Some thoughts better left unspoken

You can do pretty much anything to a corpse within reason, kick it and it won't bleed, bruise or swell up. The skin can tear though, don't make the skin tear. After a few days it'll be hard enough that the fat doesn't leak out, but still, you don't want the skin to tear.

You could use a type of spirit gum or even duct tape if you had to mend the skin, it's a lot like patching a leather couch. Just make sure you keep the skin clean before applying or it could get messy and look poorly done. You don't want it to look messy, you want it to look nice and clean.