There are over hundreds and thousands of glue brands out there all over the world for different purposes. One of the most important things that will help you to quickly sort through all the variety of glues out there is the specific material you will be bonding together.
So for this article, I narrowed down my research to the best glues for leather to plastic bonding and I must admit, I still found a whole bunch of products.
But all in all, here are the best of the best glues for leather to plastic bonding. I took my time to write this article to help you filter through all the glue choices you would have had to sift through in order to find what would work for you – hence making your buying experience slightly better and well informed.
So, here are the best Glues for Leather To Plastic Adhesion:
- Barge All-Purpose Cement Quart (Overall Best Leather To Plastic Repair and Crafts Glue)
- Gorilla Super Glue Gel (Best Budget Super Glue For Leather To Plastic Glue)
- Loctite Adhesive (Best Leather To Plastic Repair Glue)
- HG Power Glue (Best Strongest Glue)
- Barge 50-2128 All Purpose Cement (Best Repair Contact Cement For Leather To Plastic)
If you would like to wrap leather over a plastic dashboard, reattach a plastic sole or part that got ripped out from your leather bag, shoes, boots, or a phone case, or anything similar, then the glues highlighted in this post are going to help you with this specific purpose of leather to plastic bonding.
In order to learn more about the pros & cons of the glues above, their distinctive qualities or properties that make them ideal for specific leather to plastic bonding scenarios, and finally, factors to consider when buying glues, then read on!
Buying Guide For Leather To Plastic Glues
There a couple of things you would want to look at before finally picking out the most suitable glue for your project or repair work. While the price is what most people usually focus on, be careful not to substitute quality for cheaply priced glue.
Here’s are a few things you can consider in order for you to pick out a glue that’s quality glue but at a price that’s suitable for your budget.
Ease of Application
With leather and plastic being two different materials with different surface quality, you would want to go for a glue that will go on smoothly, stay where it needs to stay, and bond like how you want it to bond. Some glues are paste-like or have a fairly thick consistency, while others are very watery.
Either one can be good but will depend on how the item you’re gluing is positioned – flat or upright standing. Almost any glue consistency will work fine when the item you’re gluing is flat or can be placed horizontally. However, you wouldn’t want glues that are extremely light on things that are vertical or upright standing.
Colored vs Clear Dry
Every glue has a way it dries. While some glues will dry colorless, others will leave their very own signature drying color. So if you’re gluing something like an applique work or repair work where you will usually have little bits and pieces of glues sticking out, then you might want to consider a clear drying glue since the colored ones will not render a good finish.
Clear drying glues are also suitable for light-colored materials. This is because they don’t leave behind traces of colors that will stain the consistent look on the leather and plastic you’re bonding.
Color dry glues, on the other hand, are great for dark-colored materials (in this case plastics and leather) or gluing relatively obscured portions of the project or repair work. Either will work great but you need to be aware of the resulting effects when the have finished its bond.
Durability
When it comes to gluing leather to plastics, it’s obvious, it’s pretty obvious you would want the strongest bonds ever. This is usually so that you do not have to repair or reattach your items after every couple of days, weeks, or months. You would want a glue that will stand the test of time no matter the weather or season.
However, if by any chance you would only want a temporal bond for your leather to plastic adhesion, then go for the glue that does just that so you don’t go for an overkill bond while paying for an unnecessary cost.
Heat And Water Resistant
Two of the biggest challenges most items joined by gluing suffer is heat and water or moisture. These two elements will eventually break down the adhesion of the glue is the glue chosen isn’t highly resistant to them.
So you would want to pick out the glue that can withstand heat, cold, and water especially if your leather and plastic item is meant for the outdoors.
Best Glues For Leather To Plastic – Reviews
Now that we have clarity a few important factors to consider, Lets now go into the details of the best glues for leather to plastic: So in no particular order:
1. Barge Quart (Overall Best Leather To Plastic Adhesive)
The Barge All Purpose Cement Quart is one of the best most versatile glues for leather to plastic bonding. It’s a solvent-based glue. This type of glue is suitable for both leather and plastic as individual materials and does not cause any problems or affect either surface in any way.
It comes with its own applicator brush which helps to make its application a use very easy and simple. The Barge cement is good for repair work and crafts gluing for both interior and exterior projects because it’s water-resistant and heat resistant.
The Barge All Purpose Cement is a heavy-duty glue that’s ideal not only for leather and plastic bonding but because it’s a contact cement adhesive, it can be used on any surface such as plaster, paper, concrete rubber, wood, and so many others.
Depending on how you look at this, one of its biggest downsides will be the fact that it takes over 14 hours from its application time to cure and how it does not dry clear.
The Barge contact cement leaves behind a thin pale mustard yellow stain after it dries and cures – thus making it suitable for dark colored materials. But for light-colored materials, you must ensure there are no glue stains.
Pros:
- Comes with its own applicator brush for easy spreading
- It’s for multiple-surface use
- Offers heavy-duty bonding
- It’s waterproof
- It’s ideal for repair work and crafts projects
- It’s easy to apply and very flexible to work with
- Easy to clean up stains
- Does not freeze
- Professional strength glue
Cons:
- Pricey
- Highly flammable
- Once opened it begins to thicken
- It needs a good ventilated place when working with it
If you’re interested in the Barge All-Purpose Cement, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
2. Gorilla Super Glue Gel (Best Budget Super Glue For Leather To Plastic)
The Gorilla Super Glue Gel is an easy to use glue and has a thick glue consistency. Due to its awesome consistency, Gorilla super glue gel perfect for vertical surfaces.
This glue is good for durable and strong bonds and will work great for leather to plastic adhesion and other materials such as paper, rubber, ceramic, wood, metal, and other similar materials. It has an instant, super-fast drying quality that also results in long-lasting bonds.
The downside to using the Gorilla Super Glue Gel is that when it comes to plastics, this glue is not supposed to be used for polyethylene plastics or polypropylene plastics, or anything similar to any of these two types of plastics.
Pros:
- Great for vertical surfaces
- Water-resistant
- Dries clear
- Its bonds are very resistant to abrasion and impact
- Heavy-duty bonds
- No need for clamping
- 45 seconds drying and curing time
- Easy to use or apply
- Highly versatile for multiple bonds
- Comes in an easy to dispense bottle
Cons:
- Its fast-drying means no adjustments or corrections can be made
- Not suitable for all kinds of plastics
If you’re interested in the Gorilla Super Glue Gel, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
3. Loctite Adhesive (Best Leather To Plastic Repair Glue)
The Loctite adhesive is my choice for the best glue that’s suitable for leather to flexible plastic repair work. This glue is formulated especially for making all kinds of repair work on flexible plastics like vinyl seat cushions. It’s also good for adhering leather, glass, wood, fabric, rubber, paper, etc.
It has a clean dry look and leaves no traces after its bond has properly cured. It also has superior resistance to water and heat. So you will be able to mend anything meant for either for the outdoor and indoor.
It comes with the thickness that makes it ideal for easy repair on all upstanding items and flat-lying items.
Pros:
- Long-lasting repairs
- Highly versatile
- Great thickness
- Dries clear with no stains
- Very easy to use
- It does not yellow with age
- For both interior and exterior repair works
- It’s Waterproof
- Remains flexible after it’s dry
- Does not brittle with time
Cons:
- Shortened shelf life once it’s opened
If you’re interested in this brand of Loctite Adhesive, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
4. HG Power Glue (Best Strongest Glue)
The HG Power Glue is your go-to if you want a glue that’s going to offer you the strongest bond ever for your plastic to leather repair or crafts work. Although this is an industrial-grade glue used for auto parts and other industrial-grade items, the kind of bond it offers can be leverage for use on anything leather and plastic.
The HG Power glue can bond almost any material together such as glass, stone, plastic, wood, ceramics, metal, rubber, aluminum, etc. Its bond is strong, permanent, and highly weather resistant.
However, you would want to watch out for your (or pets) skin, eyes, and nose when applying it. Apart from its use on various materials, the HG Power Glue is not friendly and can send you or your pet to the ER in case it has contact with the above-mentioned parts of the human or animal.
Pros:
- Superior strong bond quality
- Bonds are flexible but still durable
- It’s resistant to extreme heat and cold
- Results in permanent bonds
- Resistant to UV rays
- Can be stored up to 2 years especially if kept in a freezer
- Versatile use
- Easy to use
- Dries clear
Cons:
- A primer is required for bonds on silicon and plastics polyethylene and Polypropylene
- Inhaling it can be very dangerous
- Not skin-friendly
- Must be used in a very ventilated room
If you’re interested in the HG Power Glue, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
5.Barge 50-2128 (Best Repair Contact Cement For Leather To Plastic)
The Barge 50-2128 All-purpose Cement is an industrial grade cement adhesive that offers a very strong bond for any kind of material. All you really need to do is to apply just a single coat on both surfaces to be joined together and your leather and plastic will have a highly durable bond for years to come.
This glue is very easy to spread and suitable for use on materials like rubber, wood, cork, cotton, aluminum, steel, glass to mention a few. Because it’s a contact glue you will need to apply the glue on both the leather and plastic material and allow to dry before putting both parts together. The complete process from application through to curing time can take up to 12 hours.
When allowed to cure overnight, your bonded materials will be secured, long-lasting, and highly resistant to water and moisture in general. The color for this glue is neutral so you wouldn’t have to worry about ugly glue stains.
Pros:
- Super strong adhesion
- Excellent for long-lasting repair work
- Toluene free
- Non-smearing so doesn’t get messy
- Very easy to use
- Offers a long-lasting bond
- Water-resistant
- No smell once it dries
- Versatile use
Cons:
- Strong smell
- Long Curing time
If you’re interested in the Barge 50-2128 All-purpose Cement, you can check it out over here on Amazon!
How To Glue Leather To Plastic
Now that you have been able to successfully choose the glue for your leather to plastic bonding, I’m now going to walk you through the steps on how to actually use the glue to bond your leather and plastic materials whether for repair work or a craft project.
From the list of glue recommendations for leather to plastic bonding, you can see there are about two types of glue that generally serve the purpose of leather to plastic adhesion. There are the super glues and the contact cement.
How To Use Super Glue To Bond Leather To Plastic
The super glues basically have their work cut out for them. Using them is quite easy and simple. You basically put a generous amount of the superglue directly on just one side of the materials you’re gluing, immediately put both materials together, and in a matter of 10 to 15 seconds, the bonding action should be complete.
How To Use Contact Cement To Bond Leather To Plastic
Using the contact cement to adhere to leather to plastic is quite different from most other glues. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to this effectively.
Step 1: Sand the surface of the plastic and sand down the leather surface. This will allow the plastic to stick to the leather better.
Step 2: Wipe both surfaces with a damp cloth to remove dust and debris and leave to air dry.
Step 3: Apply a THIN layer of glue on BOTH surfaces. You can use a brush or any applicator of your choice.
Step 4: Wait about 10-15 minutes for the glue to dry on both materials.
Step 5: After the glue dries, position the two surfaces and press them together.
Step 6. You can use a leather roller tool or place a heavy object on the two glued surfaces so as to hold and get a much stronger bond.
Step 7: Allow to dry and cure overnight