One minor issues with the interior of my 2001 Chrysler van is a crack in the leather (vinyl?) armrest on the front passenger seat. It is irritating, and it keeps getting bigger every time I look at it. My brother has offered several times to get out the duct tape and "git-'er-done", but I am it he mood for something a little less "klassy".

This is my first venture with Sugru, so this may go well or not, but with a spirit of adventure and a camera in hand, I cautiously venture forth.

Step 1: Vinyl Armrest Repair

To start with, as the crack is expanding up the armrest, the vinyl seems to be spreading out a little bit and not laying as flat as I would like, it looks like there is pressure from the foam underneath holding it apart. I took a needle and thread and made a few small stitches to hold things together a little better.

The interior of my van is gray, so I grabbed one packet of black and one of white. I started with the small lump of the white, thinking it would be easier to add bits of black until it was dark enough, rather than the other way around.

Step 2:

After I got a color I was happy with, I just formed it around the crack and pressed the Sugru in place. I was a little unhappy with the texture, so I smoothed it out a little with my fingers.

Lastly, I used a small pair of pliers to put a small detail line in the Sugru to match the existing form. There is texture on the arm that was not confident I could reproduce, so I stuck with just smoothing it out. I'm not perfectly happy with the color or texture, but certainly this repair is an overall improvement.