Once you’ve bought leather living room furniture, leather bedroom furniture, leather sofa furniture, etc., to keep it looking good you have to maintain it. This means repairing damage done by all sorts of unlikely sources: wine spills, pet scratches, damage done by children (I’ll leave it to the reader’s imagination to give specifics to this category), etc.
Certain types of repair are easier than others especially if you start repairing the damage as soon as possible after it happens. Letting it go for too long can make the damage permenant. Here’s some common types of damage to leather furniture and what to do about them:
- Cat Scratches: Not to imply that dogs don’t enjoy ripping up leather, but most often it’s cats that leather-lovers have to worry about. To repair cat scratches, first make sure you have a good leather cleaner. Some cleaners are so strong they can remove the color from the leather. You’ll also need a a pin or needle, a leather protector, some cloths, a hair dryer, dye or shoe polish (make sure it matches the color of your leather), and a spray bottle filled with water.
To start, wash the scratched area with leather cleaner. Wash the whole panel even if you have only a few scratches, as this helps the adhesive on the back of the leather stick better, in addition to the leather protector.
Next, push the flaps (of the leather that were raised by the scratches) down with your pin or needle. Be absolutely sure you do this with as little noticeability as possible. Be patient.
Then, using the dye or shoe polish, rub the leather gently. The idea is to make the leather appear seemless so the scratches will obviously disappear. A good way to do this is apply a thin coat of polish, then dry it using the hair dryer. Keep doing this until you can no longer see the scratches.
Apply the leather protector over the area you washed with the cleaner earlier and let it dry overnight. That’s it! Your leather item should be scratch-free.
- Tears: These are more serious than scratches. Scratches don’t necessarily lift leather off of the item in question (some do, to be sure), but tears are bigger and deadlier for your furniture than scratches are. You’ll need leather to cut out a patch from, paper, a pencil, glue, and a heavy object.
To repair a tear, get a piece of paper and trace the size of the tear on it. Then, draw a circle about an inch from the tear. This is what you’ll use to model a leather patch. Cut out the tear from the paper, and use that to cut out the patch from the leather. Apply the patch to your tear, making sure the patch is big enough to cover the tear. Then, glue the patch to the leather and set a heavy object that won’t stick to the leather in place overnight.
These are the most common types of damage, though other types exist as well. Paint stains can damage leather almost irreparably without speedy professional help. If the damage is beyond your skill, according to your judgement, do not hesitate to call a professional in as soon as possible.
