The faux leather section of my favorite bag was peeled off, but I don’t want to throw it away. Is there an easy way to repair it by myself…?
When you are using a faux leather bag, the faux leather especially the fringe section starts to peel off, doesn’t it? I have a favorite bag with faux leather peeling off.
Normally, I would just throw it away, but the rest of the bag is still usable, so I still want to use it. But I didn’t want to take up much of my time by repairing it, so I googled to see if I could do it easily myself, and found some useful goods!
I was not really sure if I can successfully repair it, but I’ve decided to give it a try.
- The state of the tattered, peeling faux leather bag before repair
- Applying a faux leather repair tape to fix the peeled section
- Repairing my favorite backpack with the faux leather part peeled off
- Captain’s faux leather repair tape can also be used to repair other colors of bags!
- Summary of repairing tattered and peeling faux leather bag
The state of the tattered, peeling faux leather bag before repair
The faux leather bag I’m repairing is a Patrick Cox Tote Bag, which costs around 20,000 JPY (about US$200). The appearance of the bag seems to be a pretty usable condition from my judgment.
But if you look closer, you can see that the faux leather on the edge is actually in such awful condition…It’s kind of embarrassing to use the bag as it is.
After some research, I found out that faux leather is supposed to last only a few years even if you use it normal way. It’s true that I’ve had a number of faux leather bags where various parts have peeled off with few usages.
Applying a faux leather repair tape to fix the peeled section
To repair the peeled leather, I used CAPTAIN’s “Synthetic Leather Repair Tape, Fine 25mm x 1m,” which is a strong adhesive type. This tape is very easy to use for repairing a long, thin handle of bags, umbrellas, or the like.
The 25mm width type comes in three colors: black, dark brown, and translucent. This time, I chose the black color because the part to be repaired is black.
When you open the package, you see a piece of black tape that is flimsy like shown in the below image. I was a little skeptical when I first saw this tape, and I had a feeling that it might not succeed. Well, let’s see what happens…
Steps to repair the peeling faux leather of the bag with the repair tape
The edge of the peeling bag is about 5 mm wide, but the tape I purchased is 2.5 cm wide. In that case, you just have to cut the tape with scissors to a width of about 1 cm to match the edge of the bag (5mm x 2 (front and back)).
Then, neatly attach the tape to the edge of the bag. The rear of the faux leather tape is firm glue, so you just have to peel off the backing paper and stick the tape on the edge of the bag.
Note that if the area to be taped is wet, dusty, or greasy, the adhesive strength will weaken, so be sure to check and dry the area beforehand!
The image above shows the tape applied around the front part of the bag. The tape stretches a lot more than I expected, so it was very easy to apply and attach. I guess faux leather is naturally stretchy if I am correct.
Also, even after peeling off the tape several times to adjust and reattaching it, the adhesion did not degrade at all.
Here is a picture of the back of the tape being applied.
And it’s done!
How does it look? Hmmm… I must admit, it looks pretty good!
I proudly showed it to some of my friends, and they complimented me, saying, “I can’t tell if it’s been reapplied at all! All of them were amazed at how quickly and easily the peeled section was repaired.
It took me about five minutes from the time I cut the tape into 1cm pieces with scissors to the time I finished applying it, even though I had been sitting on it for weeks before I bought the tape and started applying it.
In fact, I was so lazy that I didn’t even bother to cut the tape into 1cm pieces and just cut it by eye, but I was surprised at how quickly it was done.
I was surprised at how quickly I was able to complete the project. With this 1 meter long tape, I was able to cover the entire area around the edge of the bag with just one piece of tape.
This captain’s faux leather repair tape costs only around 500 Japanese yen, a mere one coin. Considering the price of the original bag, it was a good decision to repair it instead of throwing it away.
It’s really easy to do, so if it’s your favorite bag (or even though it’s not your favorite but if it’s an expensive bag), it’s worth a try before you throw it away!
Repairing my favorite backpack with the faux leather part peeled off
I was so pleased with how easy it was to repair, that I decided to repair another bag.
This backpack is quite old, but I really like it because it’s so easy to use and I just couldn’t throw it away, and if possible, I want to use it again!
However, just like the black bag I mentioned earlier, the brown faux leather part of this backpack is peeled off and it’s falling apart. I really don’t know why faux leather peels off like this…
With this backpack, the surface of the faux leather part is peeling off, so it is not usable as it is… So, the next step is to use a repair sheet for the faux leather in a dark brown color.
This is the same dark brown version of the CAPTAIN “Synthetic Leather Repair Tape 11cm x 20cm”. The dark brown one is 11cm x 20cm in size.
I don’t know if it’s because of the wide width, but the name of this one is “faux leather repair sheet” instead of tape. All you have to do is cut the tape into 1cm pieces and stick them on.
Here is the completed image. What do you think? Isn’t it beautifully done?
Well, this repair tape is a civilized tool. The best thing about the tape (or sheet) is that it stretches well.
Thanks to its elasticity, you can apply it to anything, even curved areas, even if dexterity is not your strong suit. You can even have your child do it for you. I think it’s a fun crafty way to fix things for them!
Captain’s faux leather repair tape can also be used to repair other colors of bags!
But the bag I want to repair is off-white…
Don’t worry. It’s not only black or brown that can be repaired.
You can also use Captain’s Synthetic Leather Repair Tape to repair other colors of bags
The 11cm wide “faux leather repair sheet” comes in six colors: black, dark brown, camel, off-white, white, and translucent, as well as black and brown.
Source:CAPTAIN HP
So, you can use it to repair off-white or white bags. It’s also nice to have camel color since camel color is quite common in stylish bags.
The 11cm can be used for a wider area of peeling. In that case, cut a larger piece than the area to be repaired and round the corners to prevent peeling.
When applying the tape to uneven surfaces such as the bottom of a bag, it is recommended to press down the tape (sheet) well after applying it to increase the adhesive strength.
I see. Oh, but the bag I want to repair is pink…too bad.
No, no, no. You can repair a pink color bag as well.
If you want to repair a color that is not on the repair sheet, you can buy a nail polish similar to your bag at a hundred-yen store (or dollar store).
Next, apply the nail polish to the peeling area and let it dry well.
Then, cut a piece of the translucent colored tape from the Captain’s Synthetic Leather Repair Sheet, and stick it on top.
If you just apply nail polish, it may look good at first but it will eventually peel off again, so the key is to apply the repair sheet over it.
In short, you can use nail polish to repair the color and texture, and then reinforce it with the repair sheet.
Now you don’t have to throw away any bag of any color anymore!
Summary of repairing tattered and peeling faux leather bag
You’d be surprised how easy it is to repair a bag using the repair tapes!
I recall I had a lot of bags that I didn’t have to throw away. I wish I had known about this tape earlier…
By the way, if you use the CAPTAIN faux leather repair sheet, you can repair not only bags but also any faux leather products. In this case, the procedure is the same as for the bag.
It is an excellent product that can be used for repairing faux leather products.
By easily repairing your favorite bag, you can extend the life of your bag, which is good for the sustainability of the earth and the environment, but you can also save some money.
It was really easy, and I urge you to give it a try!
You can also easily repair any leather products with a leather repair cream. If you have one, you don’t have to throw away your leather items anymore! Click here to read the article.
You can easily repair any leather product with a leather repair cream. If you have one cream, you don’t have to throw away your leather products anymore! Click here to read the article.
This article explains “Renapur” in detail, a convenient leather cream that can be used to care for everything with just one bottle.
