Wear and hole repair

Wear starts as a dull, lighter patch, then the finish comes off, and finally a hole appears. The sooner you deal with it, the less work it takes and the less the repair shows — at the lighter-patch stage re-colouring is enough, but once there's a hole the material has to be rebuilt.

The key part of this job isn't filling the hole, it's recreating the grain around it. A smooth patch on leather with a distinct grain catches the eye more than the hole itself.

How we do it

• Cleaning and trimming the edges of the damaged area.
• Backing the area from underneath where the material is torn.
• Filling with repair compound in layers — one thick layer cracks where the leather flexes.
• Grain matching from the surrounding leather.
• Re-colouring blended into the surrounding colour, then protection.

How good it looks

On leather with a pronounced grain the repair can be practically invisible. On smooth, light-coloured, glossy leather it's harder, because every unevenness catches the light. On a crease that flexes every time it's used, a repair is by nature less durable than on a flat surface; we tell you that up front as well.

For a quote, a photo of the damage with a ruler or a coin next to it is enough — the size alone accounts for half the cost.