removing dents from vinyl

C

coololdstuff

Registered Guest
Hi all,

Anyone have any handy tips on removing those unsightly dents from vinyl purses, boots, etc? I was dismayed to find that I had stored a gorgeous vinyl purse next to a woven basket purse and the vinyl now looks like it has cellulite :-( I have other goodies that could stand to lose their dents - not the ones that are deep, mind you, but that are just kind of imprinted.

I've heard that if you're very careful you can use indirect heat from a cool iron (with fabric in between) or even a blow dryer, but I am afraid to make things worse. Any suggestions appreciated, thanks!

Cheers,
Linda
 
That's a tough one. Is the vinyl bag a hard sided frame bag or the type that have that little bit of padding around it?

The first thing I would do is store it so it is not touching anything else and stuff it to maintain its shape. Some minor creasing does "work itself out" over time. But not always. Most of the time you just have to live with the minor marks.

The indirect heat situation also depends if its vinyl or PVC or if its vinyl coating something else. A cool iron really won't do much damage because like

If trying the heat method I would err on the side of caution and see how it goes. sometimes if you don't have colored vinyl but a vinyl or pvc that gets its color from a top layer of coating or painting/dying the color could deteriorate. Handbags were made from anything from a thin more delicate material all the way to the more substantial, tougher stuff like bowling bags are made of and are all so different it is really hard to say not knowing more if it could be damaged or not. The cool iron probably wouldn't hurt because there is no heat involved so no harm at all in trying that. As far as a hairdryer i would start out pretty far away initially if you are wanting to try that.

Anyone else have any tips?
 
Thanks!

Yes, this is a thinner, textured vinyl. I think it would hold up to some heat but the question is, how much and will it damage the texture? I'm tempted to try on an indistinct spot... but then again...

All suggestions welcome!

-Linda
 
ANother thing to remember about vinyl, unless they were very utilitarian like rainproof or like a travel case, they really were made to not be heirloom pieces. They were generally a lower price point so you could afford to keep up with fashion and buy a new one each year or less, and handbag makers could expand to include more pricepoints/buying segment. Also, when a lot of synethetics became new and novel, they made purses in many different types before being able to determine what really holds up over time. A lot of vinyl purses are lucky to have survived. I am not talking about lucite purses, etc, and other things where the synethetic is clearly a part of the design, but ones that were copied from more straightforward purses.

I do think a lot of the vinyl purses are extremely cute and they afforded making them in colors that were almost impossible in other materials. Unfortunately, a lot of really cute ones just have a life cycle and once they are cracked taht's it. You cant repair them the same as leather or reweave them like fabric.

So i guess the crease is like a badge of honor for having survived this long unlike its unfortunate twins
 
oh..discreet spot would be ideal.

And do a little bit less before you do more, if you know what i mean :)

You can always do more later but can't undo what you already did
 
I have a vinyl item at my grandmother's house that is in really bad shape. I think I will snag it next time and do some tryings on it with different methods and see which gets the best results.

I have a really pretty long coat that is a pea color, but the shoulders are cracking on it. I really would love to sell it, but I am afraid to try to put it in a box b/c I don't want other places to start cracking on it when I try to fold it.
 
Cracking is tough on vinyl. Once it starts, that is usually it. If it has peeled sometime you can glue it to stop that particular crack (its the "as seen on tv leather and vinyl repair kit - lol). Folding won't crack it but might make the existing crack run more. Usually its exposure to chemicals, unusual heat would be more likely to crack it in other places as it deteriorates

Its probably something I would not sell..BUT If it is something really cool with a definite look (say it looks like a starsky and hutch jacket or the michale jackson thriller jacket, or a secret agent spy trench) etc, i would sell it because its Halloween at a really budget price and disclose the damage and mark it as costume only.
 
I removed dents in my vinyl center console(armrest) Unbelievably you can not tell any damaged ever happened. What happened was my dog jumped from the rear of the car to the front and dug her nails onto the fabric leaving a dozen dents and a couple of scratches. My car is not even 2 weeks old and I was horrified! I tried rubbing them out but no go. I called the dealer and they wanted $200 to replace. I even called Subaru salvage yards. Then I Googled how to repair this problem in vinyl/leather. The answer was heat! Apply heat like with a heat gun. I didn't have a pro heat gun so I used a hair dryer trying not to get too close. I started on low so as not to burn the vinyl and ended up on high and did this for about an hour. It looked better but not handled yet. It was getting dark so I decided to continue the next day. I again used my blow dryer but to no avail. I decided to try my flat iron with a towel in between. I turned it up fairly high AND used steam with a soft cotton dish towel in between and ironed the dents and scratches completely out. I did it slowly and gently getting each mark out. It's a miracle and a complete relief for me. I hope this helps others with a similar situation:)
 
I had a black patent vinyl purse that also got a little too close to another one. I sat it outside in the sun and the warmth relaxed the dent. It didn't completely go away, but helped considerably. We're talking hot southern sun, too.
 
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