Do try this at home: leather jacket repair tips

[MrProper]

It always annoyed me that the original zip pullers on the sleeves of my Irvin coastal command got twisted and the zips always opened as a result. This canting meant that the locking mechanism on the slider no longer worked. I removed the pullers and replaced them with a ring with paracord and now everything works as it should. Maybe less repro, but it works.

 

[Herrvallmo]

It always annoyed me that the original zip pullers on the sleeves of my Irvin coastal command got twisted and the zips always opened as a result. This canting meant that the locking mechanism on the slider no longer worked. I removed the pullers and replaced them with a ring with paracord and now everything works as it should. Maybe less repro, but it works.

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Look great good job Proper!

 

[Destruct]

Any advice for how I might patch up this tear I caused dismounting a collar from one of my old Cals?

Attaching leather/fabric from the back and using a little glue to close the hole seems promising. The snap doesn’t have to be functional, just looking to close the hole and prevent further tearing.

 

[Will Zach]

Any advice for how I might patch up this tear I caused dismounting a collar from one of my old Cals?

Attaching leather/fabric from the back and using a little glue to close the hole seems promising. The snap doesn’t have to be functional, just looking to close the hole and prevent further tearing.

View attachment 675273

Yes, backing up the rip with a piece of leather and then gluing the "plug" back into place is the way to go. Contact cement is one of the best adhesives for that.

 

[Destruct]

Yes, backing up the rip with a piece of leather and then gluing the "plug" back into place is the way to go. Contact cement is one of the best adhesives for that.

I’ll give that a shot, thanks

 

[Will Zach]

I’ll give that a shot, thanks

Just keep in mind that working with contact cement involves letting all the solvent evaporate before contacting the glued surfaces. Once contacted, they cannot be separated. I'd buy some leather scraps and practice, because you only have one shot.

 

[mdgnowles]

On a jacket, always use high quality dye.

I just did an experiment, dying a brown leather belt black using liquid fabric dye. Mostly out of laziness because it’s available at the supermarket. It took several coats, between which you have to buff out the salt crystals that are added to the mixture to set it on fabric.

I’m just working some black polish into it now and it came out well but again I wouldn’t recommend this method.

I’ve dyed boots with proper dyes that have looked like they came from the tannery that way after years of hard wear.

Do you know if these high quality dyes you refer to contain some kind of a mild top coat?