Leather grain.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've been repairing some splits in leather upholstery using a kit from The Scratch Doctor.

Basically, you repair the split by gluing a patch to the back, then fill the crack with the supplied compound, sand level, then dye to match.

Looks good from a distance - and much better than the split even close up

- but would be improved if the filler has the same sort of grain as the leather. The instructions mention a graining tool, but they don't sell such a device, or give instructions on how it would work.

Any ideas?

[Jonno]

Dave Plowman (News) scribbled

A pointy stick

[Chris Hogg]

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sadly everything I've found seems to be in the US.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Perhaps better than nothing.

[Tim Watts]

This sounds like that "varnish" from the 40-50s that came with a grey thick undercoat that you combed into woodgrain, then applied varnish over the top.

Bitch to burn off as it goes gooey then sets hard again. I think I met some yesterday cleaning up some door frames with the hot air gun...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not the same thing. The leather being repaired has a grain. The filler used to repair the crack hasn't. Need a way of reproducing that grain on the filler. All the info I've seen seems to be from the US - are as the 'tools' etc needed to do it. Can find several UK places that supply tools for working leather - but none with the stuff needed to do the graining, or any clues. So hoped someone on here knew of a UK source.

[Tim Watts]

No I'm sure it's not - I was just noticing a parallel of forming a synthetic grain :-o

What do you think you are after? A small roller with an inverse leather texture that you can roll over the filler?

[Tim Watts]

Idea:

Spare piece of leather - spray with silicone oil as a release.

Lay in a cupped former (Slightly opened out toilet roll or similar).

Dump a big blob of isopon on.

Set, remove, clean - and one part roller with inverse leather grain?

Sounds like it is a one off use so does not need to last forever.

[The Other Mike]

I think it's too late now you've repaired it

The 'pros' doing so called smart repairs would use graining compound to make replica of a good surface elsewhere on the leather and then apply it over the repair before it starts to cure.

You can get premade graining paper too, I think one of the UK classic car places has supplied it in the past (maybe 20 - 30 years ago!) It's not woolies because I just looked.

[Colin Stamp]

Frost do a kit that has "grain texture release paper" in it.

Can't see the paper on its own though...

Cheers,

Colin.

[Andy Burns]

Some 'car SOS' programme on tonight, a leather seat repairer was using linen patch glued behind similar to your kit, with 'leather weld' as the visible filler, over which he ironed what looked like a silicone patch with a negative of the leather grain ... presumably something like these?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Thanks - I'll check them out.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Do you remember which channel? Might be able to use the 'watch again' service.

But I've ordered up the kit anyway - thanks.

[Andy Burns]

Looks like it was more4, 9pm sundays

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yes, and I'd guess a repeat as it's not on the CH4 watch again site. Can you remember the make of car involved?

[Andy Burns]

It was a 911, the leather repair was a fairly quick item within the programme, there are plenty of vids on youtube showing more, though they seem to use hot air for curing, rather than ironing on the graining patch, e.g.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yup - I found quite a few videos sort of showing how - but all seemed to be US based and only gave US suppliers. But I've ordered up the kit from the place you gave. Hope it gives decent instructions. Hot air and a roller etc might be easier than an iron.

The 911 seems to be from Series 2. For some reason I've got Series 1 on the PVR, but not Series 2.

Do wish they'd show the various processes in more detail rather than all the 'human interest' stuff. But that seems to apply to all this sort of prog on TV these days.