# I painted my vintage Ferragamo!



## foxgal

Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered. 

I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it. 

Here goes: 

I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.





I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad: 





First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!: 





Second coat went on smoother and covered better. 




At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint. 

I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below: 





And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!







Thanks for letting me share!


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## 880

foxgal said:


> Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered.
> 
> I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it.
> 
> Here goes:
> 
> I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.
> 
> View attachment 5441324
> 
> 
> 
> I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad:
> 
> View attachment 5441325
> 
> 
> 
> First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!:
> 
> View attachment 5441326
> 
> 
> 
> Second coat went on smoother and covered better.
> 
> View attachment 5441327
> 
> 
> At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint.
> 
> I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below:
> 
> View attachment 5441328
> 
> 
> 
> And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!
> 
> View attachment 5441329
> 
> 
> View attachment 5441330
> 
> 
> Thanks for letting me share!



Amazing job! I am so happy for you!
Wear in the best health and happiness!


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## Kimbashop

foxgal said:


> Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered.
> 
> I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it.
> 
> Here goes:
> 
> I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.
> 
> View attachment 5441324
> 
> 
> 
> I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad:
> 
> View attachment 5441325
> 
> 
> 
> First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!:
> 
> View attachment 5441326
> 
> 
> 
> Second coat went on smoother and covered better.
> 
> View attachment 5441327
> 
> 
> At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint.
> 
> I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below:
> 
> View attachment 5441328
> 
> 
> 
> And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!
> 
> View attachment 5441329
> 
> 
> View attachment 5441330
> 
> 
> Thanks for letting me share!


What a beautiful job you did! That bag style is gorgeous and you are right about the gold and grey together. Congratulations!


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## papertiger

foxgal said:


> Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered.
> 
> I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it.
> 
> Here goes:
> 
> I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.
> 
> View attachment 5441324
> 
> 
> 
> I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad:
> 
> View attachment 5441325
> 
> 
> 
> First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!:
> 
> View attachment 5441326
> 
> 
> 
> Second coat went on smoother and covered better.
> 
> View attachment 5441327
> 
> 
> At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint.
> 
> I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below:
> 
> View attachment 5441328
> 
> 
> 
> And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!
> 
> View attachment 5441329
> 
> 
> View attachment 5441330
> 
> 
> Thanks for letting me share!



Looks like you did really well! 

I like grey with ghw too, lovely.


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## SouthTampa

You are very talented.   Stunning.


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## indiaink

foxgal said:


> Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered.
> 
> I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it.
> 
> Here goes:
> 
> I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.
> 
> View attachment 5441324
> 
> 
> 
> I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad:
> 
> View attachment 5441325
> 
> 
> 
> First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!:
> 
> View attachment 5441326
> 
> 
> 
> Second coat went on smoother and covered better.
> 
> View attachment 5441327
> 
> 
> At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint.
> 
> I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below:
> 
> View attachment 5441328
> 
> 
> 
> And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!
> 
> View attachment 5441329
> 
> 
> View attachment 5441330
> 
> 
> Thanks for letting me share!


Absolutely stunning! This bag looks better in this color, by far!!!


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## *Jenn*

holy wow, it looks amazing!!!! fantastic job!!!


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## Puglet Lover

It looks amazing


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## Mapia57

Came out awesome great job


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## thewave1969

Congrats!!! Beautiful color!


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## lovieluvslux

Wish I could do that.  You can open a side business.


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## missucc

Wow, you did an amazing job! The dye didn't seem to cover up the leather grain at all.

I recently dyed a white Tod's D bag black with Fiebings Leather Dye. White is very hard to redye so I had to do 4-5 coats, the finish turned out very waxy and completely masked over the soft lamb leather texture.


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## foxgal

missucc said:


> Wow, you did an amazing job! The dye didn't seem to cover up the leather grain at all.
> 
> I recently dyed a white Tod's D bag black with Fiebings Leather Dye. White is very hard to redye so I had to do 4-5 coats, the finish turned out very waxy and completely masked over the soft lamb leather texture.



Thank you @missucc! It is such a beautiful style…I really love how chic the grey looks. Yes, I was impressed how the paint really “shrinked” right into the leather grain!

Hope you are enjoying your blue Ferragamo. It’s so great to give these bags new lives


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## missucc

foxgal said:


> Thank you @missucc! It is such a beautiful style…I really love how chic the grey looks. Yes, I was impressed how the paint really “shrinked” right into the leather grain!
> 
> Hope you are enjoying your blue Ferragamo. It’s so great to give these bags new lives


I am loving the blue Ferragamo. It's unfortunate that I work from home so I don't get to use it (and my other bags) as often as I'd like. But I've recently ordered a few bag straps and been swapping out straps on various bags - I feel like I've unlocked so much potential with my entire bag collection.

If you are looking for a new strap for this or other bags, I highly recommend checking out SheIn. I don't buy clothes from them but they have a huge selection of bag straps for under $10 that's excellent in quality.


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## Cambriagh

foxgal said:


> Last year, @missucc and I traded vintage Ferragamo top handle gancini bags. Note: using the term “vintage” loosely as I’m not sure what the style name of my bag is or what year it came out…if anyone knows, tell me! Anyhoo, while I loved my new-to-me bag, I found I wasn’t reaching for it often…the wear on the leather clashed with the lady-like vibe of the bag. No matter how much I conditioned her, the scratches wouldn’t diminish at all. None of them were actual tears or pulls but just needed to be covered.
> 
> I had always thought a light grey would look so beautiful with the gold gancini hardware, so decided to go for it - a DIY paint job!  I could tell from other DIY leather dye/paint jobs that this leather would take paint well. All the videos recommend Angelus products but I couldn’t source any in my area without outrageous shipping fees, and the leather paint at my local Michael’s hobby store got good reviews so that was it.
> 
> Here goes:
> 
> I taped off the hardware best I could. Here you can see the visible scratches.
> 
> View attachment 5441324
> 
> 
> 
> I used a light touch with a cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol to prepare and de-grease the leather, and you can see how the finish came off on the pad:
> 
> View attachment 5441325
> 
> 
> 
> First coat I used a makeup sponge to slide on a light coat of the paint. It went on pretty blotchy and I was thinking I’d ruined everything!:
> 
> View attachment 5441326
> 
> 
> 
> Second coat went on smoother and covered better.
> 
> View attachment 5441327
> 
> 
> At this point I decided to try a paintbrush instead of the sponge, and stopped taking so many pictures - lol! The wide flat brush was much easier for getting the paint on evenly, just had to be careful to mop up any globs or air bubbles quickly as the paint dried fast. As you can see, I just painted right over the small bits of hardware and then used a small tool (a calligraphy nib in fact) to scratch off the paint.
> 
> I needed to do 3-4 coats on all sides over several days but amazingly didn’t even use the full 2 oz bottle of paint! Even dry, the paint was still quite tacky as it’s designed to be flexible and not crack on the leather. To finish it, I used a coat of Fiebings Resolene which seals and waterproofs the bag. The products below:
> 
> View attachment 5441328
> 
> 
> 
> And voila - the reveal  I’m so happy with how it turned out! It’s not perfect if you go over it meticulously but I think it looks pretty darn fine. Goes perfect with the Ferragamo twilly I got last year!
> 
> View attachment 5441329
> 
> 
> View attachment 5441330
> 
> 
> Thanks for letting me share!


Wow. How gorgeous!


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