Leather things: shoes, bags, purses, raincoats, gloves - are in the wardrobe of almost everyone. This traditional material has been used by people for centuries. During wear, scratches or abrasions may appear on any item. How to return the novelty, the former appearance of a thing, to repair damage so that it does not strike the eye? The tested remedy is liquid skin. But first, about the qualities of the material itself.
Features of genuine leather
Mankind has been using this unique natural material for many centuries. Despite reliability, products must be treated with extreme care. The following are actions that are undesirable during operation:
- subject to mechanical stress, as this entails the loss of its original shape and appearance;
- wet through and twist - this will lead to deformation and hardening;
- accelerate drying near hot radiators, iron with an iron, blow with a hairdryer;
- expose to long-term storage in the sun.
From the interaction with aggressive chemicals on leather things, spots and whitish stains appear, the color changes.
Several popular methods of restoration of the surface layer
In some cases, it is necessary to eliminate the consequences of accidental damage (scuffs, small cuts) on the surface of a leather product. To independently solve such problems, there are several proven tools, among which the so-called liquid skin. With your own hands, you can pretty well close up knocked down socks at the boots or a scratch on the jacket.
The method of repair largely depends on the hardness, quality, thickness of the base, as well as on the nature of the damage. Ordinary scuffs are easily painted over with a nitro paint from an aerosol spray can. The main thing here is to choose the right color and carefully, with a thin layer, spray the composition over the worn out places. Full coloring of the product is recommended in a specialized workshop.
To repair a thin scratch, homemade liquid skin will help. With your own hands, a little acetone is pipetted onto the back of the product or a piece of the same skin with a pipette. Immediately with a small spatula you need to scrape off the dissolved paint and gently cover it with a cut. This method has long been known to shoemakers and restorers of shagreen products. Its minus is that it is suitable solely for the restoration of minor, small injuries. You can get rid of through cuts only with the help of a more complex procedure using special adhesives and substrates.
Do-it-yourself liquid skin
Which solvent should I use to get the right product myself? Commercially available professional formulations are made on the basis of alcohol, water and polymer dyes. The mixture is easily absorbed, filling the damaged areas of the product.
It is extremely difficult to obtain the exact same composition without a chemical laboratory. However, acrylic art paints of the appropriate color can be used instead. It is important to remember that liquid skin is not an adhesive. The substance paints and decorates minor defects on the product, filling the damaged area. If necessary, after drying, you can apply a second layer of the mixture.
In different cases, liquid skin is used:
- do-it-yourself shoe repair (downed toes of boots, scratched heels) with its help everyone can carry out;
- for furniture restoration (scratches from cat's claws);
- in order to restore bags and gloves (cuts or scuffs);
- when closing needle punctures;
- to mask other minor troubles.
Getting embossed texture on thin lycra
To care for leather products, not only liquid skin is used. Do-it-yourself putty putties, sprayers and putties. One of the features of all these tools is the ability to use only on a smooth surface.
To restore the textured front side, a pattern template is preliminarily created. An ordinary paper towel with a small amount of substance applied to it is applied to the undamaged place of the product. The resulting stencil with printed relief is removed for several hours for complete drying. Working on the restoration, the template is pressed for damage for several seconds immediately after applying the second ink layer. This technique will make the repair location inconspicuous.
No need to wait for miracles: liquid skin
With your own hands you can prepare shoe creams, special water-repellent impregnations, softening mixtures. A substance called liquid skin is just a thick polymer cream. This putty does not stick together a large “wound” on a bag or jacket. It will help to repair small random defects on the front surface of the thing, as a reducing agent for the upper pigmented layer.
To fix more serious problems with the thing, “Moment” or polyurethane water-soluble glue is used. Through "wounds" are closed with a substrate, in several stages, of which the last is staining.