Cleaning a leather bag with dark marks?

It is clothing dye and it will come off. You can try (with great patience) using Varsol on a terrycloth or old white towel rags.



Don't worry when it darkens from being wet. The warsol will dry and leave no trace of itself. It will require great patience and probably repeated efforts but it will come off.
Actually before you try the varsol, use a white eraser....



.....and rub it all over. Do this first, again, be patient.
Do the Varsol as a second measure.
If all fails, and ONLY if you are brave enough, you can soak it it a bath with some laundry soap.
Soak for an hour, then while under the water, use a cleaning brush or toothbrush. Be gentle with the brush.
when it comes off, you need to drain in a sink for an hour then hang to dry. Give it 3 days to dry, then treat it with suede protector.
NOTE
Before engaging in any of these measures, wait a day or 2 to see what others have to say.
The method(s) I have suggested are what I do here and if you decide to follow my advice, you do so at your own risk.

PS- Acetone will not work in this case and you won't need it anyway as it will ruin the dye finish on the suede.
Welcome to Styleforum.

I am having the exact same problem with a Cucinelli Bag that I use for work.
I wear a lot of Navy Jackets - and clearly this is causing what I would call, 'A FUCKING UGLY PATINA'.
I am not impressed. Will post a pic later.

I would recommend consulting with a reputable cobbler or leather specialist in your area. This is going to require possibly a lot of handwork one way or another. They do repairs and work on womens handbags all the time so they will have the experience you need to get the job done. They will probably tell you there are no guarantees either and that would be true so be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.


Welcome to Styleforum.
It would be good to post pjotos of your bag.
I would offer you the same advice of aproaching a good cobbler. A Cucinelli Bag is a considerable monetary investment and should be handled appropriately, by someone skilled in these areas. Perhaps even contact Cucinelli and see if they can recommend someone in your area or at all to handle the job. Many large companies have certain people they will use for their own repairs or maintenance. It's just a thought but hope this helps toward a solution.


To both of you, and anyone to yet post a concern, the methods I posted previously are methods I use myself with varying degrees of success. I only implement these methods (eraser, Varsol, sink bath) after assessing the leather type and the stain or discoloration, and by having some experience (not an expert) and also the fearlessness I achieve when I no longer care what the outcome will be

Though it would never be my intention to misguide anyone, I still advise caution if pursuing my afore-mentioned home cures. You do so at your own pleasure, risk or peril.
I was hoping some of our leather experts would have seen this thread by now but stay tuned, they are around somewhere...