White Chanel Vintage Yellowing

[Question]

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#1
For the yellowing - please see the comparison between the inner flap and the bottom part of the front exterior.
It’s not horrible but definitely noticeable upon closer look. What can I use to resolve it?

10888
#2
For the scuffing, you can see dark rubbings that may look like color transfer but it’s really the top layer of the leather being scrubbed off. Any suggestions?

If you deem that repaint is necessary, what product would you recommend?
I have acrylic leather paint at home and tried to dilute and put a very thin layer on one square.
It made it look whiter, but the texture is off (more shiny and hard).
Is there something I can put on top of the paint to soften it?

Thank you again for your help! I am a first-time Chanel owner and am learning so much.

[Roger Koh]

>>> For the yellowing - please see the comparison between the inner flap and the bottom part of the front exterior. It’s not horrible but definitely noticeable upon closer look. What can I use to resolve it?

The first approach is to have a restorative cleaning with Prep-4.4, Cleaner-3.8, and Rinse-3.0 system found in this Aniline Leather Care Kit A3 by Leather Doctor . . .
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https://www.leatherdoctor.com/aniline-leather-care-kit-a3/

Body oil, grease, and sweat will also turn white color yellowish other than caused by exposure to inert gases.
Body oil and grease when oxidized turn yellowish, and sweat too when ferments will also turn alkaline. Alkalinity turns white color yellowish

Note the Leather Doctor individual product name suffix, for example, Prep-4.4 has a pH value of 4.4 and Rinse-3.0 has a pH value of 3.0
Leather has a pH value between 3 and 5. Our body sweat when ferments can reach a pH value of 10. Thus a pH value of 2.0 with Acidifier-2.0 is best to pH balance any yellowing caused by our sweat.
So this Leather Doctor system will not cause any yellowing to the white color but reduces the yellowing instead.

Yellowing from body oil and grease caused by oxidation may be REDOX (oxidation-reduction) by using Leather Tannin Cleaner-3.5 found with this Kit . . . Leather Aniline Tannin Stain Remover - Kit-A5.ns
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https://www.leatherdoctor.com/leather-aniline-tannin-stain-remover-kit-a5-ns/


>>>For the scuffing, you can see dark rubbings that may look like color transfer but it’s really the top layer of the leather being scrubbed off. Any suggestions?

It looks more like an accumulation of soiling in the pores. A corrective cleaning with Prep-4.4, Cleaner-3.8, and Rinse-3.0 may surprise you.
After this restorative cleaning, a leather non-stick protection will keep the white cleaner for a longer time.
I do not see that any top layer has been scrubbed off otherwise a clear topcoat suffice if the color coating still looks good.


>>> If you deem that repaint is necessary, what product would you recommend?

I do not recommend repainting just to hide the accumulated soiling.
Otherwise, you can use a much softer polyurethane system with Micro-54.

>>> I have acrylic leather paint at home and tried to dilute and put a very thin layer on one square.
It made it look whiter, but the texture is off (more shiny and hard).
Is there something I can put on top of the paint to soften it?
No, it is the acrylic binder that by nature is harder than soft urethane.


>>> Thank you again for your help! I am a first-time Chanel owner and am learning so much.

All your questions are welcome, our answers are based on science, logic, and experience.
Besides the free help from this forum, I do offer personal coaching via WhatsApp or you prefer me to do it for you too.

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Roger Koh
Leather Care System Formulator
Consultant / Practitioner / Instructor / Coach
web: www.leatherdoctor.com
forum: www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com
email: [email protected],
email: [email protected]

[Ally12345]

Thank you, I have purchased all the supplies you mentioned. You mentioned that the yellowing may also be due to inert gas, which would make it unable to be fixed by REDOX. If that's the case, and repainting (after cleaning) is required, what additional supplies do you recommend I get? Is it too complicated to dye it white myself at home and I should just send it to a spa? I know a spa will just spray paint it which might make the leather hard or have a weird texture.

[Roger Koh]

Color refinishing to overcome white from yellowing is not the best solution. Even if the color refinishing is perfect, the yellowing may come back again! It is a thought for you to consider before we dwell on the details if you so decided to do so. You can do it yourself if you have an airbrushing set like Paasche with personal coaching, or you let me do it for you when I am back in Vancouver.

The answer is still on routine cleaning, rinsing, pH balancing, and non-stick protection to keep white for a long period of time.

>>> what additional supplies do you recommend I get?
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To perform a color refinishing you would need this
Leather Semi-Aniline Color Refinishing - Kit-Sa7.cl
https://www.leatherdoctor.com/leather-semi-aniline-color-refinishing-kit-sa7-cl/
Which is only available when the online store reopens in Canada.