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I have been tasked with repairing a bear skin and wonder whether you have any suggestions.
As you can see from the attached images the skin is quite dry and breaking on the edges.
I believe the skin is 15 years old.
I was told to attach some linen sheet to the skin side to stabilize it.
Do you think that's a good idea?
Should I preserve the leather first, use some softener?
I'd appreciate your help or any suggestions.
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>>> Should I preserve the leather first,
This leather looks like the typical sheepskin rug and most of these light-colored skin/leather/suede suggest that it is preserved by alum tanning. Alum leather is transformed using aluminum salts mixed with a variety of binders and protein sources, such as flour and egg york. Alum leather is not actually tanned; rather the process is called “tawing”, and the resulting material reverts to rawhide if the alum salts leaches out. There is no necessity to re-preserve as long as the alum salts remains.
>>> As you can see from the attached images the skin is quite dry and breaking on the edges.
I believe the skin is 15 years old.
Tanning alone does not impart leather suppleness. It is the fatliquoring process that imparts oil and fats into the leather structure that makes the skin lay flat without the wrinkles. These wrinkles also suggest that the skin have shrunk.
>>> use some softener?
To rejuvenate the skin is by Hydrator-3.3 > Fatliquor-5.0 system. A 14% content of fat and oil when dry will solve the wrinkling, shrinkage and tear-strength issues naturally. As the skin ages (after 15years) its fatliquor contents VOC (volatile organic compound) diminishes as well through slow evaporation. Periodic inspection of the skin is recommend to determine the health of the skin from wrinkling and weakness.
>>> I was told to attach some linen sheet to the skin side to stabilize it. Do you think that's a good idea?
I do not think so, by “putting our heads into the sand” like the ostrich when a problem is at hand does not solve the problem. It will burden the already weak skin with extra stress from either stitching tears or volatile adhesive that further dries up the fatliquor. Without bringing the skin to its original dimension, we would have a diminishing returns to the already shrunk skin. Besides there will be insect issue that hides and destroy the skin as well. So my recommendation is to leave it clean for periodic inspection without further burdening the skin.
>>> I have been tasked with repairing a bear skin and wonder whether you have any suggestions.
When the skin is strengthened and the wrinkling flatten out with suppleness. The repairs begin with Bond-3D. Technique that look natural is by donor suede fibers and some of its fur to add strength to the repairs.
Kits to clean, rejuvenate and repairs are available. Let me know if you like my suggestions so far?
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Roger Koh
Leather, Skin & Hair Care System Formulator
Consultant / Practitioner / Instructor / Coaching
web: www.leatherdoctor.com
forum: www.leathercleaningrestorationforum.com
email: [email protected]