Leather is a sturdy material. But all your favorite leather items tend to wear and tear, after being used for a long time. So no matter if you just want to fix an old leather bag, glue a hole in the leather seats of your car or if you are a passionate crafter who wants to work with leather. In this guide, I will help you choose the right type of glue for your project. I will go over the advantages and disadvantages of every glue so that you can confidently choose the perfect leather glue without much headache.
In short, the best kind of glue for leather is either Barge Cement, E600 Craft Adhesive Glue, Gorilla Original Glue, or Loctite Liquid Professional Glue. For beginners, the best choice is either Barge Cement or Gorilla Original Glue. Both of these glues are easy to use and readily available.
Barge Cement Glue
Barge Cement is easy to use and very strong. It works on multiple materials including rubber, leather, wood, foam, and more.
Barge Cement doesn´t work like your regular super glue. It has to be applied to both surfaces. Then you have to let the glue dry until it is dry to the touch.
Then carefully align both pieces and then press them together. The glue should have an instant strong adhesion right away. So make sure to align it perfectly or you have to clean both surfaces from the glue and repeat the whole process.
The glue has a strong initial adhesion but you still have to let it dry for about 24 hours before it reaches its final strong connection.
The glue is flexible during and after use. It also doesn’t stain in any way.
PROs
- The glue is very strong.
- The glue is an all-purpose glue. It can glue leather, foam, rubber, and more.
- The glue is flexible.
- The glue doesn’t stain in any way.
CONs
- The glue takes a long time to dry. It needs to dry for 24 hours before it reaches its full strength.
- The glue smells really bad when it is not dry yet.
E600 Craft Adhesive Glue
E600 Craft Adhesive is very easy to use. The application tube allows you to apply it easily and very precisely.
Only use this glue in a very well ventilated area or outside. The fumes are really bad on this one!
This glue is very strong. It is probably the strongest glue, that I mention here in this article. So if you need a strong glue then this is the one for you.
The E600 Craft Adhesive is also a general-purpose glue, meaning it can be used on multiple materials as well.
PROs
- The glue is very strong
- It comes with a handy applicator tube.
- It is flexible so it can be used on flexible materials like leather
- It is non-flammable
- Generall-Purpose Glue so it can be used on multiple different materials
CONs
- The glue smells really bad when it is not dry yet
- The glue needs quite a long time to dry and set. About 24 hours.
Gorilla Original Glue
This is another all-purpose glue that works really well on leather and other flexible materials.
Gorilla Original glue is easy to come by and easy to use.
It has good initial adhesion and a strong bond once it is completely cured.
I personally don´t use gorilla glue as much for leather but I tried it just for you and it works surprisingly well. So good in fact, that I will use it as a backup glue if I am running low on Barge Cement.
Features:
- The glue is an all-purpose.
- It has solid adhesivity.
- It is impervious to water.
- It stretches three to four times to build a bond.
- The adhesive can handle extreme temperatures.
- It sets in about 1-2 hours.
PROs
- The glue is waterproof.
- The glue sets in 1-2 hours.
- It is very resistant to
- The glue is quite strong
- Once it has cured, you can actually paint the surface of the glue.
- The glue is flexible once it has dried.
CONs
- The nozzle of the tube is easily clogged if you are not careful. This happens to me all the time.
- The glue can leave permanent stains on the leather if you are not careful.
Loctite Liquid Professional Glue
Loctite is an established and well-known glue brand. I personally love their products even though, they are a little more on the expensive side.
Loctite Liquid Professional Glue is very strong and durable. This glue sets really fast.
You have to very precise when using this glue because once it has dried, and it drys fast, the bond will be very strong and you will not be able to realign the pieces. So work carefully and precisely when using this glue.
PROs
- The glue is very strong.
- The adhesive works fine on various surfaces, including leather.
- The glue sets very quickly. It only takes about 20 seconds.
- The container is very conveniently designed to allow easy application.
CONs
- The glue sets quickly. Once you applied it, it is impossible to make any adjustments.
Bob Smith Industries Glue
This glue also sets very quickly. It is also an all-purpose glue, so you can glue a wide variety of flexible materials like foam, leather, cloth, and more.
Funnily enough, this glue has a nice scent. It actually smells a little bit like strawberries. That doesn´t mean you should inhale the fumes though.
The glue is also very fast setting. It only takes about 20 seconds until it has set completely.
So you have to work very precise and fast with this one.
PROs
- It´s a general-purpose glue.
- The glue sets very fast. It will be dry in only 20 seconds.
- It smells like strawberries
- It´s very strong
CONs
- The quick setting of the glue implies you won’t be able to reposition the glue after the surfaces are joined. There is no room for errors. You have to be very accurate and meticulous when using this glue.
Can Superglue be Used on Leather?
It is understandable that you might want to use glue, that is at your disposal before you go and buy a special glue just for gluing leather so naturally a lot of people ask if they can just use superglue on leather. Everyone has superglue at home but is it really that good for gluing leather?
You can use superglue to glue specific parts of leather but generally, super glue is not a good choice for gluing leather. The main reason for that is because superglue actually dries hard and leather is usually quite flexible. So the superglue will break more and more when the leather is bend until it eventually doesn´t adhere anymore.
So while it is possible to use superglue for glueing small leather parts to leather or other materials it is not a good choice for glueing larger pieces of leather.
Superglue is quite brittle and when it is used to glue flexible materials it will eventually lose its grip. So I would generally not recommend using it for gluing leather even though, I really love superglue. It’s just not the perfect glue for that particular job.
Can you use wood glue on leather?
Wood glue can not be used on Leather. Leather is a material that bends and flexes constantly. Hence, it requires a glue with high flexibility to form a durable bond. Wood glue, however, will dry hard. Therefore the initial bond will be ok but after a while, the leather will just move too much and the glue will eventually loosen.
Does Hot Glue Stick to Leather?
Hot glue is another amazing glue, that I personally love to use but just like superglue it has its uses and there are some materials, that it simply does not work well on.
Hot glue does stick to leather but it will not create a strong bond and therefore should not be used to glue leather. Even though hot glue will create a strong initial bond with leather it will not hold long if the leather moves. So eventually the hot glue will separate itself from the leather because it is just not flexible enough.
Hi, I am a passionate maker and professional prop maker for the entertainment industry. I use my woodworking, programming, electronics, and illustration know-how to create interactive props and puzzles for Escape Games and marketing agencies. And I share my knowledge and my experience on this blog with you so that you can become a maker yourself.