Leather care?

Question

Two questions: First off, I have a leather belt that has two pieces of leather glued together. Now it's coming apart. What kind of glue should I use? Would Krazy Glue work? Also, what are some general rules for caring for leather shoes?

Answer 1

Rubber cement is the best thing to use for leather.  What you have is bonded leather.  To use rubber cement, coat both sides and let sit until not so sticky.  Starting at one end, carefully lay the two pieces together, pressing firmly as you go. Then use  a brayer or other roller device to set the glue.  A brayer is a rubber roller on a wand that you can apply pressure with.  A large jar of peanut butter, can of coffee etc. will substitute, which you can apply body pressure to.  You can use the left over cement to fix your Nikes when the sole separates, among other things.  They use it almost exclusively in shoe manufacturing and leather work.

Leather shoes should be cleaned of dirt and mud frequently. You can knock off the most of it, and use a variety of brushes to get the grooves.  I clean mine in the sink if too dirty, rinsing carefully so as not to soak the leather.  If the leather did get wet, stuff the inside with paper and let dry in a warm place out of direct heat for a day or so.  After cleaning off the dirt, polish the leather with a good quality polish or wax, then buff out with a special flannel rag, or soft bristle brushes.  My ex used to use wax, from a can, then run a match over it to seal it into the leather, finishing with a flannel rag buffing, after the brushes.  Military school teaches some good things.  If the leather is suede, then a good brushing with only a brass brush is the best that you can do, esp. on the shiny parts that get scuffed.  I cheat and use shoe polish on the spots lacking color, which does not contain as much wax, so less shine.  Waxes and polishes come in a variety of colors to match the shoes.