Permanent mounting leather

D

Danielsan

Grumbler in Training
Thread starter
Joined
Feb 16, 2026
Posts
2
Loc
Austin, Tx
Business
West Chelsea Contemporary
We have a client that produces large (108 x 84 inches) CNC cut leather hide mosaics. each piece is dyed and still has the hair on it. the pieces are mounted on some type of polyester webbing. what I have done before is mounting the piece onto Gator board with Super77 spray adhesive and then sewing using 20lbs monofilament in a 10-12 inch grid pattern. That is mounted to stretcher bar and wrapped with a floater frame. The edges and corners have started to peel up. Is there any advice on how to tackle this type of piece that would make a permanent solution? any advice on glues or sewing technique would be helpful. It has to withstand temperature changes from being stored in a warehouse to being hung in an office building.
Captura de pantalla 2026-02-05 111621.webp
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I'm not surprised the Super 77 failed. It doesn't work well with oily materials. The oil partially dissolves the adhesive. They make a few different kinds of leather glue. There's a heat set sheet type, a water based type, and a contact cement. I've only seen them used to bond leather to leather, however. I'm afraid you're going to have to get some scrap leather and try to see if any of them will work to mount to a backing. I have a feeling the contact cement would give the strongest bond, but, boy, I'd be afraid to try it myself. You could try to contact a furniture restorer or maybe a taxidermist. I can't think of a lot of people who might have experience applying leather to wood or another substrate.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Probably Barge contact cement, but much more to consider because of the choice of storage. Without climate controlled storage the deterioration of these is hastened.

As far as backings are concerned I would experiment with ACM panel. It doesn’t react to humidity change and temperature change has little effect. It is also chemically neutral.

You also might consult with a conservator on this. The AIC has a member list sorted by specialty.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Barge cement is much better for longevity than standard rubber cement; however, it is made from Neoprene rubber and is thus susceptible to disintegration like natural rubber. It is not a long term conservation solution.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Back
Top