I used PVA glue on leather for 6 months before a mentor finally pulled me aside

He showed me how the PVA was causing the leather to wick moisture and warp after a week, and switching to a proper flexible adhesive fixed my covers completely. Has anyone else stubbornly stuck with the wrong glue way longer than they should have?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara70027d ago

Yeah, I stuck with contact cement way too long on a motorcycle seat rebuild because I was too stubborn to admit it was peeling. Switching to a urethane based adhesive was a total game changer for me.

-1

martinez.anna27d ago

Oh man, you're totally right about the urethane based stuff being better in the long run. But I gotta gently push back on one thing (sorry, I'm that person). Contact cement actually does work great for motorcycle seats if you apply it thick enough and let it tack up properly before pressing the cover on. The trick is to not be stingy with it and wait until it's barely sticky to the touch, then use a roller (or even a hammer handle) to really mash it together. I've done two seats that way and neither one peeled, though I did mess up the first one by rushing it and getting wrinkles. Urethane is definitely more forgiving though, which is probably why you saw better results.