How To Fix A Hole In A Leather Jacket

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ZQ1232

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Can this small hole be repaired?

Posted 08/16/17 in Questions

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Hi everyone,

Just grabbed this vintage Schott jacket and discovered a tiny hole in the leather on the shoulder. I want to know if there's any way to repair this or keep it from getting any bigger. It's a beautiful jacket and this is the only flaw I found and want to make it last. Thanks in advance!

Here are some photos: http://imgur.com/a/LCXue

Gail on 08/17/17 at 09:07 AM

Unfortunately I was unable to open the link to the photo you posted. If you want to send me photos you can add them to your post. To add a photo just click onto the option "ADD IMAGE" on the bottom left hand corner, you can then add your photos. Leather repairs need to be done by a professional leather tailor and not all repairs will be completely unseen on leather. Leather skins once damaged or scarred will always be visible to some extent. Since I can not see the photos I am not exactly sure how to direct you. I can suggest Arrow Leather Care they are well known and one of the best in refurbishing vintage jacket. They are located in Kansas Cty, MO and do have free in-bound shipping. They also have a very informative website: www.arrow-care.com

You may want to contact them and see what your options are, their customer service is also very helpful which you can reach at 1-800-542-7769

If you are looking to try and do some type of repair yourself, I suggest you post some photos of the hole to see what you are dealing with. Once you post the photos I or possibly some of our forum members can advise you. We have many members who have refurbished these older jackets and have developed some great methods in repairing and restoring these jackets

Gail

ZQ1232 on 08/17/17 at 03:13 PM

Hi Gail,

Sorry about that. I have uploaded the photos now. Arrow has been recommended and I am waiting for a response from them.

If this is something I can repair myself, I would definitely prefer to do so. Hope these pictures help!

Thanks!

Gail on 08/18/17 at 07:48 AM

This is so small that I do not think it even needs any type of repair. It looks to be the size of a grain of rice and appears more to be a scratch then a hole. I would just suggest touch up the mark with a little black shoe polish to hide the tan color of the hide. If the leather is more cut with a part of the leather lifting up take a little rubber glue on a toothpick to glue the piece down then touch up with the shoe polish. Looking at this mark i do not think anyone is even going to notice it, plus it is a vintage jackets and should have markings of use. Most owners of their M/C jackets can not wait to break-in their jackets and develope some history of wear and riding of their jacket.

Gail

ZQ1232 on 08/21/17 at 08:35 PM

Gail wrote:
This is so small that I do not think it even needs any type of repair. It looks to be the size of a grain of rice and appears more to be a scratch then a hole. I would just suggest touch up the mark with a little black shoe polish to hide the tan color of the hide. If the leather is more cut with a part of the leather lifting up take a little rubber glue on a toothpick to glue the piece down then touch up with the shoe polish. Looking at this mark i do not think anyone is even going to notice it, plus it is a vintage jackets and should have markings of use. Most owners of their M/C jackets can not wait to break-in their jackets and develope some history of wear and riding of their jacket.

Gail

Thanks for the rubber glue suggestion Gail! Unfortunately, I cannot get a photo to actually show the puncture (pictures are too blurry), but it is indeed a hole with the leather partially lifting up. It is small now, but I'm afraid with a lot of use, it will open up more, which I would like to prevent from happening.

AussieJagman on 08/22/17 at 04:50 AM

Difficult to recommend a particular kind of glue since different countries seem to have different glues available but if you can get hold of a fast drying glue and are a dexterous person then you can coat the raw edges of the leather with glue (I personally use a toothpick and do the job wearing magnifyiing glasses) and then actually sqeeze the edges of the slit back together with your fingers while the glue cures and the hole will effectively be permanently healed.

I work in my leather jackets and occasionally they get pierced like this by tools or sharp metal parts during work. As well in my work I'm occasionally required to repair such damages on leather Jaguar seats and on such a tiny slit in an unstressed area as this I would personally use Loctite 406. It's not very flexible but on such a small area that would not matter. I have used it on similar cuts to schott jackets with success in the past for an almost invisible repair. Thing is you need to be extremely careful to ensure the glue only touches the raw edges of the cut and not the dyed surface of the jacket (something one should practice on scrap leather first). The reason why I recommend such a glue is that it is very fast drying (40 to 80 seconds) and very permanent - but - to do it with success you must get it dead right the first time. That said, there are other glues than can do the job too.

Repairing it yourself ensures you know what will be done but you should only try repairing it yourself if you are a very handy type person who is able to work accurately on small areas. I've seen a lot of butchery over the years on leather jackets and car seats repaired by owners, tailors, upholsters and seamstresses and the like with no experience in leather repair.

I've seen people try to iron on patches on the back side of the leather, I've seen them put a patch on the underside and sew it to the jacket using a ring of stitching around the hole and I've seen people use heat activated "leather/vinyl repair kit" compounds (like the type offered on ebay) and all these efforts damage the jacket or seat and makes them look worse.

As Gail said though, that hole is in an unstressed area and is not likely to get bigger in use so doing nothing is an option as it's not likely to get worse.

Gail on 08/22/17 at 07:28 AM

I suggest the rubber glue which I just purchased a new bottle in Walmart, also available at Home Depot. The reason I recommend the rubber glue is because as Aussie recommend apply with a tooth pick and then smooth down closing the slit. If any excess of the rubber glue does ooze out onto the leather a little, you can remove easily by rubbing it off, it does not leave a mark on the leather. In the factory we use rubber glue on the inside seams of the jacket, so they lay flat. Repairs can be done with other types of glue, and with all repairs you just need to take your time.

Gail

TAT2MAN on 08/22/17 at 09:04 AM

Looks a little dry. Hope it's not a crack.

ZQ1232 on 08/22/17 at 08:41 PM

Gail wrote:
I suggest the rubber glue which I just purchased a new bottle in Walmart, also available at Home Depot. The reason I recommend the rubber glue is because as Aussie recommend apply with a tooth pick and then smooth down closing the slit. If any excess of the rubber glue does ooze out onto the leather a little, you can remove easily by rubbing it off, it does not leave a mark on the leather. In the factory we use rubber glue on the inside seams of the jacket, so they lay flat. Repairs can be done with other types of glue, and with all repairs you just need to take your time.

Gail

Which rubber glue do you suggest? Just the standard Elmers rubber glue?

Thanks!

ZQ1232 on 08/22/17 at 08:43 PM

AussieJagman wrote:
Difficult to recommend a particular kind of glue since different countries seem to have different glues available but if you can get hold of a fast drying glue and are a dexterous person then you can coat the raw edges of the leather with glue (I personally use a toothpick and do the job wearing magnifyiing glasses) and then actually sqeeze the edges of the slit back together with your fingers while the glue cures and the hole will effectively be permanently healed.

I work in my leather jackets and occasionally they get pierced like this by tools or sharp metal parts during work. As well in my work I'm occasionally required to repair such damages on leather Jaguar seats and on such a tiny slit in an unstressed area as this I would personally use Loctite 406. It's not very flexible but on such a small area that would not matter. I have used it on similar cuts to schott jackets with success in the past for an almost invisible repair. Thing is you need to be extremely careful to ensure the glue only touches the raw edges of the cut and not the dyed surface of the jacket (something one should practice on scrap leather first). The reason why I recommend such a glue is that it is very fast drying (40 to 80 seconds) and very permanent - but - to do it with success you must get it dead right the first time. That said, there are other glues than can do the job too.

Repairing it yourself ensures you know what will be done but you should only try repairing it yourself if you are a very handy type person who is able to work accurately on small areas. I've seen a lot of butchery over the years on leather jackets and car seats repaired by owners, tailors, upholsters and seamstresses and the like with no experience in leather repair.

I've seen people try to iron on patches on the back side of the leather, I've seen them put a patch on the underside and sew it to the jacket using a ring of stitching around the hole and I've seen people use heat activated "leather/vinyl repair kit" compounds (like the type offered on ebay) and all these efforts damage the jacket or seat and makes them look worse.

As Gail said though, that hole is in an unstressed area and is not likely to get bigger in use so doing nothing is an option as it's not likely to get worse.

Thanks for the detailed information Aussie. At this point, having very limited experience working on and restoring leather jackets, probably don't completely trust myself doing the repai with Loctite right now. I'll most likely just leave it for the time being since the likelihood of it getting bigger seems slim.

Gail on 08/23/17 at 08:37 AM

The brand I just purchased is indeed Elmer's Rubber Cement glue. Because it is a glue that does not leave a residue like Loctite glue and any excess can be removed easily by rubbing, this would be the best glue for beginners in doing a repair.

Gail

Gail on 07/12/19 at 06:46 AM

In my post dated 8/23/17, I recommended the Elmers Rubber Cement glue. This brand is the closest brand that you can purchase in Home Depot or Walmart that we use in our factory to glue parts in the jacket before sewing. Looking at the list provide on the website, I believe the Barge glue would be a rubber cement and the best option.

Gail

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