What is Vachetta Leather and How Do I Look After it?

7 years ago

Leather Types

Have you ever been handbag shopping and seen the term Vachetta leather and wondered what it actually is? Well the experts at The Handbag Spa are here to help! Vachetta is untreated Italian leather generally used on luggage and luxury handbags such as Coach and Louis Vuitton.

When first purchased Vachetta leather is a light beige colour, but it is designed to age (a process called Patina), so it will go a dark brown shade over the years and with use. Patina is an unavoidable process as Vachetta is susceptible to water, stains and exposure to sunlight. Handles made from Vachetta leather can go very dark due to the grease and natural oils from your hands penetrating the leather (particularly if you wear a lot of hand cream!) The upside to Patina, is that each item which has Vachetta leather will develop its own unique characteristics. Furthermore, no two bags will age the same way.

About Louis Vuitton Vachetta

Vachetta is commonly the name Louis Vuitton use to call the leather used on their handbags and luggage range. This typically is used on the brown top & bottom trim along with the handles. Dark Vachetta is a good indicator that a Louis Vuitton handbag is genuine and authentic, due to plastic imitation Vachetta not going a darker shade and undergo the Patina process.

Louis Vuitton handbags which typically have Vachetta leather:

Alma / Artsy / Boulogne / Galleria / Keepall / Neverfull / Noe / Palermo / Speedy

How to Care for Vachetta Leather

The experts at The Handbag Spa have years of experience working with Vachetta and worked with the world’s finest leather chemists to create a range of water-based products which are suitable for use on Vachetta.

Everyday 3 in 1

Everyday 3 in 1 is a mild cleanser, hydrator & stain guard, all in one easy-to-use product! Meaning Everyday 3 in 1 cleans and offers a light layer of protection at the same time – making it the perfect product for women on the go!

CAN BE USED ON: Finished & Unfinished Leather, Full Grain, Aniline, Lambskin, Calfskin, Exotic, Ostrich, Saffiano, Epi and Vachetta Leather

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HOW TO USE

– Just spray a light layer evenly onto a clean lint free cloth

– Test on an inconspicuous area such as the bottom or inside

– Wipe the cloth onto the leather focusing on one panel at a time

– Then leave to air dry

Please note: this product will darken unfinished leathers when first applied, but the leather will dry back to it’s original colour.

Dermo Protect

Dermo Protect is a water based handbag protector spray, which protects finished and un-finished leathers (such as Vachetta) from day to day staining, liquids, dye transfer, ink, oil, sunlight damage and more!

Unlike it’s competitors, Dermo Protect protects the leather, whilst hydrating it at the same time and therefore allowing it to breath. This in turns ensure the leather is kept soft, supple and feeling the way it should

CAN BE USED ON: Finished & Unfinished Leather, Full Grain, Aniline Leather, Lambskin, Calfskin, Exotic, Ostrich, Saffiano, Epi and Vachetta Leather.

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HOW TO USE

– Just spray a light layer evenly onto a clean lint free cloth

– Test on an inconspicuous area such as the bottom or inside

– Wipe the cloth onto the leather focusing on one panel at a time

– Leave to air dry

Use monthly to ensure maximum stain guard protection is achieved!

Please note, this product will darken unfinished leathers when first applied, but the leather will dry back to it’s original colour.

Whatever you do, do not spot clean Vachetta – ensure you wipe all the Vachetta with a lint free cloth when applying any product.

Louis Vuitton Before and After

If your handbag has been used for a number of years, it might be better to send it in to the experts at The Handbag Spa. Here it can undergo treatments to restore and refresh its appearance. Particularly as the delicate vachetta leather found most commonly on Louis Vuitton handbags, needs specialist attention. This is to ensure it gets the best type of cleaning without unnecessary pigments being applied.

Here at The Handbag Spa, we pride ourselves in the results that can be achieved through our Vachetta Restoration treatment. This is a perfect example of the removal of surface staining on vachetta leather with our specialist cleaning treatment.

After a disastrous oil spillage from inside the bag, it seemed like there was no hope left for this beautiful vachetta Louis Vuitton. A full Degreasing treatment was carried out to extract the grease in the leather. We then finished off with a vachetta restoration process.

Dark handles are such a common problem we see here at the spa! Handles made from leather can go very dark due to the grease and natural oils from your hands penetrating the leather. This is particularly common if you wear a lot of hand cream! Fortunately here at The Handbag Spa, we offer a Handle Degrease treatment. This process aims to extract as much grease out of the leather as possible and lighten it. For a Louis Vuitton bag with a leather trim, we would recommend including a Vachetta Restoration treatment with a Handle Degrease.

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WARNING!!!

Some handbag restoration companies offer a Vachetta treatment that claims to colour restore the leather back to it’s original lighter colour. This should be avoided at all costs! The treatment actually entails putting a layer of pigment onto the Vachetta leather. At a glance, this treatment may look visually appealing at first, but years or even months down the line this peels. Therefore making your Louis Vuitton handbag look like a fake!!!

Here at The Handbag Spa, it is our ethos to work with a handbags original features. So when we undertake a Vachetta restoration treatment, the technicians work to extract any grease present (particularly in the handles) and clean the surface dirt off the leather. We do not colour over vachetta leather.

Above is an example of a Louis Vuitton handbag, which has had its Vachetta colour restored by a competing handbag restoration company. This clinic put pigment colour over the Vachetta leather. This then peeled and left the customer with an unsightly handbag which had a lack of patina (this in turn made the bag look like a fake)! She decided to come to the experts at The Handbag Spa, where we stripped the previous companies work. We then undertook our own Vachetta restoration treatment. The results speak for themself!