Many years ago I re-covered a badly worn leather saddle with Naugahyde ( im itation leather). I used Barge cement and it held up really well. Stretch and pull all the wrinkles out when you re-cover. MAke sure you put glue on the underside. Tuck the new cover under and trim with a razor knife. Some one else mentioned NOT using contact cement, that is correct. Use Barge cem ent. It's easier to work with.
David Joshel Davis, California 65 degrees F, all the trees in bloom.
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> Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:45:57 -0700
> From: gillies@cs.ubc.ca
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Gluing leather covers to plastic saddles.
> CC: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.com
>
> > What is the best type of glue for reattaching a leather cover to a plas
tic
> > saddle like this? Any little tricks of the procedure I should know?
>
> I have been having fun with $20 Ti VeloJet saddles (eBay) for some
> asian project bikes that need colored saddles (vintage colored asian
> saddles are EXTREMELY rare.) Recovering plastic saddles with fresh
> leather has been eloquently discussed before on the CR list:
>
> http://search.bikelist.org/
>
> Here is how I will do mine NEXT TIME :
>
> PREP
>
> - buy a large scrap (10 sq. ft) of suede leather on ebay, in just
> about any color, for about $15 (shipped.)
>
> - very sticky tubular tire glue works well (Vittoria Mastick-1 is
> what I use). Use a FLEXIBLE contact cement (special track glues
> would be BAD as they are too hard.) Do NOT use rigid glue such as
> super glue or many hardware-store contact cements as these cannot
> last long on a saddle.
>
> - another much weaker type of flexible glue is Silicone I from Dow
> Corning (That's the slow-drying older stuff that gives of acetic
> acid / vinegar for maximum ashesion.) DON'T use 'washable' 'fast
> drying' Silicone II as its much inferior. These might be good for
> e.g. gluing down brooks saddle leather near a small rivet before
> installing larger rivets. BUT: it's not a contact cement and not
> very strong, so I don't recommend it for the entire saddle.
>
> 1. remove the old cover by
>
> a. gently pulling it off. I was able to do this with my
> veloJet without losing any foam.
>
> b. if necessary use a solvent like acetone - with breathing
> apparatus, or paint thinner for tubular glue - and gently
> soak the seam as you pull it back - which might take days.
>
> c. study the old cover to understand its shape - you will need
> to reinstall the new cover using exactly this shape.
>
> 2. wash your hands thoroughly and practice a few times installing and
> stretching the leather atop the saddle. Cut out a generous piece
> of leather so that there will be at least a 1' extension on all
> sides vs. the original cover (or 2' vs. the saddle's edges.) when
> you get done.
>
> 3. spread contact cement smoothly on both the saddle and leather
> (cover a much larger area with the leather since during
> installation you may end up using an expected subset of the
> leather.) a plastic spackling paddle or wooden paint paddle would
> be helpful so that there are no lumps.
>
> 4. allow contact cemet to dry. This helps to assure that there are
> no lumps.
>
> 5. again, wash and thoroughly dry your hands. start at the very top
> and stretch the leather as you apply it. here is where you
> practice comes in handy.
>
> 6. trim and glue the undersides of the leather.
>
> I'm not so great at step #6 and will defer to the other experts
> on the mailing list if they know how to do this step really well ??
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA, USA
>
> _______________________________________________
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