Repair tiny rips in cheap car seat leather

[logik]

Hello!

I have 2 small tears (~0.5cm) and 1 tiny tear (~1mm) in my car's seat. It's a cheap BMW "dakota leather". It looks like faux leather and almost is. What's the most practical way to stop it from tearing further? I don't need to make the rips disappear, just want to stick them down so they don't tear more. I looked into leather repair kits, they seem annoying and overkill. I'm hoping for quicker DIY solution.

Click here for big image:
http://i.imgur.com/qyptKvg.jpg

[SteveA]

There are many glues that can do the job.  HH-66 is a contact cement with strong adhering qualities.  Even the small can is more than you'll need.  Alternatively you can make a good repair with Gorilla Glue.  I've used it several times in my car and it has held up great and the cost is minimal to buy a small size container.  Lightly coat one side of the open flap w/glue and with a wet q-tip moisten the mating surface.  Don't over do it with the glue - a little goes a long way.  The glue will want to expand so tape down the repair with a general purpose making tape.  Some glue will show outside of the repair but you will be able to scrape it off without any problem
SA

[Darren Henry]

HH66 is a VINYL  cement.It and gorilla glue are excellent products---but dead wrong for this problem.there are contact cements specifically made for leather. Helmifix and Renia were my first choices back when I was making shoes, but they are only available in quart and larger containers. Barge cement is available in small tubes at some hardware store or hobby shops that carry leathercraft supplies lke Tandy/Leatherfactory. I would go ask your local shoe repair guy for a 1/2 teaspoon of glue and apply it to both surfaces with a skewer or needle and press the loose bit in while the glue is still wet and then press it again after the glue has tacked up. Any excess can be rubbed off with a piece of crepe or an eraser.

[SteveA]

Darren is right - his background is in leather.  But the strength of gorilla glue in this application is amazing.  The other glues are more appropriate but in my tests in my car doing several repairs on vehicles older then 10 years - gorilla glue was the one that held up the longest.  I did a seat tear 5 years ago w/gorilla glue and it is still solid although a little discolored which doesn't matter to me
SA

[baileyuph]

If those small tears bother you, the advice to carefully use glue (very small amount) is about as good as it gets.  I have had good results with the commercial headliner glue also.

If it bothers you and want to go to the expense, order a replacement OEM cover and replace or an experienced auto trim shop might be another option.  Have you shown it to a professional shop for analysis?  Might be a meaningful option.  I replace areas in the OEM upholstery for all vehicles regularly.  Given a good match on the material (leather in this case) can deliver a fix as good as original.

BMW materials generally are not cheap.

Doyle