Hair-on (Zebra Skin) – Chair – Crack and Split.

D:
These are the photos of the zebra chair with the cracks in the seat.
I would think I could repair them with your H7 kit and your instructions.
How do I order the H7 kit and can I pay by credit card?


#1
Attachment 4699


#2
Attachment 4700


#3
Attachment 4701


R:
What is the total length of the rip or tear?
The kit patch is only 4 x 1”
You may use any leather scrap if you can find.

D:
There are two major rips and several small ones.
They are about a irregular half circle in shape.
One about 8" in diameter and the other about 4".

R:
What is the total length of the rip?
The sub-path from Kit-H7 is only good for a 4-inch length.
What is your option?
a) Add extra length to your order.
b) Used suede fiber instead.
c) Find your own leather sub-path.

D:
The two main tears are "U" shaped and one is 12" and the other 14".
Another straight tear is 4".
I would think after these are glued together it would need some sort of backing covering the tears.
I am in the process of removing the round-headed tacks holding the hide in place.
After I get all 150 tacks removed should I treat the hide with one of the solutions in the kit so it does not tear more before I remove the hide from the chair to do the repair work?

D:
I started removing the zebra hide and found that was also fastened with additional small tacks and staples, both of which have rusted and are very difficult to remove.
The skin appears to be very dry so I have stopped work pending arrival of your kit.
I thought I would then spray the hide on the hair side to get moisture and conditioning back in the hide.
I will need you to tell me which solutions to use for that process.

R:
Take a fat liquor moisture level reading (simply using a wood moisture meter will do).
It will tell you how dry the leather is - 14% is the optimum, otherwise using Hydrator-3.3 to precondition it prior to topping it up with Fatliquor-5.0.

D:
Moisture meter readings 11.7 - 12.2

R:
Moisture meter as the name applies will read all liquid contents including the fat and oil from the original fat liquor.
If you have a dehumidifier put the skin and dehumidifier in a small enclosure to remove the water content will give a different reading from the fat and oil alone is more accurate.
What do you think?

D:
The skin is still on the chair - just unattached from the wood structure of the chair.
I want to treat the hide that I believe is very dry before I remove the hide so it will not tear.
I just need you to advise me how to treat the hide with the items in your kit to accomplish this task.

D:
I have just been able to remove the skin from the seat cushion.
I can now get to the back of the hide to spray the conditioner?
Is that what I should do next to make the skin more pliable?
I emailed you several days ago and have not heard back from you.
Thank you for your continuing help.


#4
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#5
Attachment 4703


R:
I recall that I ask you to dry up the skin and take another fat liquor moisture content reading.
Your reading was unusual high and there is a possibility that the skin is so dry that it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.
If that is so you need to replace the water content to fat liquor content up to 14%.
This is achieve is first using the Hydrator-3.3 to relax any stiffness and allows the rip to overlap easily prior to fat liquor it.
Tips:
You may weight the total skin before and after fat liquor to determine the gain in weight of fat liquor content of fat and oil.
One 250ml bottle will have a 42gm of solid content gain for your skin.

D:
I have sprayed the skin twice with the Hydrator 3.3 and it has definitely helped.
I need to confirm the next step.
Do I spray with fatliquor before I repair the cracks or after?
It seems it would be better to repair the cracks before I spray the fatliquor so the glue would stick better on the hide?
Also a question about glueing the cracks, do I try to apply glue in the crack or just on the backing and the backside of the crack with 1" strips.
The cracks are rather large, about 6" across and U shaped.
I would like to continue with this repair.
I need your input before I proceed.

D:
I have about 36" total in length of tears to repair.
I will be using a 1" width hide on the back of the Zebra skin.
I need at least 2 - 3 more bottles of the Bond 3D.
Can you tell me about how long the glue takes to set up?
I applied the fatliquor and it helped.

R:
To quicken the process of bonding Bond-3D and Bond-5C is mixed equal part and you begin to notice the tackiness of the mixture.

D:
I am confused.
I only received one bottle of the Bond 3D in the kit.
I did not receive a bottle of 5C.
I would think I would need 2 more of the 3D and 3 of the 5C if they are to be mixed equally.
This is really expensive for this small amount of glue.
Maybe I only need two more bottles of the 3D.
I am not so concerned about the bonding time as the cost.
Before I contacted you I called 3M and they suggested their Rubber & Vinyl spray adhesive # 80.
I had purchased a can for $13.00 at Home Depot.
I know you are the expert and I want to do this right, but this is becoming much more costly than I planned.
So far I have only been able to use two of the seven bottles in your kit.

R:
>>> I only received one bottle of the Bond 3D in the kit.
What you received one bottle Bond-3D is correct.
>>> I did not receive a bottle of 5C.
Bond-5C is an option when a quick tackier texture if preferred.
You can go without it if you are happy with Bond-3D.
I will edit the PayPal invoice accordingly to 2 bottles of 3D.
Please check if they are waterbased – solvent based will dry up the leather on contact and will crack the leather sooner than you think as it will suck up the “lifeblood” or the fatliquor content out of the leather.
Any material must have the same durability as the protein fiber, rubber content will soon deteriorate as you see in many rubber and vinyl products turns brittle with ageing.
Bond-3D is a compact urethane resin and Bond-5C is acrylic that becomes part of the leather structure and does not disintegrate with time faster than the protein fiber.
When comes to leather repairs “cheap becomes very expensive” when it starts to fail before the end life of the zebra skin.

D:
I have finished the repairs.
Should I spray another coating of Hydrator 3.3 and Fatliquor 5.0 on the backside of the hide before I put it back on the chair?
I have about 1/2 bottle left of each.
Or should I use those to spray the rest of the hide on the chair - just on the hair side.
I cannot remove them from the chair.
You can see them on previous photos I have sent you.


#6
Attachment 4704


R:
Finish them off to the backside of the chair is highly recommended.
Why or what is the black tape doing?
Please continue to show more pictures of your progress.


D:
What looks like black tape are 1" strips of leather that I glued to the backside of the hide to reinforce the joints.
I am not quite sure I understand your answer to my questions below.
Should I spray the Hydrator and Fatliquor to the hide side of the seat cushion again before I put it back on the chair?
How should I treat the backs and arms of the chair that I have to spray on the hair side because I do not plan to remove them?

R:
>>> Should I spray the Hydrator and Fatliquor to the hide side of the seat cushion again before I put it back on the chair?
Yes and you can finished off both bottles to achieve the best suppleness.
>>> How should I treat the backs and arms of the chair that I have to spray on the hair side because I do not plan to remove them?
Clean and sanitize the hair first with Clean-5.5 > Rinse-4.0 system by spraying, brushing and white terry towel extraction until towel shows clean.
Continue applying Hydrator-3.3 to relax the skin with help of comb to get as close to the skin as possible. You may let to dwell for a while and continue with Fatliquor-5.0. When dry after fatliquoring any sticky residue is removed with Hydrator-3.3. The Protector-S+/S follows to lubricate the hair from friction rubs thus reduces hair damages or breakages.