Large Rip in Leather Couch v52

See how the baseball stitch addresses all the structural aspects of this damage. The traditional subpatch is only history for these leather repairs.
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This information will be educational for anyone in leather repair, vinyl repair, seat repair, car repair, aircraft refurbishing, painting and dyeing, and any mobile tech service.
I DO NOT SELL PRODUCTS. A detailed explanation is given for each step. As with all my videos, this illustrates my own personal preference based on decades of experience. Please note that I don't sell products and am not profiting from these videos nor are they sponsored. So if you have questions about the products then please contact your supplier. (Like they’ll know!)

[@turbo3922]

In addition to the great repair techniques, I love the humor. The "Wider Slider" bit was funny and practical!

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Save your lumber scraps!

[@mwtriplett1]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 hello, what type of thread do you use?

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

@@mwtriplett1 It's hand sewing thread, which is a heavier weight than usual machine thread.

[@mwtriplett1]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247thank you very much. After seeing your double needle blind stitch I realized how thick thread was and have been look all over for thicker gauge.

[@mwtriplett1]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 Thank you again for info. I have been on the search for hand sewing thread. Apparently hand sewing thread is a general term there allot of different types, weights and thicknesses in this catagory cotton, polyester etc. Do you recommend a specific type I might look for? Thank you

[@laurenadelizzi1109]

Incredible work! Super impressive! I found this video because I have a tiny tear in a leather chair and I’m trying to decide if it is a nuisance enough to repair it. I appreciated your comments about the leather, needles, and thread. Last year I hand-stitched leather booties for my baby niece and broke so much thread.... I’m clearly an amateur. 😆 But I appreciate quality workmanship like you have provided this client! Thank you for sharing!

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thank you for your kind words. One of my goals here is to help make the public and other technicians aware that better repairs can be done. 👍

[@WhySoBloo]

I endured this video! This was about 30 mins of good information narrated with a calm voice 👌 would watch again 10/10

[@E-Mile88]

I'm doing furniture repair now in a warehouse I'm working at and your videos will really help me excel and learn so much more, thank you sir!!!

[@dsymns100]

Very nice job , You show not just the quality of your work but the love you put into it , the humor it’s a plus 👍

[@citylockapolytechnikeyllcc7936]

How I wish you were local! Every industry has a guru or two... You are one ! I have a 3 direction rip, about 4X4" on one cushion, holes and cracks in another. I'll be going with a cold repair kit as I do not have the tools or expertise I enjoyed watching in your video. If result is not satisfactory, the 3 cushions gets reupholstered, or I buy more tools, and use my living room furniture as a new hobby, to learn on. Three leather repair companies told me the leather was too damaged to repair, based on photos emailed to them. I believe they just want to do minor touchups and re-dyes, so they can do it all in ONE VISIT After your videos, I always want to go to a Red Sox game!

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Let me know if you give the repair a try. Then we can go to the game!

[@peterwalters3349]

Thoroughly entertaining as well as informative!

[@stuartshotwell8178]

Thank you! I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it. And learned a few things

[@MatthewPlatz]

That was absolutely artistic in application and execution! Thank you so much for the tutorial!

[@raymarshall2995]

AMAZING! You're a magican. You made it look so easy, but I know that's years of experience. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

[@sherirowlett3371]

Interesting video and outstanding leather repair! Wow! Well done!

[@theglobalvagabond3074]

Finally, someone that knows what the H they are doing. Thank you!

[@mirian593]

Great job, well done!

[@RobinGKT]

Believe or not, Lazy Boy sells an almost identical Wider Slider. I think they called it a ‘custom lift’ for customers wanting a little “lift” to their recliners. When they sold it to us they said each one was handmade to the meet each individual customers needs. They said they even made them in the back of the store so we didn’t have to wait on delivery. We didn’t bother to look at it in the store, just thought “WOW they customize it? What a great idea.” When they delivered the recliner, they had to go back to the van to get our customized lift. It was literally a 2x4 box nailed together. They set the recliner on top of the lift, didn’t even attach it. I think we paid around $200 for it!!! It’s amazing what retailers will do to add on an extra expense. I can only imagine how much they’d charge for a leather repair like the one you’ve shared. BTW you did an amazing job. Thanks for sharing, Robin

[@BrandynSandOriginals]

A.R.T.-TV, my favorite channel, where you learn "there's nothing to it just like puffed wheat."

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Yes, I am now in the TV sales pitch business. Thanks for being my first viewer!

[@katepavelle9465]

Thank you, that was very useful!

[@tracilia100]

That's brilliant. THE WIDER SLIDER!!!!!

[@Maybelove88]

Omgoodness!!! I love it! Amazing work 👍👍

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

Great video and great repair. Your videos inspire me. Thank you!

[@MrGERARDOOO7]

Enjoyable video thanks.

[@kellyanne7225]

Oh my! One can NOT tell that this was repaired! I need myself a hook needle! :)

[@The_Crazy_Monkey75]

What a fantastic job! I wish i could do that..

[@jeniwest28]

This is art! Thank you for this video - am going to attempt repair on my leather sofa.

[@sandraoxford883]

Wow!! Great job ! 😮😍

[@JG-zt3cg]

Wow. That's some really expert handiwork. Well done.

[@zanesutherland406]

excellent video! There is a super comfortable leather couch at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and one of the cushions had a good sized 3-way rip in it, so I initially passed on it. Now after watching some videos it looks like I can repair it. Hopefully its still there! It was only $75 because of the damage.

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Go for it! Thanks, Zane

[@colettejo]

I love how beautifully you repaired thus. I found your video dreaming that a repair to our old leather couch, chair and ottom could be repaired after our puppy destroyed them 😭 I think sadly we just have to replace them.

[@5555boneman]

Wow! You sir, are a master of your trade.

[@rodrigosanchez3139]

Just got to say wow!!! Hell of a job

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thank you, Rodrigo. It was a fun repair!

[@mamaafrika87]

Impressive

[@michellejack1263]

Great tutorial

[@marnaysylvester6328]

Great job

[@checkemail6216]

Brilliant repair job!!! Customer must be amazed. I can hear this far, your customer's WOW. Hi, is it possible to do repairs like this or something like cut, hole, tear on Aniline leather?

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

My first baseball stitch ever was a 9" long tear on aniline. But in that case the goal is to just mate up the leather and use a similar color fine thread. No filler no color because the minute you put anything on top it ceasing becoming aniline. That being said, converting worn aniline bottom cushions to pigmented is not uncommon and may be what you are looking for. Thanks

[@paztricia123]

This video is amazing! Well done 👍🏽 you’re an artist, and the video is so professional. I’m impressed! How can I find someone who does this kind of job in the Phoenix AZ area??

[@vanorsdelry]

Where can I find the paper, Iron and repair compound you use?

[@spearageddon3279]

Nice work! 👍👍

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thanks. That was a fun one to do.

[@loysun88]

Fantastic workmanship!!!! Thanks for sharing. I wonder this technique can be used on a sofa using faux leather. Please let me know.

[@peachiepeachie]

Wow!

[@krisdevoecht]

Brilliant repair! I think, making the exact right color is more difficult then the rest of the repair….

[@michaelmakris6414]

Just awesome. Been learning so many different and way better techniques from you. And just a matter of interest what would be an ideal price to charge a customer for a repair such as that using that method

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Figure two hours to give yourself enough time without feeling pressured. Many have a minimum for residential calls and a per hour after the first. If you must pick up and deliver, see what people charge for that. Here you can hire 2 guys but they charge a minimum of four hours for each excursion, which is prohibitive. I pay a guy $50 to meet me at the customer's to load and again $50 to return. That is as cheap as it gets. I lost the $100 on moving this piece just so I could bring it to the shop and do a free video.

[@DeannaRose20.20]

You are AMAZING!!

[@evicaf4e]

Pure talent!!!

[@michaelemerson3022]

What type of paper and compound did you use? I need to make a repair and I'm not sure what to buy.

[@MindsetHacksSports]

Fantastic job

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@gregvest7139]

wow!

[@ALIA_K92]

Amazing!

[@markcozzoli2690]

Excellent work!!! Could you tell us what Iron you are using please? Thanks for the videos!!!!!!!

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

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[@jefffarage2083]

Rick, I know you don’t sell stuff. I have look everywhere for chisel point curve needles and can’t find them. Where do you get them. I’ve gone on Amazon, Tandy, JoAnns. I can’t find the chisel point. Thanks you for sharing your knowledge and help all the Techs out there. Jeff

[@user-lx7fz7oy1o]

How to fix the crack in the car dashboard as a result of the explosion of the airbags

[@Katita0321]

Thank you a lot for your amazing videos!!! Just a question: as normal for heat repairing like this, using mini iron, you use always a heat vinyl repair compound, or sometimes just a simple no heat vinyl repair compound?

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Not a fan of no heat products here. The compound here must contribute to the structural component. Latex or other similar air dry fillers don't help much in that regard. Solvent based adhesives can warp the leather and take forever before we can move along. Bear in mind there will always be exceptions to the rules since every repair is different. (Also typically in the industry a repair COMPOUND is a term used for heat cure. FILLER used for air dry. Recently some are mixing those terms and causing confusion for the customer.) Thanks ps: Don't forget that the iron serves to flatten the stitching here as well.

[@rrobbins8372]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 which compound do you recommend

[@turbo3922]

Question: what's the paper you use when pressing with your iron? Is it a special product, and if so, is there a substitute that can be used in a pinch?

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Your supplier will know. Thanks

[@compuboy24]

Can I make repair compound by self any formula

[@RoxerBasho]

what compound do you use? alot of places sell compound filler which as you say confuses people. compound you dry with iron, filler you air dry and is no bueno structurally

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Traditionally the term compound has referred to heat cured. But over time suppliers have muddied the water by interchanging some terms. So whichever, you are right by defining a heat cured approach as structural and a filler approach as cosmetic, generally speaking. We really have to analyze the properties of any repair material and ask, "Is this going to work structurally or cosmetically in this particular application?" So it is possible that answer could change with different repair scenarios! Thanks

[@deejakes1655]

Can't afford to pay for a repair to my 20 year old leather sofa. The frame is still in great shape so I really want to keep it for as long as possible. 😊 The rip is from front to nearly the back of the seat cushion at the side of the original seam. I'm wondering if I could use a curved needle to just create a new seam and swallow the old seam into the repair. The leather has stretched over the years so there is spare leather. Just worried the leather might rip again because it's thinner now? Thanks for the great video by the way..so interesting to see a craftsman at work. 🥰

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thanks Dee. Yes, keep the old sofa! V19 featured a similar repair. 1) If the cushion is removable then the cover could be machine sewn over to incorporate the damage into the stitch line as you mentioned. 2) Hand stitch as you mentioned with the double needle blind stitch featured in several videos here. 3) If the cushion is not removable, Cut it loose so it is removable, repair it on the machine, and hand stitch it back to the sofa.

[@vinrod34]

great repair!! will have to learn the baseball stich , sewing in general. Did you make the color??

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thanks Al! Yes, and I think I may have added some black to the top color once I got a better view of how it went on.

[@bwasman8409]

An inexpensive infra red thermometer might help in achieving the correct temperature of the gun.

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Yes indeed.

[@gavinoliver8074]

19:33 can I just ask what sprayer that is? Did you say Preval?

[@scottwathen7132]

The dye added to the compound, waterbased or solvent ? If water-based straight pigment or blend? Thank you for your videos. You insire me to learn more about my craft

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

You can add a tiny drop of straight pigment to your repair compound without a problem.

[@voltecrules624]

America still has incredible craftsman. 🇺🇸👍🏻

[@JoaoCarlos-di4fm]

Just curious how much you charged for this? I really enjoy doing this kind of work. Where are you located ?

[@daphneraven6745]

Good day, sir! Really enjoying your video. I hope you don’t mind me asking a question or two about technique, as I’m looking at fixing ripped myself, and want to make sure I understand. At the end of the first leg of the trip, I can’t help but wonder why the ends of that first leg couldn’t have been tied underneath the seam, considering they were at the apex of an L-shaped rip, and the bottom of the “L” had not yet been stitched. (if the explanation is sort of technical, I’m OK with that.)

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

I'm not sure I understand the question but the objective is to tie the knot where it can be rotated into the cut and below the surface of the leather. If it doesn't fully rotate under, at least it's in the hole not sitting on top of the leather where it would continually be poking up through the repair material. I'm glad you're finding some value in the videos. Thanks.

[@daphneraven6745]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 ; Thank you, kindly for taking the time to get back to me. It’s sort of difficult to create an image with words alone, but I think you pretty much were able to give me a clear answer even though my question is not so clear. Oh, yes. It was almost astonishing seeing that huge messy rip disappear. that was a smart approach, and I had my severe doubts about whether it was possible to make that even blend in even slightly, at the outset. I may have to go back through your channel and see what else is there to look at, and plan to do my very own much smaller rip repair a little later today. Your video has been a real eye-opener as to what is even possible and how to go about it. Thank you so much again. :-)

[@christopher6161]

solid vid

[@papahajek5383]

Nice job. Curious if leather cleaners and treatments are compatible with the repair filler and color. Thanks

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Thank you. There is nothing sold as such that would be strong enough to affect this. The clearcoat is the first line of defense and in this case you would need acetone or similar solvent to move it. The filler is also affected by too strong of a solvent so that when we prep for color the strongest thing we use is 99% Isopropyl. The water base color is crosslinked and will not be easily affected by any popular treatment either but is also protected by clear. We have exactly duplicated the factory coating here so anything being sold as a cleaner would be fine on this.

[@rrobbins8372]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 can you please tell me which products are used for repair

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

@@rrobbins8372 See the description box. Please contact your current supplier.

[@rrobbins8372]

@@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247 I saw the description box and understand that you’re not being sponsored but I’d like to know what your choice is.

[@JTracy3358]

Good job! Good job!

[@PatHaskell]

How did you fix the piping?

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

There is a little heat cure compound in the welt cord but I never did spend any time with it. Which is one of those judgement calls. It is not perfect here but I didn't want to do too much and distort it even more. So basically banking on the fact that it wouldn't be noticed when put in use. Thanks for bringing attention to it.

[@tuurks1]

Damn I would’ve kept the baseball stitch. But I’m guessing that’s a expensive couch

[@theowentz8919]

Great result. Unnecessary work with the baseball stitch. Use a substrate for the foundation of the repair and you will not need to do a baseball stitch. I used to do that in the shop.

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Have you tried the new method yet?

[@RC.Time-Crawlers]

😂😂😂That was fantastic 👏

[@Return2Self]

Patent that 'Wider Slider' invention!

[@manuelgaetan]

WOW

[@anthonycoundouris]

Would you be so kind to point me to ebay / amazon and show me where I can procure: . flexible filler . dye . cleaning / sanding . nitro cellulose clear You mentioned these during your video

[@a.r.t.srealrepairsforrealc8247]

Instead of directing to just one supplier, I encourage you to check with your current supplier. That way these videos can help the whole industry without prejudice.

[@44xxggaaj]

Wow !

[@user-lx7fz7oy1o]

How to fix the crack in the car dashboard as a result of the explosion of the airbags