I found a leather sofa for sale online that is brand new. The owner is selling it because they are moving and during the process of putting it into storage the back of the sofa was ripped. The tear is about four inches long. If I am getting a good price on the sofa is it worth purchasing? Can the leather be repaired cost efficiently?
Leather Couch Tear Repair
Cut a piece a little longer than the tear, carefully slide it behind the rip and adhere it to one side (on the inside of the seam) so that half of the tape is exposed and half attached, line the other side up precisely over the exposed tape and press from the outside to adhere. There are leather glues that will adhere, but you have to overlapp the leather and you will probably get some seepage on the outside. Carpet tape is strong and will hold the seam together.
A rip certainly can be fixed, its what kept me in business for the last 11yrs ;-) You can go to a professional ( 4 inches is a long rip for a first timer) to have it repaired, or have the panel replaced. To give you an idea a rip like that might cost $275 or so to fix and the panel around $375. So if the piece is a quality piece ( all leather, no vinyl, not bycast) it could b worth while. Companies like mine can custom match difficult leather if your local upholsterer can get a match- we refinish leather to a sample you send
Bicast Leather Repair Kit
Tears in leather can be difficult to repair and it is not something I would suggest you undertake yourself especially with that size of tear. Qualified leather technicians are trained how to repair such damage but would need to see the damage before assessing its feasibility. The backs of leather sofas are sometimes made from vinyl or leather match. The whole panel can be replaced and matched to the rest of the sofa. This is something we do all the time for insurance companies as the leather grain pattern has to be matched and the panel recoloured to the rest of the suite. The only problem would be is if it were a Bicast leather as this is difficult/impossibe to replace.
