[daz1977]

hi, am not sure weather this can be done, i have a fake leather suite, in brown, can any one repair rips, or no a way of doing them, i live in the cornwall area of england

if can get pics up will do

[Peter Sweeney]

A pic would help.

Might be a bi-cast, if so, can't do alot with them.

Pete

[daz1977]

whats bi cast?

[Peter Sweeney]

it's a heavily stretched piece of poor quality leather that is then covered in polyeurathane (plastic). Once it goes it's had it. Looks like a slowly melted wax once degraded. It could just be a vinyl of some sort, in which case, clean it like you would a floor.

Pete

[Neil Williams]

Bit too far for me to deal with but I know there's a leather restorer in Exeter who might travel that far, alternatively do a search for Richard Basey-Fisher who is on this forum and does that sort of work.
I'm sure the repair can be done although if it's a cheap suite it might not be cost effective to get it professionally repaired. My starting prices are £50/hour for this sort of work and i'm sure you don't want to pay me 4 hours travel there and 4 back again.

[robert meldrum]

As you say " fake leather " I assume you're referring to " fake suede " which is likely to be a WOVEN fabric and not something an everage leather tech' would be able to repair but an upholsterer might.

[steve horne]

It always pays to have an upholsterer on your books, they can also refer custys to you " you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours"

[SteveGPoulos]

Fake Leather? Could be Bi-Cast or Tri-Cast leather. Could be "ultrasuede"
1) Does it have a nap (like a peach fuzz)?
     yes or no.
2) Can you access the back (Inside) of a cushion? If yes, does it appear suede or a man made fabric?
Bi-Cast is usually a split hide (Sued on both sides) with a polyurathnbe top layer that has been stamped to look like grain. Tri-cast is a fabric with leather dust glued to the
back side and a polyurathane sheet glued and pressed to the top then stamped to make it look like grain.
 Cornwall is great in August. Have you spoken to Leather training and technical dept in Harogate? 

[LTT Leathercare]

Hi Steve
Good to see you on here?
How's it going?

[robert meldrum]

Steve.............

If " daz " had the knowledge required to answer your comprehensive questions do you really think he'd have asked the question in the first place ?

[Roger Koh]

This is a $200 repair on a Bicast Leather Rip to an Insurance Adjuster with a Three Years Warranty.

What do you think?

#1 A rips at the armrest to a Bicast Leather!


#2 Repaired


#3 Close-Up of Repair!


Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®

[robert meldrum]

As it's a non weight bearing area it's a viable repair, but if that was a seat how big a " patch " would have to be added to the underside to avoid the repair opening up very quickly .....

What puzzles me about bicast is the number of processes involved in turning waste into a viable product ( for limited use ) when there's a plentifull supply of hides and ultimately, the strong possibility of product failure from bicast.

[Roger Koh]

Fake Leather? Could be Bi-Cast or Tri-Cast leather. Could be "ultrasuede"


=================

Have not seen an "Ultrasuede" rip in this fashion yet!

But plenty of Bicast.


Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®

[2cleanright]

Dont know about the product on the photos, could be anything - has anyone looked at it under a microscope yet? That will tell you most of what you need to know. Could even be split put in the wrong place - it does happen.

Bicast is not neccessarily reconstituted waste leather. It is more often very poor quality top grain leather which is covered in plastic (polyeurethane) to make it useable. As such it can still be sold as a "leather" suite, provided the finish is less than the allowed thickness for it to be called leather (not sure about the numbers, but I think it is 0.15mm)

On an arm like this, I would not recommend repair of a full thickness tear like this - the pressure applied if someone pushes themselves up out of the seat using the arms will open a repair very easily. Better to get an upholsterer to replace the panel, and then recolour it to match the rest of the chair.

[Peter Blackburn]

There is nothing to bond at the back of bi-cast. It's just loose fibre that brakes away. The thick plastic skin is the only thing holding this stuff together, once that goes prepare for San Andreas!!    

[Roger Koh]

There is nothing to bond at the back of bi-cast. It's just loose fibre that brakes away. The thick plastic skin is the only thing holding this stuff together, once that goes prepare for San Andreas!!    

=======


You are right!

You also must know where these faults line run just like San Bernardino is predictable!

In like manner, as of bicast - it is the void of the veins and arteries that gives way to rip.

Besides leather as sub-patch, aluminum mesh in #1 and synthetic fibers in #2 is also used to match the Stress of usage.

An aqueous leather bond holds all these sub-patch materials just like fiberglass resin but difference is in the “flexibility”. 

It is the 3 years warranty that instills confidence to our customers, more so to the Insurance Adjusters.

When they known that there is a warranty they are very relaxed with the idea.

So far we have no recalls.

#1 Aluminum Mesh


#2 Synthetic Fiber Mesh


Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®

 

[daz1977]

here a pic of the damage,  it started at a rip  and my littlen decided she was going to cut it yesterday,  any one in cornwall able to fix this,  i am near st austell

[derek west]

where abouts is the rip situated on the sofa

[daz1977]

about 3 ins in and 8 ins from the end of the seating area

[derek west]

if its where a bum will go then personally, it can't be fixed, well, correction, it can be fixed but it won't last long, just my opinion though, i'm sure some will say it can.