What can you do when the leather on your favorite couch starts to crack? First, it’s a good idea to know exactly what happens when leather cracks. On a microscopic level, leather is made up of countless tiny fibers that are woven and wrapped together in complex ways, the fibers being dense near the surface of the leather and less dense the further into the leather you get. While leather was living skin, it was kept alive and nourished by constantly replenishing natural oils. Now that leather is no longer living skin, these natural oils are no longer replenished. This means that the fibers that are woven into your leather are constantly rubbing against each other as your leather bends or moves, and as the fibers begin to dry out, they chafe and scrub against each other, eventually turning to dust and starting to crack.
To prevent this, the leather fibers must be kept oiled and well-lubricated by treating them with some form of leather conditioner or leather fat, which allows the fibers to move against each other without being damaged. When leather has not been treated for some time, the leather will begin to dry out. This is especially true if the leather has been subjected to regular exposure to direct sunlight, which causes the leather to age prematurely and break it down at a molecular level. UV radiation is actually a common cause of cracked leather. If you have leather that is exposed to sunlight frequently, try to keep it covered with a blanket when not in use, or treat it with a protective cream that contains UV filters, such as Furniture Clinics Protection Cream .
When it comes to repairing cracked leather, there is good news and bad news. The bad news first; Cracked leather cannot be restored to its original state. Once the leather fibers are broken, it is basically gone, those fibers are broken. Once cracks develop in your leather, they cannot be undone, there is no miracle cure for this (unlike living skin where a wound can heal). With a skilled hand, some cracks can be sewn together or filled with leather filler, but this process can be tricky, and easily turns into a major restoration project that also requires you to eventually dye the leather with leather dye (you can read more about this in our " Guide to Restoring a Worn Leather Sofa ").
Instead, it is much easier (and often more aesthetically pleasing) to strengthen the leather fibers surrounding the crack, which are still intact, and let the "scar" blend in naturally with the rest of the leather. This is done by treating the leather with a strong leather grease, such as Gold Quality Leather Grease. This process is similar to curing scratched leather which has damaged fibers near the surface of the leather, instead of throughout the fibers as is the case with cracked leather.
The effects of this treatment also essentially hide faded spots, while strengthening your leather by keeping the fibers soft and oiled. While a crack will still be visible, it will look more like a natural imprint - a remnant of what the hide was like before it became leather - part of the natural design that makes leather unique.
If you haven't cleaned the leather in a while, it's also best to give it a deep clean before treating with leather conditioner or leather grease, for example FC Ultra Clean (Using a conditioner to clean leather will only permanently seal the dirt inside your leather, instead of removing it).
