Will Louis Vuitton Repair Cracked Canvas?

OH NO!

That's what I said when I saw canvas cracking on my favorite Artsy.

How could this happen? What do I do?

Let's deal with the question straight from the beginning, and in the end of this post I'll share what I did to get rid of cracks.

What Are Louis Vuitton Canvas Cracks?

Louis Vuitton Monogram Canvas is probably the most iconic and recognizable print from Louis Vuitton. No wonder so many brand fans want this print exclusively in their collection. Unfortunately, this material is known to have several issues. One of them are cracks.

Cracks are canvas rips demonstrated on the above pic. You can barely see them when the canvas starts cracking, but as they grow wider over time, they may become evident.

Does Louis Vuitton Leather Crack?

Cracks usually appear on the brown Louis Vuitton material, known as canvas. 

Louis Vuitton produces canvases in several prints and patterns, including brown monogram, brown checkered print (Damier Ebene) and white checkered print (Damier Azur).

Although a lot of people think that canvas is leather, it's not true. Canvas is not leather, it's a synthetic PVC material that Louis Vuitton widely uses to manufacture their bags.

Therefore, Louis Vuitton leather doesn't crack.

Why Louis Vuitton Cracks Are a Problem?

Are small cracks that are almost invisible a problem?

Most likely, yes.

Obviously, the cracks aesthetically don't make the purse nicer. Over time, they grow and expand, so even if you're having a hard time noticing them now, it doesn't mean that in a year or two your purse won't look worse.

However, there's also another consequence of the cracking canvas. The cracked purse loses its value. Few buyers are ready to deal with cracks, as mostly Louis Vuitton enthusiasts are aware that cracks are a huge problem.

For example, a Speedy with the neat canvas may cost over $600, but a Speedy with cracks will most likely sell for $300 tops.

Why Is Louis Vuitton Canvas Cracking?

As with any other defect, there are a lot of reasons this defect may occur. We'll investigate the main ones.

First of all, Louis Vuitton used different types of canvas through the years. Some of these types were rigid (mostly vintage canvas), newer canvases are more vulnerable and are likely to crack.

Second, cracks have to do something with the misuse of the bag as well as the purse shape. If the opening is narrower than the bottom and the purse is not vintage, for instance, Artsy or Metis Hobo, the purse is very likely to crack. However, there's not 100% guarantee as to whether it will crack or it will not crack.

Some cracks are related to the chemicals. For instance, several Louis Vuitton buyers have reported that an excessive use of deodorant may prompt a canvas bag worn on the shoulder to crack.

Third, there are rumors that cracks are also related to the way you store your bag and clean it. Using chemicals when cleaning canvas may lead to its dryness which in its turn will lead to cracks.

How to Keep Louis Vuitton From Cracking

Although it's difficult to predict whether cracks will appear on you bag, here's what you might to to mitigate the risk of having cracks to a bare minimum.

1. Select a Louis Vuitton bag with wide opening

Remember that selecting the right item is the key to avoiding multiple problems that emerge from wear and tear, including cracks. If a bag's opening is narrow, chances are that someday the top of the purse will start cracking. Silhouettes under risk include Speedy, Artsy, Metis Hobo, Galliera bags.

You might also opt for Louis Vuitton leather bags and select from a variety of natural leathers. Even though such handbags are more expensive, they will serve you more.

2. Avoid wearing the bag under armpit

Deodorants and other chemicals may affect the canvas and increase the possibility of cracking. When you just wear your purse on the hand you reduce the chance of cracking.

3. Avoid stretching out the top of the bag

Even though your bag may not have a silhouette that is prone to cracking, it's important to take care of your purse and avoid doing anything that may provoke cracks.

Will LV Repair Cracked Canvas?

If you wonder whether Louis Vuitton repairs cracked canvas, the answer is 'no'. The boutique can help to fix all other issues, such as glazing, torn vachetta leather, inside lining, but they can't do anything at all about the canvas.

So is there anything that can be done about the cracks on your favorite Louis Vuitton bag?

1) Go to Louis Vuitton and talk to a sales assistant/manager

First of all, Louis Vuitton knows that some purses crack due to the low quality of the canvas material (note: not all the purses). They hold themselves responsible and are ready to either exchange your purse or give you the store credit.

There are three prerequisites though:

• the purse must be accepted as defective by LV store
• you need to (in most cases must) have a receipt
• the purse needs to be less than 2 years

Let's find out if your crack is a known defect for Louis Vuitton. Probably the cracks are not your fault.

If you purchased a limited edition bag straight from the store, check the date code. If the bag is less than 2 years old, chances are you are eligible for a free replacement. If you purse has a microchip, always keep the receipt, as this is the only way to get your Louis Vuitton bag repaired.

Louis Vuitton bags come with a warranty. If something happens within the 2 years (I guess the number varies from country to country but it's close to 2 years in most countries), they most probably will try to do their best to make you happy.

Some bag styles just have cracks and it's a known issue. For instance, the first batch of a well-known monogram Artsy released in 2009 is known to have cracks eventually, no matter how good you are at caring about your bag.

If it's a defect, they will either give you a new bag or offer a credit for the same value for you to pick another item.

If it's a defect but the bag is too old, they can't do anything about it.

The question we get a lot is this: Does Louis Vuitton offer some kind of SPA services? Check out this article to find out.

2) Fix the crack with cyanoacrylate glue

If it's only one or two cracks, here's what you can do.

• Buy any cyanoacrylate glue. It's a super strong glue. You can find one on Amazon.

• If the crack is already big, take a cotton swab. If it's still small and barely visible, take a pin 
• Take a drop of glue with the edge of the pin.
• Put the edge of the pin inside the crack.
• Stick the two sides of the bag together, removing the excess of the glue promptly.

Here's what a crack looks like when it's repaired.

In the next posts, I'll show how you can fix a crack yourself - just like I did in this example.

3) Ask a cobbler to fix your bag's cracks

Too many cracks? Glue won't help you here. You need to deal with the root of the problem, instead of the symptoms.

Canvas is not leather but still, it can be fixed. In most cases, you just need to ask a cobbler to find a piece of leather similar in terms of color and cover the cracks with this piece of leather.

I once had a badly cracked Louis Vuitton Artsy in stock. The top of the bag had over 30 cracks and looked exactly like on the picture that I provided at the beginning of the post.

I took it to my cobbler's. In this example, the cobbler took a piece of brown leather and used it as a trim for an Artsy. It now looks much better than the version with cracks.

Have you ever have a crack on your Louis Vuitton canvas bag? What have you done with it? Share your experience in comments.

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