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Do your pets or kids do a number on your furniture? Or has your sofa simply seen better days? No worries – today we will show you how to fix a tear in a leather couch.
Leather couches, wether real leather or faux leather, are a luxurious addition to your living room. Cleaning leather is one thing but fixing a tear a in a leather couch is a whole other story.
Today, we will explore how to fix a tear in a leather couch and other leather furnishings.
Different Types of Tears in a Leather Couch
Leather couches can suffer many types of tears and therefore will need a few different approaches to fixing each type of tear. Learning how to fix different types of tears in a leather couch isn’t difficult. We’ll go through some of the most common tears in leather couches.
Cuts
Cuts in leather furniture can be made a number of ways, whether it’s a sharp object snagging on the furniture or something that occurs while moving the furniture. These cuts in leather furniture can be recognized as clean incisions of an inch or more in length.
Punctures or Holes
Punctures or holes in your leather couch are not uncommon – especially if you have pets. Cats and dogs who love to jump on the couch are bound to puncture the leather at some point. Punctures or holes are small circular tears in the leather.
Minor Scratches or Small Tears
Minor scratches and small tears are different from the two aforementioned tears in your leather couch because scratches can be surface level and small tears can be many shapes. Whereas cuts tend to be longer and punctures smaller and round.
Worn Out or Rough Patches
Worn out areas and rough patches on your leather couch come with age. That being said, your leather couch might not be ready to make its way out the door. Worn out areas and rough patches can be recognized by the faded color and texture of the leather.
How to Fix a Tear in a Leather Couch
Depending on the type of tear in your leather furniture, there are different methods to fix a tear in a leather couch. We’ll go through a few of the best methods and let you know which to use for which situation – whether you need to fix a small puncture or refinish a large worn area. Read on to find out how to fix a tear in a leather couch.
1. Leather Tape
Leather tape is an amazing and effective way to fix a leather couch. Whether your couch is suffering from a cut, scrape, puncture or tear, leather tape is an easy and fast solution to your problem.
Simply measure the area that needs repair and make note of the measurement.
Then, clean the area that needs to be repaired with a minimal amount of rubbing alcohol on a microfiber cloth. Using a microfiber cloth is highly recommended so that lint and debris will not be left behind after cleaning the area. It is important not to have any debris or lint on the damaged area before applying the leather tape.
Allow the area to dry while you portion out the correct measurement of leather tape. Remember to round out the corners of the tape when you cut. This prevents the corners from lifting or poking once it’s applied.
Gently but firmly apply the leather tape to the damaged area and voila! Smooth down the tape and allow the adhesive to adhere properly to the couch.
Tip: Align the ends of the tape to the natural creases in your couch. If you’ve got the right color of tape, this will make the repair look like part of the design of your couch. Although you may end up using a lot of the tape to match your design even when it’s a small tear.
Of course, the easiest color to match is black leather to black leather. We had the best results on our matte black leather couch using matte black leather repair tape.
2. Leather Glue/Adhesive
Leather glue and adhesive are rarely used on their own but rather as part of a kit. Glue/Adhesive for leather is super effective with repairing cuts or small tears in your leather couch. It requires a patch fabric of your choice – preferably something of the same color or similar color of your leather couch – to be inserted through the cut in the couch to lie underneath the cut.
Then apply the Leather adhesive to the patch fabric beneath the cut and apply pressure. Be sure not to get the adhesive on yourself so use either wax paper as a barrier or plastic gloves to protect yourself.
Apply the adhesive under the other side of the cut and repeat the process – this time make sure you push the fabric as close as possible to other side of the cut. Make sure there are not any wrinkles or creases in the fabric. Only pull the fabric together as far as it can go before wrinkles and creases occur.
3. Leather Filler
Leather filler is used in two separate situations. One of those situations is after using leather adhesive to secure a cut or tear in your leather couch.
After you have used the leather adhesive to close the cut, wait until the adhesive has properly dried before applying the leather filler.
Apply the leather filler with the applicator per the directions of the leather filler instructions. Match the color of your leather couch with a leather paint kit and apply the leather color fix gently over the dried adhesive and filler. Using a sponge to create a natural look.
What is the Best Leather Repair Kit?
We’ve compiled some of the best leather repair kits available online for easy fixes and quick decision making when it comes to how you fix a tear in your leather couch. Read on for our favorite leather repair kits.
Leather Repair Tape
My preferred method is a high quality leather repair tape that holds strong to daily wear and is easy to apply. It comes in a variety of colors to match many leather colors. You can keep the spare to fix a tear in leather or vinyl bags, purses, and boots, too.
Leather Re-Coloring Balm
This leather re-coloring balm is great to use over leather adhesive or filler, or all by itself over a rough patch in your leather couch.
Leather and Vinyl Repair Kit
A Leather and Vinyl Repair kit is good for real leather or faux leather and includes everything you need from start to finish.
Instant Fabric and Leather Adhesive
An Instant Fabric and Leather Adhesive is an inexpensive leather glue that will bind the cut in leather furniture together no problem. With an instant and durable bond this leather adhesive is also non-toxic and safe for both indoor and outdoor use.
Be sure to observe the tear to see if it’s got enough surface for the glue to bind to be a good candidate for leather glue. It works best on non-load bearing areas like the sides or the back of the couch.
If using this method on a load bearing area, like the seat portion, you will need to reinforce it with a piece of cloth or leather. Insert the patch behind the tear and then apply the glue.
Time to Show Off Your Handiwork
Now that you’ve repaired your leather couch, it’s time to invite your friends over or just enjoy a relaxing evening on your newly repaired couch.
Repairing a leather couch or other leather furnishing can seem daunting at first but with a little bit of know-how and the right tools, learning how to fix a tear in a leather couch is no big deal.
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