Leather is a great material for couches and it can look and feel amazing, but, since it isn’t a standard fabric, when it tears it can be quite intimidating to fix. But it doesn’t need to be! Repairing a tear in a leather couch is actually super easy with the right leather repair kit. Here’s how to get your leather sofa back up to scratch.
This should also work on other leather items, and even on faux leather!
Step One: Buy A Good Leather Repair Kit
Your leather repair kit should have in it the right tools to help you go from torn leather couch to perfect leather couch. This includes:
- scalpel
- sub patch
- tweezers
- leather glue (or super glue)
- spatula
- heavy filler
- colourant
You will also need a hair dryer, and for larger tears, you may need to source more heavy filler and a different-sized sub patch.
Step Two: Clean The Leather Couch
Before you start to properly repair leather sofas, you should be sure to clean around the tear so that you don’t end up getting any dirt stuck in the tear, in the glue or anything like that, as this can make the repair look less smooth.
To clean a leather couch you will need warm water, a mild detergent and a soft cloth. Simply mix a small amount of detergent with the water and wipe the sofa down carefully. Do not scrub, and try not to let the sofa get too wet.
Once done, use a dry cloth to dry the couch before you begin repairing. Try to avoid using a branded leather cleaner, as these are often unnecessary and you can save money!
Check out: How to clean a pram
Step Two: Trim The Torn Area Of Your Leather Couch
In order to get a smooth finish, you will need to delicately trim and prepare the torn section of your leather furniture. You can do this by taking a scalpel or pair of sharp scissors and carefully cutting away the worn edges and loose fibres of the tear. The goal is to make a smoother, cleaner edge to the tear.
Step Three: Add The Sub Patch
The sub patch is a small piece of fabric that may look like a scrap. It works as a back to your repair. You should use the tweezers in your leather repair kit and carefully slide it into the hole of your leather couch.
Step Four: Apply Glue To The Sub Patch
Using the right glue (leather glue, which should be provided in your leather repair kit), you will need to glue the sub patch inside the tear, just beneath the opening on your leather couch.
You can do this using the spatula provided in the kit to repair leather. Carefully slide the glue into the tear on the leather sofa and between the leather and the sub patch beneath. You should only need to use a thin layer. Excess glue will alter the finish, so be sure to wipe any away.
Once the glue is in place, press down onto the leather couch with gentle pressure so that the glue can properly adhere. Then, leave the glue to dry for a short while before continuing.
Step Five: Apply Heavy Filler To Your Leather Furniture
You will then need to apply heavy filler to the leather sofa. You will need the spatula again for this. The heavy filler will fill the gap in the leather and will make it level. It needs to be applied in very thin layers, and you should be sure to apply it carefully, each application needs to be an even layer.
Apply with a spatula, leave the leather sofa to dry for a while, and then return to the leather couch and apply another layer. Continue to do this until your leather sofa is level with the tear.
Step Six: Apply Colourant Or Leather Paint To The Tear
When you do this, you might want to use masking tape to section off the rest of your leather couch or any seams or areas that you don’t want to risk getting leather dye on – like the seam or embroidered patterns.
You should apply the colourant to the tear using a sponge, blending it carefully with the surrounding leather. When you repair a leather tear, you will need to apply the colourant in thin coats so that you do not accidentally dye the tear too much. Let each layer dry before you continue so that you can accurately judge the colour.
How To Prevent A Leather Sofa From Tearing
There are a few causes of leather couches tearing. Usually, it’s down to wear and tear. Dry leather that is particularly old or that hasn’t been moisturised in a while is likely to tear easily if sat on too aggressively, or pulled in more than one direction at once. To combat this, leather couch owners can use leather conditioners to keep their leather couch well-oiled and flexible.
Other causes of leather couches tearing are things like cat scratches. These can be hard to avoid. However, there are products out there that allow you to attach a suitable cat scratching pole to the sofa, preventing your feline friend from actually damaging the leather itself.
If taken good care of, your leather couch shouldn’t tear often. Once the repairs are done, if you ensure that you try to take care of the couch, you should find that the tear does not reopen. If it does, you might find that you need to do larger repairs than a mere subpatch.
