziplock bag able to contain the tag just nice; thereafter spray Hydrator-3.3 into the ziplock bag and let the tag soak up the hydrator and leave it overnight.

Note:
Allow the leather to soak up the hydrator sufficiently - that is damp enough to squeeze the leather between thumb and finger to let a little bit of moisture ooze out (Keeping in mind that this will be the same techniques applied to the whole bag later - not to over wet cause there are lining of unknown material).

The whole idea to to relax the dried leathers by hydrating first follows with the next step of fatliquoring (repeating the technique as the hydrator) to soften and strengthen the leather when dry.

So one step at a time.

Question if you are not sure.


Please take before and after pictures (only the "Tag") to compare the difference

Roger

[Jibstar]

Yes, the tag can be removed from the whole bag.

Do I need to hydrate the bag BEFORE I start cleaning? I am somehow afraid that if I hydrate it before cleaning the yellow undertone will get "deeper" into the leather.

[Roger Koh]

Keep your bag away!


We will go through the entire process if possible with the tag to see the end result.


And only thereafter we shall proceed with the bag, learning on how the tag response to the system.


Can you take a close-up picture of both sides of the tag please?

Roger