How To Repair Cracking Leather Car Seats

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Simple methods to make clean and repair whatever kind of cracked leather

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No matter how much intendance you have in using leather seats—whether they're in your car, a sofa in your dwelling, or a leather office chair—they're bound to crack at some point. Fortunately, it's relatively straightforward to repair cracked leather, although you might never get it dorsum to mint condition. Earlier beginning repairs, clean off the leather seat. Then, fix lightly cracked seats with enamel pigment or repair heavily torn and ripped seats with a leather repair kit.

1. 1

   Remove debris from the leather seat and vacuum it clean. Pick up any food scraps or other trash that has accumulated on or backside the leather seat. Depending on the amount and type of dirt on your seat, you may also need to use a plumage duster to remove grit. Then, use a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment to remove dirt from hard-to-achieve locations.^[i]

   • If you try to clean a leather seat with liquid cleaners (due east.g., soapy water and leather cleaner) earlier removing droppings and vacuuming, you'll but end up rubbing the grit and dirt into the leather.

2. 2

   Clean the leather seat with soapy water and a lint-free cloth. Drop 2-3 droplets of bleach-costless dish detergent into a plastic spray bottle, and fill the rest of the bottle with water to create a soapy mix.^[ii] Spray a lite layer of soapy water across the surface of your leather seat. Once the seat is damp, use a lint-free textile (like a microfiber cloth) to wipe the seat until it'south dry. ^[3]

   • As yous make clean the seat, you'll notice that its color lightens by a shade.^[4]

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3. 3

   Scrub off dirt and grime with leather cleaner and a coarse scuff pad. If yous're still seeing greasy stains on the seat, you can remove them with a scuff pad. Pour virtually 1–2 tablespoons (15–thirty mL) of liquid leather cleaner onto a coarse scuff pad. Then, scrub the saturated section of the pad beyond the stained leather to wipe off dirt. Continue cleaning the dirty areas until y'all wipe off the grime.^[5]

   • It's okay to utilize firm pressure when y'all're scrubbing the seats clean. You're not likely to harm the leather whatever more than than it already is.

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1. 1

   Find a gloss enamel pigment that matches the color of your leather. If your croaky leather seats are dyed, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to repair the cracks using an aerosol tin can of gloss enamel pigment. Take a look at the color of the cleaned leather seat. Many leather seats—especially in cars—are dyed carmine, black, night bluish, or another bogus color. Visit a hobby shop or pigment shop and peruse their gloss enamel paint selection. Purchase a color of gloss enamel paint that matches your leather.^[6]

   • If you were to appraise the color of the leather before cleaning it, you lot'd probably end up picking a paint or dye that's darker than the bodily seat color.

2. 2

   Spray a generous amount of aerosol paint onto an quondam towel. Observe an old cotton towel that you don't heed getting dirty, and spray it with the aerosol paint to create a patch about 2 inches (five.1 cm) in diameter.^[vii] Yous don't want to completely saturate the towel with paint, but do apply the paint heavily plenty that information technology will hands rub off onto the leather.

   • You can also use an quondam rag or other bit of cotton cloth. Brand sure it's one that you can throw away once you've finished working on the seats.

3. 3

   Fold the towel in half so the pigment is on the inside. If you were to utilize the paint straight to the leather seat, it would discolor the leather. To preclude this, fold the towel in one-half with the pigment on the inside.^[8]

   • If you have a very sparse towel, try folding it over twice (i.e. fold it into quarters) so the paint doesn't bleed through too easily.

4. 4

   Cascade 1  tsp (4.9 mL) of lacquer thinner onto the towel. Aim the lacquer thinner so you're pouring it directly onto the painted department of the towel. Exercise this over a garage sink or a section of physical floor that you don't mind staining. Lacquer thinner volition help bring up the paint that's already been applied to the leather seats, so that the new pigment you're applying blends with the old color.^[nine]

   • If you were to use paint to the seat without lacquer thinner, the 2 paint colors wouldn't alloy and the cracks in the fabric would still be very visible.

5. 5

   Rub the paint onto the leather seat in long, shine strokes. Grasp the towel with 3 or 4 fingers just below the section that'southward saturated with paint and lacquer. Apply the paint and lacquer mixture to the cracked section of your leather seat by rubbing the towel dorsum and forth in strokes each about viii–9 inches (20–23 cm) long. Keep pressure on the towel then the paint and lacquer mix rubs off.^[10]

   • Using this technique, rub the towel across the unabridged cracked area of the leather seat.
   • Avoid rubbing the towel effectually in circles unless y'all want permanently visible swirls on your leather seat.

6. 6

   Apply a second layer of paint, then let the seat dry for 8-ten hours. One time you've finished applying paint and lacquer to the unabridged cracked seat, take a wait at the cracks. While they won't be fully filled in, they should be much less visible. If the cracks are still visible, employ more than paint and lacquer to the towel, and put on another layer over the croaky portions of the seat. After applying the 2nd layer, allow the seats dry for 8–ten hours overnight.^[eleven]

   • It'south important that yous utilise the second layer while the first is withal moisture, so that the new paint mingles fully with the quondam coloring in the leather.

7. 7

   Spray a leather conditioner directly onto the seat in one case the paint is dry. Once the repaired leather has stale, the next stride is to apply a sealant to keep the seat from groovy once more in a few days. Spray the liquid leather conditioner onto the seat surfaces that you've repaired and recolored. Use a generous amount, since there needs to be enough to soak into all the leather surfaces.^[12]

   • About leather conditioners are sold in plastic spray bottles. If you happen to accept bought a leather conditioner that'southward not in a spray bottle, pour the liquid leather conditioner into an empty spray bottle.

8. 8

   Rub the leather conditioner into the seat with a rag to seal the leather. Pick up a clean rag and rub it across the conditioned leather to massage the liquid conditioner into the leather seat. Continue wiping the seat until the leather has absorbed all of the conditioner. Don't worry about rubbing in a specific pattern, just make certain that you lot rub all of the conditioner in.^[13]

   • Don't utilise the paint- and lacquer-covered towel for this step, since information technology would likely smear more paint across the conditioned leather.

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1. 1

   Insert a piece of backing pad that's ¹⁄₄  in (0.64 cm) larger than the rip. A backing pad is a standard part of any leather repair kit. Utilise a pair of scissors to cut the pad into a square or rectangular shape that's approximately ¹⁄₄  in (0.64 cm) longer than the rip you're repairing. Use a pair of tweezers to carefully slip the piece of bankroll pad into the hole so it lays flat confronting the padding under the leather.^[14]

   • If a rip is longer than about ane inch (2.five cm), it's also big to be repaired with a leather repair kit. Yous can have information technology to an automotive repair shop and see if they can set up the torn seat.

2. ii

   Fill the rip with leather filler and let it cure for 1 hr. Scoop upward a large dollop of leather filler using the tip of a palette pocketknife. Use the knife to smear the leather filler into the rip until the bankroll pad is no longer visible. And then, use your fingers to hold the 2 sides of the rip shut until the leather filler has cured (about 5 minutes). Allow the filler gear up for ane hour.^[15]

   • The backing pad that you lot've inserted backside the leather will prevent the filler from soaking into the seat filling.
   • Just use your fingers or a handy rag to wipe off any filler that leaks out from the rip.

3. iii

   Rub minor dabs of leather filler onto other cracks with a palette pocketknife. While you're waiting for the big rip to prepare, use your palette knife and the leather filler to patch upwards large cracks surrounding the rip. Commencement with a tiny dollop, and rub the filler into cracks until they're flush with un-cracked portions of the leather seat. When you've finished applying the filler, give it 1 hour to set.^[16]

   • Since the leather isn't ripped through in the cracked locations, you lot don't need to insert bankroll pad backside the leather.
   • Information technology's okay if you get filler all over the seat; you'll be coloring the entire seat anyway.

4. 4

   Set up the filler from 2–iii in (5.1–7.6 cm) abroad with a heat gun. Plug in your heat gun and gear up it to the on the hottest setting. Once hot air is blowing out, concur the rut gun 2–three inches (5.one–vii.half dozen cm) away from the portions of the leather seat that yous've applied filler to. Move the heat gun dorsum and along higher up the leather seat for about 5-7 minutes. Lightly tap the seat with your finger to brand sure it's dry.^[17]

   • This will dry the filler and help it to prepare quickly. Don't attempt to dye the leather until subsequently the filler is completely dry.

5. 5

   Sand the dried leather filler until it's smooth with 600-grit sandpaper. Accept a sheet of very fine sandpaper and move information technology across the dried and filled section of leather. Utilise strokes about 6 inches (15 cm) long, and take care to only move the sandpaper in 1 direction.^[eighteen] Never rub the sandpaper effectually in circles or dorsum and forth. Later sanding, wipe the dust abroad with a damp rag.

   • 600-grit is an extremely fine sandpaper. This volition smooth out the set and dried filler without smashing information technology or leaving big abrasions behind.
   • If you applied an excessive amount of filler previously, the sand paper will fifty-fifty out those spots.

6. 6

   Use a 2nd layer of leather filler once the leather is polish. Seriously ripped and cracked leather seats will need 2 layers of leather filler to smooth out the damaged material. Take your palette knife and scoop out more of the gooey filler material. As before, spread it across the cracked areas of the leather. Make sure to apply more than filler over any rips yous repaired, every bit well.^[xix]

   • As before, allow the leather filler prepare for one hour once you've finished applying information technology. Once the hour has passed, dry out the second layer of filler with the heat gun for five-half-dozen minutes.

7. 7

   Spray a coat of leather dye beyond the repaired leather seat. This will be simplest if you've purchased a leather dye in an droplets spray can. Spray the dye across the seat, moving the spray canister in a dorsum-and-forth motion. Proceed applying dye until the seats have been uniformly coated and the entire surface of the leather is withal color.^[20]

   • If the leather has an uncommon color, accept a photograph of the seat and bring the picture to the hobby shop with you lot when you lot go to select a paint or leather dye.

8. 8

   Set and dry the paint for v–half dozen minutes with the estrus gun. Once yous've covered the full repaired section of leather seat with dye, it's fourth dimension to dry the paint. As before, set the rut gun to its highest setting. Blow hot air onto the dyed leather sections from about 4 inches (10 cm) away. Keep information technology upward for about five minutes until the dye is dry. Lightly tap the dyed sections of the leather seat with one finger to make sure they're dry.^[21]

   • If you're spraying paint on leather car seats, hold a piece of paper-thin behind

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• You lot can selection up all of the supplies you'll need at an automotive supply shop or hobby store, and repairing the seats shouldn't have more two or three hours.

• To assistance forestall your leather seats from slap-up, keep them out of direct sunlight. For auto seats, try parking in the shade or putting a window screen up to block the sun'southward rays.

• If you're fixing croaky leather in a auto, leave the windows down overnight while the paint and lacquer mixture dries out. This will help the seats dry out more quickly and will besides keep the within of your auto from smelling like paint for weeks later on.

• If you're concerned that the leather dye might not exactly lucifer the color of the leather, spray it onto a neutral-colored piece of cardboard to check the color.

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Things You'll Demand

• Feather duster
• Vacuum cleaner
• Soft castor attachment
• Soapy water
• Spray bottle
• Lint-free material
• Scuff pad
• Leather cleaner

• Gloss enamel pigment
• Lacquer thinner
• Towel
• Leather conditioner
• Rag
• Spray canteen (optional)

• Bankroll pad material
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Leather filler
• Palette knife
• Heat gun
• 600-grit sandpaper
• Damp rag
• Colored leather dye

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