Know How: How to repair a leather sofa
There’s no doubt about it; a leather sofa is a timeless classic and looks effortlessly chic, that is until the leather naturally starts to fade, crack and split. After forking out for your favourite piece of leather furniture, you certainly don’t want to consider the prospect (and cost) of reupholstering the entire piece for just a few imperfections. Luckily, there are now plenty of products and tools to repair your leather sofa at home, saving you the cost of calling out a professional or having the entire piece reupholstered.
It’s now very easy to purchase the tools you’ll need for the job, both from online specialists and from most major department stores. You can buy a complete leather repair kit for around twenty pounds, a bargain if you think it will breathe a whole new life into your tired leather furniture. Depending on the colour of your leather, you will need to purchase the correct shade of leather re-colouring balm in order to dye the repair or to recolour patches of faded leather. You can purchase a pot of leather colouring balm in the correct colour online for under ten pounds. Another genius solution for very minor repairs is a leather touch-up pen, which requires less drying time; however, the repair will be less substantial.
How to do the repair
Most leather repair kits will include all of the materials you will need to repair your damaged leather sofa. Here are the simple steps to the perfect repair:
- Access the damage and trim the frayed edges of the split
- Appy glue using a spatula to secure the patch fabric to the underside of the split
- Gradually fill the area with heavy filler, drying each layer, until the split area is flush with the surface
- Before the final layer of filler dries, use a grain pad to imprint the grain pattern back into the filler for a completely seamless finish
- Apply the colourant to dye the filled area
- Apply a leather finish to seal the repair