How to Fix Leather

Leather can be repaired using a leather-repair kit.

Repairing leather takes patience. Depending on the type of damage, you can use a liquid leather-repair kit, which allows you to fill in a scratch or you can use a patch kit for larger tear. However, repairs may not match or remove the damage completely. Patched areas may not match the original leather and will be weaker than the leather. Repair kits come in color-specific packages to repair leather of certain colors. Some kits come with different colors or require you to mix the colors yourself. A repair kit should have all the tools you need.

Things You'll Need

• Repair kit matching your leather
• Iron (optional)
• Scissors
• Paper
• Pencil
• Sand paper (optional)
• Glue (optional)

Instructions

Repairing a Scratch

1. Mix the colors of the repair liquid if your kit requires you to mix them yourself.

2. Paint the compound into the scratch.

3. Apply heat to the area if needed. Most repair kits come with a heating element but some may require you to use an iron to apply the heat. If so, don't touch the iron to the leather. Instead, with the iron on, hold the iron a few inches above the leather to allow the compound to bond. The amount of time varies depending on the repair kit.

4. Allow the area to dry for at least 24 hours.

Repairing a Tear

1. Use scissors to trim the rough edges around the tear.

2. Place a piece of paper under the tear and trace the shape of the tear, using the pencil.

3. Cut the leather scrap so it is a little bigger then the tear, using the tracing as your guide. The scrap should come with the leather-repair kit.

4. Scuff the leather around the tear with sandpaper if the repair kit requires you to do so. Not all repair kits require this step.

5. Place the scrap under the tear and apply glue to the top side of the scrap so it adheres to the underside of the damaged leather. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.

6. Mix the repair compound as directed by the repair kit. Paint it into the area of the tear and over the scuffed area of the tear if required by the repair kit. Apply heat if needed by the repair kit. Allow the area to dry for 24 hours between each coat of the compound. It make take several coats to fill the tear.

References

• Leather World Tech: Leather Repair