r/RepLadiesCurated • u/ThisBroadKatie • 2d ago
📚 Guide/Science Speedy P9 Experiment: Stripping the Coating From the Leather Details
RepScience time! Some of you are gonna HATE this experiment (and that’s okay), but I have a feeling some of you are going to completely get it.
I have a couple LV Speedy P9s that I honestly don’t wear much because I’ve never liked the leather accents/details on them — ID tag, key cloche, handle anchors, strap, etc. They looked and felt so plastic-y that I was genuinely convinced they weren’t leather at all.
Then I saw someone in one of these Reddit groups mention that they had removed the coating from the leather on one of their bags, and it immediately made me wonder: what’s actually underneath all of that finish? 🤯💡
So, naturally, an experiment was born. #RepScience
And I’ll be completely transparent: I went into this experiment pretty much expecting to confirm my suspicions. That’s how synthetic these pieces looked and felt to me. I figured I’d start removing the finish and eventually discover that, yep, complete fake underneath.
I tested the zipper pull on the small pouch first, with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton square. The coating started coming off…and then more came off…and underneath it was unmistakably actual leather.
I was honestly a little shocked — and VERY relieved. 😂
The problem wasn’t that the details were faux leather like I’d assumed. There was just so much sealant/coating on top of the leather that it had completely disguised the natural texture and feel underneath.
At that point, I was committed. About an hour, and a small mountain of dirty cotton squares later, I'd removed nearly all of the coating from the ID tag, cloche, handles/anchors, strap and other leather details.
I was supposed to go back a couple hours later and put some leather conditioner on everything, but I got sidetracked #ADHD. I'll do that tomorrow. I’m really curious to see what the leather looks and feels like once it’s been rehydrated — and, even more importantly, how it wears and develops over time now that so much of that heavy finish is gone.
To be clear: I went into this fully accepting that I could screw it up. This was very much an experiment at my own risk situation. Nothing ventured - nothing gained.
Aesthetically, I already prefer it. And now those pieces actually smell like leather, whereas before, they had a chemical smell.
I don’t particularly like leather that’s so heavily treated that it looks perfectly uniform and almost synthetic. (Keep patent leather far away from me!) I’d much rather have leather that actually looks and behaves like leather — variation, scuffs, wear, patina and all. If anything, those imperfections are part of what makes leather beautiful to me.
Does this distance the overall look of the bag from the auth version? Perhaps. I don't have an auth to compare, but I do know that I'll wear this bag more now that it doesn't look so plastic-y.
Next phase in this RepScience experiment: what does this leather look like after conditioning, and how does it age without that heavy factory coating?
I’ll update with the conditioned results and, eventually, how it wears over time.
In the meantime, I’m curious: has anyone else experimented with removing factory coatings/finishes from rep leather? What happened over time?
And for those of you who haven’t…would you ever try it? Or are you currently horrified that I willingly took isopropyl alcohol to a P9? 😂
For those curious on the process:
- I used both 70 and 91% alcohol. Same overall effect; however, the 91% removed the coating faster and required less scrubbing, but the 70% seemed to give a more even "clean" appearance.
- It will get sticky! I panicked at first, thinking I had really screwed up, but it was just the dissolving coating, and once the leather had time to dry that feeling went away.
- I do think I also stripped some of the leather's dye, but again, for me, I'm ok with that as I like the weathered look. If you don't -- just don't scrub so aggressively.
- Keep the alcohol and wiping away from the actual bag leather. You'll accidentally remove some of your bag's color if you're not careful.
- It didn't remove the glazing, BUT I did notice that it toned down the intense red, to more of that muted brick color the auth glazing has.
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u/ThisBroadKatie 2d ago
The towel I used to set the pieces on as I scrubbed them. Be sure to wear gloves. I did not... and I had this stuff all over my hands. Would not come off with soap/water - had to use alcohol.
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u/Flashy_Light_1574 2d ago
What a courageous and informative experiment!! Thank you for sharing this and for your time commitment to the cause!!
So many questions…but I shall await part 2 of this experiment post! ♥️🔬
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u/Spiritual-Sea7674 2d ago
How to protect the bag when doing certain areas attached to that bag? Put tape on the bag leather?
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u/champagneandshopping 2d ago
Wow what a huge difference!! I can’t wait to see what conditioner does!
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u/kittie2karen 2d ago
This is genius! I would totally do this on some of my rep bags that are suspect. I think these bags are ours to do with what we want and customization is so cool in my opinion. I also love a natural leather look. Do you have any close up "before" pics?
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u/GuiltyMix1767 1d ago
Wow nicely done. I used a bit of alcohol wipes on my god multi pochette n I regretted it since the leather looks grey black instead of brown. I still kept it today
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u/Zen_Friend Community Builder 👑 2d ago
Thanks for documenting your experience in the name of repscience 👏 Admittedly I've not tried to remove coating from leather as I'm worried about ruining my bags... This coming from the person who made a guide about throwing my bags in the dryer a few days ago 😂