Steaming Leather
  • Mike Mcphaden
    0
    Hi guys and girls, I'm a new member so I hope this hasn't being discussed already, if so please point me in the right direction, if not I'm sure lots of you know the answers. I just watched an episode of Bitchin Rides, the one where they redo Dave's father-in-law's 57 Corvette. Justin Stevens wraps the dash in red leather, and after gluing and setting the leather to the dash he starts steaming the leather. He says in the shot he's reactivating the glue and once its set it will last forever, So is he using a special type of glue, specifically for steaming? I have a steamer and have used it on vinyl and for getting wrinkles out of fabrics but never on leather. In another episode I saw him steaming a leather headliner inside a 50's style pickup truck. The equivalent of wrapping the inside of a fish bowl, so my next question is does the steaming help smooth out the wrinkles in an application like that, frankly I thought the pickup headliner was frickin amazing. I've been using Helmitin adhesives for 30 plus years with great success, and I guess I could just experiment with it a little but a little advice would be great. Thanks in advance ..Mike
    Mike Mcphaden Options
  • Geoff Horsfall
    8
    The steaming just softens the glue again to make sure that it bonds well. Often the perfect glue timing can get delayed from positioning and fiddling with the cover to get an ideal fit ,so steaming will make it sticky again. Its not special glue.
    Steaming also relaxes the leather to help it find it's new shape ,which usually gets rid of some slight wrinkles but will not make up for bad patterning.
    As for glue, I've never really liked helmitin, the coloured glue can bleed through light vinyl and I found it never really bonded as well as weldwood landau top adhesive.
    Helmitin stinks too lol , more than the others.
    Geoff Horsfall Options
  • Mike Mcphaden
    0
    ↪Geoff Horsfall
    Thanks Geoff, can't argue with the smell comment, LOL, and I'll look into the Weldwood adhesive too
    Mike Mcphaden Options
  • Geoff Horsfall
    8
    qvexsb4gf5m75rhp.jpg
    This stuff. If you order in one gallon cans here, there's no dangerous cargo fees but if I order a 5 gallon can there is.
    It still stinks but not as bad ,since I'm a glue connoisseur lol.
    I always found helmitin had a fast bond time but always stayed a bit gummy and would let go on high tension areas. It was ok for carpet but damn ,you better be wearing a respirator inside the car lol.
    Geoff Horsfall Options
  • Keith Mayne
    38
    On instagram I saw a russian(?) trimmer using a steam iron on a leather dashboard.
    Keith Mayne Options
  • Jens Jesberg
    50
    I use an adhesive that can be activated with heat for dashboards and more complicated trim parts. For this I use sabaspray. I paint the cover and dashboard with it and let it dry so far that it hardly sticks at all. So I can easily position the cover and when I'm done, I take the hairdryer and heat up everything to glue it. Here I take a felt block to press the cover on.
    Jens Jesberg Options
  • Tim Snider
    3
    Thanks Geoff for the information I’ve been using weldwood for years it does a great job but I didn’t know you could steam and soften it I also saw the show mike was talking about and wondered the same thing I was always told not to steam leather always learning something from everyone on here and I’ve been trimming 30yrs lol
    Tim Snider Options
  • Geoff Horsfall
    8
    Funny! I've picked up a few things myself. I steam leather all the time but it's always been auto leather not fragile furniture stuff. I didn't know about sabaspray but options for glue are limited here and once a technique is figured out ,I haven't needed to look for something else. Saba spray would have been handy on that Maranello dash I did a couple of years ago lol.
    Geoff Horsfall Options
  • Mike Goldring
    9
    Just don't steam perforated leather!
    Mike Goldring Options
  • Joseph Bennell
    5
    Seen as the heat from the steamer reactivates the glue do you guys have any trouble with heat from the sun or other sources re-activating the glue causing the leather to start to peel away from the dash?
    Joseph Bennell Options
  • Nonna Duginova
    0
    ↪Кейт Мейн
    I know what kind of Russian glue you're talking about, I used it to work with the headliner. I think that's close to what J[b]ens Jesberg[/b] said. I put glue on the leather and on the plastic, then I let it dry completely. Then I put the leather on plastic and warm the leather from the top with a hot air gun to a temperature of 750 Fahrenheit. I can not activate the glue other way. The glue is activated only after the hot air gun. Sun can not make this glue soft again. I like the glue a lot for headliner. I hope, it help understand about this kind of glue. I will try sabaspray, thank you Jens Jesberg. Im sorry about my english(((
    Nonna Duginova Options
  • Nonna Duginova
    0
    Sorry, ^headliner^=dashboard
    Nonna Duginova Options
  • John Pollock
    10
    ↪Jens Jesberg
    That's awesome! I have to try this glue out!

    ↪Keith Mayne
    I believe this is the video your referring to. Its one of my favorites
    John Pollock Options
  • Cody Lunning
    39
    Cool video. What’s the white tape/shrink wrap stuff he’s using to make the pattern. I could see me liking something like that. I often use tape as a similar function.
    Cody Lunning Options
  • John Pollock
    10
    ↪Cody Lunning
    I'm not sure what he is using but I have used transfer tape. Its made for applying vinyl decals. Its basically like masking tape that comes in rolls like 6-12" wide.
    John Pollock Options
  • Keith Mayne
    38
    Great video John, its not the one I'd seen on instagram...........the one you've posted is far better.
    Keith Mayne Options
  • Mikael Romo
    0
    ↪Jens Jesberg


    Hi Jens! Whitch mor exactly SABAspray you use? Seams to be alot of diffrent Sabaglue on the market.
    Mikael Romo Options
  • Jens Jesberg
    50
    @Mikael Romo

    Its the Sabaspray FR AV. The glue is available in Germany in a red and a green colored version. The red colored variant is a slightly changed variant of a wholesaler who advertises that the red glue can be thermally activated......But the green variant can also, but it was never so explicitly advertised by Saba. In the beginning I also fell for this advertising strategy. Meanwhile I use the green glue which works just as well and costs me a little less. For some jobs the glue is a bit thick and I thin it with a bit of Sabaclean AV


    ammtvtc72otm6vba.jpg
    Jens Jesberg Options
  • Mikael Romo
    0
    Big Thanks Jens for your quick replay and information i vill try to order it to day.
    Regards Mikael from Sweden.
    Mikael Romo Options
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