Material guide
Gluing Leather
Genuine leather in shoes, bags, upholstery and belts.
Also called faux leather, hide, PU leather, suede.
How Leather behaves when you bond it
Flexible and porous on the flesh side, sealed and finished on the grain side, so the two faces of the same piece need different treatment. Anything sold as faux or PU leather is a coated fabric and should not inherit leather's recommendations.
Leather is a tanned fibrous skin with a porous flesh side and a grain side that may carry oils, wax, pigment and a polymer finish. Natural variation and flexing make full-area, compliant bonds more reliable than small rigid spots for most soft-goods work.
Material properties
- Surface energy
- Medium
- Porosity
- Porous
- Rigidity
- Flexible
- Maximum service temperature
- 70C
- Normally needs abrading
- No
- Normally needs a primer
- No
- Solvent sensitive
- Yes. Solvent-based adhesives can craze or dissolve the surface.
Surface preparation
Identify grain, flesh, suede or coated face. Remove dust and surface contamination without stripping colour, and test the cleaner and adhesive on a hidden area for staining or bleed-through. Lightly roughen only where the product process calls for it, flash off contact adhesive fully, then press evenly.
Which adhesives work on Leather
Excellent
Contact adhesive
Contact adhesive is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Excellent
Flexible fabric adhesive
Flexible fabric adhesive is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Good
Spray adhesive
Spray adhesive is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Bonding Leather to something else
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.