Repair Fixing a pair of pleather shoes with liquid leather/leather filler

Oooh I am going to follow this! I have a pair of shoes from SDC Miko's full set that need to be restored. I also have some pleather pants. So if this works and you're able to paint them and you like the result, let us all know!

 

Wow - looks really good! I am very excited about the result.
Good luck with that

 

I hope you'll be able to successfully fix these! I've read about some people getting it to work temporarily, but the fix never seems to last long. I really wish there was some solution because buying a whole new set of doll shoes every 5 years is not the option I want to take.

 

From what I understand the longevity of the fix depends on what's under the pleather layer: some manufacturers use composite leather (like particle board but for leather and not wood) and some use fabric. I have 2 pairs of secondhand Volks shoes that are completely flaking apart and they have fabric underneath

 

@soulsoaker Do you think it will last longer if it has fabric underneath it?

 

Might depend on what you're using to fix it and how well-glued it was in the first place. Both of the pairs I own are over 10 years old so it's a little hard to tell what they would have been like brand new. I'm planning to resurface them with fabric glue before thinking about any paint/faux leather color

 

As someone who does a lot of crafting and general household repairs, I'm worried you may not get the results you want.

I hope I'm wrong here, but I think that you're going to see a lot of crumbling with the filler once it's fully dry - the strap is designed to flex more than your average couch is, and there's not a lot of the original material for the filler to form a bond to. The belino cuir filler, from what I'm seeing online, is meant to go in a thin layer over the damaged material, not to replace large sections of it.

If this doesn't work out, you might have better luck by carefully gluing down tiny pieces of thin pleather to the parts of the strap where the original material has crumbled, then once that dries, paint the BC filler over it to hide the edges where the in-fill material meets.

Another option is to remake the strap entirely which would be a pain in the ass but would give you a longer usable life.

Spoiler: Crafting instructions inside

Two possible methods for that:
1, the good enough method: cut a single length of white pleather to match the measurements of the strap. Remove the original strap, including the part stitched to the shoe. Glue the new strap in it's place, white side facing out. Glue a section of velcro to the underside of the strap where it needs to fasten to the shoe. If desired, glue a charm to the top side of the strap in the same position.

2, the if-it's-not-perfect-what's-the-point method: Measure out two pieces of white pleather the length and width of the strap. Measure the velcro on the original strap, cut a piece to match, and sew it on the end of one of the new pleather pieces, on the white side of the pleather. If you're adding the fake buckle, skip this step, you'll get to it later.
Sew both pieces together, white sides out, with a row of topstitching across the end with the velcro, and most of the way down both long sides, leaving a small section of the other end still open.
Cut the original strap off about half an inch or so from where it meets the shoe upper, and then sand or cut down the long edges so the attached section can slide into the new strap.
Add a flexible, strong-holding glue to the inside of the new strap, and slid it over the old strap. Use a clamp or press the glued section down with a weight to ensure it dries flat and bonds securely. Add decorative topstitching to the unstitched sections of the new strap if you like.
To add the faux-buckle, follow this guide here:

I hope I'm being overly cynical and you need none of this, and your method works brilliantly. But just in case you do, my overly detailed suggestions are available.

 

Never considered a fix for 'the crumblies'. *following!* And crossing my fingers!
Luckily it looks like the base of the shoes look good. Cutting off, and replacing the straps and bows could look rather nice if all else fails. Customization!
Okay, more adding to this post as I also am looking to stabilize some disintegrating pleather-
I found this video to be interesting:

 

thanks for posting this! interested to see the updates

 

Same here. I'd love to know if/how long the filler lasted on the strap - if it works that opens up a realm of possibilities in modifying clothes and furnishings.

 

I did some research recently and I found this video. I have a piece of clothing that has some flaking and I plan on using this method.



Its more for preventative but it seems you can try to use the coating to help some cracks.