If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner with a brush attachment, you can also use your vacuum cleaner normally to clean the couch. Make sure you don’t apply too much pressure, so as to avoid damaging or dirtying the leather further.
Apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar without a particularly strong scent, will work as well. If you purchase a leather repair kit for other parts of the restoration process, it might come with a leather cleaner as well. This will work just as well, if not better, than your homemade solution.
The cloth should absorb a small amount of the cleaning solution, but shouldn’t be dripping. Microfiber cloths are great for cleaning all sorts of things, so are fantastic to have on hand. They should be available online, or from your local homeware store.
Cleaning the leather in small, circular motions will help the cleaning solution get into the fibers of the leather, pulling out more dirt and grime without damaging it.
Don’t leave the couch to air-dry, as this will usually leave marks or lines on your furniture. Dry it off with a towel as soon as you’ve finished cleaning it.
The rubbing alcohol will help kill the mold and wipe it away from your couch. Dip the cloth in the diluted rubbing alcohol again if it becomes dry or dirtied.
If you don’t have eucalyptus oil, you could also try using rubbing alcohol to get rid of ink stains. Test the cleaning solution you choose on a small area of your couch first.
The baking soda will help absorb the grease, so it can be wiped away more easily. If you notice a little grease left on your couch after cleaning it with baking soda, try and wipe it away with a clean, dry cloth. If that doesn’t work, use more baking soda and leave it to sit for longer before wiping it away.
The lemon juice and cream of tartar will help lift the stain out of the leather and help restore the lighter color. However, it should not be used on darker leather, as it will affect the color.
If you want to disguise the tear further, apply a small amount of leather binder over the superglue once it has set. Rub this in with a paper towel or sponge until the tear is obscured. Alternately, you can sand down the area around the tear with fine grit sandpaper. Use 220 to 320-grit sandpaper over the tear while the glue dries. This will create leather dust that binds with the glue and hides the tear. You may need to refinish the worn leather after this.
Rounding the corners of the patch make it easier to get it into the right place without creating bumps in the fabric. If you don’t have any material to use as a sub-patch, purchase a leather repair kit online or from a leather specialty store. This will come with everything you need to repair a hole in your leather couch, including a few sub-patches.
Once you have the patch in the right position, run your hands over the area to feel for any bumps or grooves that may not be visible. Use the tweezers on the inside of the couch to flatten the patch and fix the bumps before moving on. If the tear is on the cushion of your couch, check to see if the cushion can be removed and if there is a zip that allows for access to the inside. If you can remove the cushion from the leather covering and turn the cover inside out, you’ll be able to flatten and apply the patch much more easily.
Use a paper towel to wipe away any excess glue left on the visible leather on the couch.
If the tear or hole is uneven, there may be loose threads or misshapen edges that need to be lined up more carefully. Take your time to connect these properly, lining up the edges or overlapping loose threads to hide the tear as much as possible. Check the instructions on your leather glue for more information on how long it will take to dry. Most glues should dry quickly within 5 to 10 minutes.
If you’re happy with the look of your couch once you’ve applied the sub-patch, you don’t need to continue working to cover it up. You will need to work very quickly with the super glue. Otherwise, it may dry and keep your toothpick or fibers from the paper towel stuck on the couch. Super glue can normally be removed with acetone, which is found in many nail polish removers.
This will wear down the area around the tear slightly. You can easily fix it by refinishing the worn leather with a repair compound, a leather colorant, and some leather conditioner. If you’re not happy with the way the tear looks after the first application of super glue, you can repeat the process to smooth out the area further. Leave the glue to dry for a few minutes before adding another coat and sanding it down further.
It might also help to wear disposable gloves and older clothes when working with a leather colorant, just in case any gets on your hands or clothing.
Excess leather binder may build up in the seams of ridges of your couch. Use a clean paper towel to wipe away any excess as you apply it. Leather repair compounds or leather binders should be available online or from a leather specialist store.
The number of coats you need to apply will vary based on how worn down the leather of your couch is. If there are only small cracks on the surface, 1 or 2 coats should suffice. For more damaged leather, 4 or 5 coats may be needed. You may be able to help some products dry quicker by using a heat gun or hair dryer. Keep the heat as low as you can to avoid damaging the leather.
It may be easier to look online when trying to find the perfect colorant, as you can more easily check the color of your couch from home. Taking a picture of your couch as a color reference can be helpful, but won’t necessarily reflect the exact color of the leather. Applying more coats of leather colorant will result in a darker color. Due to this, it’s better to buy a colorant that is lighter than the shade of your couch than one that is too dark.
Avoid touching sections of the couch that you have applied leather colorant to. This may smudge the colorant and leave a noticeable mark. If there is only a small area that you need to recolor, focus only on that area. As long as the colorant matches the shade of the couch, you should be able to blend it in so that it’s unnoticeable.
Alternately, you could use a spray gun or an airbrush to apply another layer of colorant. Work in very thin layers to smooth out the look of the leather, leaving time to dry in between each coat.
Leather conditioner should be available online, or at a leather specialty store. It may also be available as part of a leather repair kit.
