Vintage Find
A Sunday afternoon drive and Richard’s sharp eyes led to the most delightful vintage find; Two red suitcases sat on a sad pile of junk by the side of the road. Richard turned the car around and stepped out to have a look. He checked the locks, sniffed them and quickly looked for signs of major damage. “Looks good!” he yelled out. “Stick them in the boot then!” I replied while still sitting in the car.
I had a good look at the suitcases when I got home. They were in really good condition! “Looks like they need a good clean and it should come up really nicely,” I thought.
The inside of the suitcases were lined with paper, which were a little bit of torn at some places. I suspect a bit of white glue will fix that up.
The label inside read “Made by Permacase Melbourne Victoria | Plasticor”. A Google search showed that the suitcases were probably constructed with plastic panels and covered in red vinyl. This helped me decide on how to clean the suitcases.
To clean the suitcases I used:
- Warm soapy water
- Amor All Protectant
- White vinegar
- Aluminium foil
- Rags and sponges
Firstly, I cleaned the vinyl with a sponge and soapy water, and used a rag to wipe off excess liquid. This got rid of the dust and grime. Then the vinyl regained it’s much needed shine with a bit of Armor All and a clean sponge.
I’ve cleaned the smaller suitcase and when placed in front of the bigger, uncleaned one, you can see the difference in the vinyl. The smaller suitcase looks redder and shinier.
For the locks and other metal parts, I cleaned them with white vinegar on a rag. The rusty bits were “sanded” off using scrunched up balls of aluminum foil. I repeated between sanding and cleaning and they’ve come out okay.
I would really like to use metal polish on them. I’m thinking of the “cut and polish” solution you use on cars. I still have the other suitcase to clean and need to fix up both their interiors. I’ll show them to you when I’m done. 
Related Post:
Restoring Vintage Suitcases Part II
6 Responses to “Vintage Find”
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Wow, those are gorgeous! I never see old suitcases that are in that good shape. You did a wonderful job on sprucing them up!
sukigirl’s last blog post..A Bunny rattle made in crochet
What a find! I must say you really have a knack for giving new ‘life’ to old things. Great job!
That is a great find! And you did an awesome job on cleaning it. You can really tell the difference against the other one. What are you going to use it for?
Hey, they look really good! Why is it that people around where I live only chuck out really bad stuff? Haha – you definitely got a good find there.
Katie’s last blog post..My Car is My Second Bedroom
Nice cleaning tips.
Someone’s trash is someone’s treasure. What a good find, they looks “very” vintage !
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Thank you ladies!