Stain first then Acrylic paint

[JustWakinUp]

ok everyone,

The question is

Stain first then Acrylic paint or

Acrylic paint then stain ?

I have to paint a ladybug on something, I'm going to use saddle tan for the leather stain so should i stain the entire project then paint the ladybug using Acrylic or should i paint on the acrylic then mask it "SOMEHOW" then stain the rest of the project?

[Luke Hatley]

IF IT WAS ME I WOULD PAINT THE LADY BUG FIRST

THEN APPLY THE STAIN AROUND IT......

the stain will not allow the acrylic to bond to the leather.

[CitizenKate]

I second Luke's reply.

Kate

[yaklady]

I used to think the same thing as Luke and Kate, but Dale has convinced me that you can indeed apply acrylic paint over stain or dye. Staining around the lady bug will cause a lot of splotches. It's impossible to stain around a subject and get it even, except maybe with black. I've been painting over stain and even oil dye with no adverse effects. I have done tank panels, handlebar bags and belts this way, and so far, so good. If you put a lacquer finish on before acrylic paint, yes, you will have problems, so avoid that. Acrylic Resolene is a good finish as it protects the paints real well, but it's best if it's sprayed on. I can't get it even otherwise.

When you apply the stain, be sure to flood the leather quickly with a large applicator, or it will splotch. Sheep's wool trimmed to a quarter inch works great. The larger the leather peice, the larger the sheep. Pour your dye into a bowl so you can get a lot on the sheep.

I hope this helps!

Kathy

[Dale]

Either way is fine. With acrylic first, some stain will likely be left on the paint, effectively antiquing it to some degree. You can also hide some painting errors by staining last. A potential issue with this method is that you can rub off some of the paint when removing the stain. With stain first, the paint colors are essentially undisturbed and remain more vibrant. The real question to ask is, "what look am I going for?"

Dale