No matter how pricey your leather is, it tears. Even the exclusive leather couches are subject to this phenomenon. Pets, children, and accidents happen once in a while.
— So, you may store small leather tricks up your sleeve, in order to handle an emergency like a pro.
How do tears happen?
Sharp objects are primarily responsible for these incidents. The paws of your cat or dog can do it. If a dog toy is tossed into the crevices or in between two cushions, you will see an unnerving digging on the part of the canine fellow.
Related: How to Fix Scratches on Leather Couch from Dog
The dog does everything in its power to retrieve the item. Knives or hard-edged objects can do it too.
Kid’s toys and rough plays are ideal items for ruptures. Pens, pencils, and other things also push through it.
— Besides, the surface of your leather furniture runs pretty tight all over the place. This strained structure gives an extra nudge when a pointed metal or glass makes contact with the top area.
Apart from careful use, many things can give a cut or tear to the leather.
What do you need to mend leather tears?
Keep a bunch of stuff at close quarters for this task. Your leather repair kit must store these items.
- Tweezers
- Palette knife or toothpick
- Leather adhesive
- Leather or denim sub-patch
- Hairdryer
- Paper towel or clean soft cloth
How to fix a ripped leather couch?
When you are fixing ripped leather furniture, you do not expect professional excellence out and out. But we can land you at close to perfection. We have the simplest solutions to mending leather cuts. It’s a breeze.
Bear with us.
The easiest method:
Apply the best quality leather patch, matching the color of your furniture surface. Just clean the torn area and the loose ends of the rip. Then stick the patch.
Believe it or not, you are done.
The most durable method:
First, clean the surrounding area of the cut with a clean cloth and a leather cleaner. Remove undetectable grime, dirt, and grease.
— Now, concentrate on the stray fibers, bulging out of the tear. Use a pair of scissors to carefully remove those errant threads. It allows a cleaner and stronger connection at the joint.
Push the exposed foam inside and level it down by pressing. Cut the leather or denim sub-patch at least 20% bigger in size than the torn area.
Push the sub-patch through the rip with tweezers. Tweezers give you easy access and opening inside the torn section.
— Now, evenly distribute the sub-patch underneath the torn area, using a palette knife or toothpick.
Take the best quality leather adhesive. Apply this glue on the sub-patch as well as the underside of the leather with the toothpick or knife.
The knife helps spreads the glue and ensure even coverage. Also, put some at all the torn edges of the leather.
Related Tips: How to Fix Large Hole in Leather Couch
Now, bring the ripped edges together, and at the same time, press it down on the glued sub-patch. It guarantees a strong joint by securing all sides into a warm closeness.
Continue to push the edges together until the glue begins to set and turns tacky. So, the whole thing again becomes a single unit.
Use your fingers to join the still-visible seams. Thrust the surface down so that the sub-patch can stick tight at the bottom.
Remove the excess glue with a paper towel or cloth. The cloth should not add extra colors to the leather.
Therefore, you have to choose it carefully.
You can place a heavy book on top of the fixed area, for 5-10 minutes. It will provide gentle pressure so that the glue can set properly.
After you are done with this, you may use a hairdryer. It will quicken the drying stage. Make sure that nobody abuses it before the seams dry out properly.
Take a 24-hour recess, prior to using it again. The patch will hold the tear together for a pretty long time.
— It will stay firm in the face of everyday wear and tear. If the tear somehow reappears, resort to some more glue into the edges all over again.
There will remain some imperfections. Securing an invisible end result is a professional task. Minuscule holes or bulging sides of the edges may gaze at you. The outlines will show despite your efforts.
Do not take it to your mind.
Remember that this sub-patch surely serves better than rookie exterior patches and ostensible or manifest stitches on the outer area. Here goes a short instructive video clip on how to fix a ripped leather couch.
What not to do in fixing leather tears?
There is a list of things to avoid in fixing ripped leather. Those are listed here.
No super glue: Do not apply super glue out of the blue. It does not hold water in confronting the everyday usages.
— Moreover, the glued part of the leather turns stiff which is exactly what you do not need.
No hot iron: Pressing the hot iron on the leather could result in discoloring or disfiguring. If you really have to quicken the process, use a hairdryer. Still, you must be careful about not applying too much heat.
Hairdryer alert: Real leather does not like hairdryers too much. Genuine leather needs its fair share of moisture.
Usually, 50-70% of humidity fares well.
If you dry it out completely, the leather couch will show cracks and fatigues around the rip.
Sunlight warning: Direct sunlight is no good for real leather either. It also takes out the humidity, leaving cracked skin behind. So, do not dry it in the sun.
Conclusion:
An easy call is resorting to a professional. You can do that too. But it costs a lot especially in the case of real leather.
— Certainly, they can manage a greater look and can almost do away with the cut marks. The expenses often are a great barrier in reaching them.
Also, keep a watchful eye on what your kids and pets are up to as they get into a playful mood on the couch.
If things go rowdy, alert them.
Or you might call up your children to help you with errands while fixing the ripped leather couch. It will give them a valuable lesson about the tiresome method of mending it.