Acrylic Paint On Dyed Leather

[DavidL]

Acrylic paint on regular leather works well and last, does pre dyed leather accept acrylic paint (pre dyed from manufacturer). Bridle leather also appears to be resistant to stains, how does acrylics hold up?

If both questions above answer no, would hand dyed leather by me plus acrylic on top of the dye would work?

[Dwight]

I don't have a lot of experience, . . . but what I have done seems to be working out.

Here's an example of acrylic paint on veg tan, dyed with Feibings British tan, . . . then a coat of resolene, with the paint applied last.

It was also carved and a little stamping done, which is not really apparent in this picture.

May God bless,

Dwgiht

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dwight

[Sluggo001]

I like to protect the paint from wear. I use a acrylic matt medium over the paint as a top coat and 50/50 resolene over the entire piece as a finish.

[DavidL]

I don't have a lot of experience, . . . but what I have done seems to be working out.

Here's an example of acrylic paint on veg tan, dyed with Feibings British tan, . . . then a coat of resolene, with the paint applied last.

It was also carved and a little stamping done, which is not really apparent in this picture.

May God bless,

Dwgiht

very nice project. What brand of acrylic? How is it holding up?

I like to protect the paint from wear. I use a acrylic matt medium over the paint as a top coat and 50/50 resolene over the entire piece as a finish.

I will try that. thanks

[LilyLionLabyrinth]

I haven't tried to paint on any leather that was dyed by a manufacturer, yet.

However, I have used acrylics over veg-tanned leather that I first dyed myself! (And Copic Markers, and pens, and dry pigments...).

For dyes, I typically use Eco-Flo. There is probably much better dye out there, but it is the stuff I bought when I first got into leatherwork and still have a bunch of it. After I dye the piece, I then seal it with a high-quality, very flexible acrylic sealant. This does tend to leave the piece glossy, but there are other acrylic matte mediums you can apply later to dull the effect.

Once it's sealed, I then I paint on it! I use artist acrylics from Dick Blick. Once I am done painting, I do another coat or two of sealant, just to be safe.

None of my leather projects are old enough or seen enough handling to really know for sure durability. I do, however, have one messenger bag that I used almost daily for around 8 months, and it held up beautifully (the acrylic held up a little better than the dye, actually). I have done some flexibility testing because I was paranoid, and sometimes the paint will crinkle a little if the piece of leather is bent backwards, but even after playing with that for half an hour, it was still perfectly adhered.

[Spinner]

Dyed from the tannery works but not as well. The surface tends to be slightly burnished and occassionally you'll find that they include a little bit of sealer that resists adhesion of paints and adding additional oils. I start with raw veg tan, dye & oil the piece completely then paint on top of that. Satin Varnish goes over the acrylics to lock them in and then Resolene 50/50 over the whole piece. By painting before any sealing, there is more surface tooth for the paints to adhere to.

Paint Brands to check out:

Golden Fluid Acrylics

Games Workshop Citadel Acrylics

Reaper Master Paints

The last two are formulated for durability and adhesion to plastics and textiles for heavy traffic. They were designed to paint the little plastic figures and sets that gamers use when playing table top war games like Warhammer 40k. When I first looked at them I thought, if these paints survive the average gamer carrying them around, moving them and knocking them over on a table set, eating snacks as stuff while playing, they should work for leather. They all work great, last a long time and can be brushed on or thinned for airbrushing easily.

[DavidL]

il check those paints out, I'm currently going to go with angelus acrylics, if the ones you recommended are better than il have to do the switch.

I seen custom shoe painters leave the paint w/ no sealant and they seem to last. What is the difference between a dye sealant and a acrylic sealant. I use atom wax on dye can it be used to seal acrylics?

what ratio for the duller to paint?

[Spinner]

il check those paints out, I'm currently going to go with angelus acrylics, if the ones you recommended are better than il have to do the switch.

I seen custom shoe painters leave the paint w/ no sealant and they seem to last. What is the difference between a dye sealant and a acrylic sealant. I use atom wax on dye can it be used to seal acrylics?

what ratio for the duller to paint?

Well, first off remember that Atom Wax is a finish, not a sealant. There is a distinct difference. Sealers (Clear-Lac, Resolene, Pro-Clear, Varnish) literaly seal the leather if applied in enough coats so that water, wax, oils, etc. can not penetrate or be absorbed. Finishes (Atom Wax, Aussie Wax, etc.) apply a durable finish to the leather but do not seal it so additional oils, waxes and even water can still get to the leather. If painting with acrylics, use a sealer product to help protect the paints from eventually lifting. Some sealers like varnish also have light UV resistant blends that help the color last longer.

It gets confusing as companies use the terms interchangably.

Paint should not be thinned more than 30/70 ratio paint to water. Past that point the carrier medium breaks down and you get what is called a wash. Washes are a different technique and will not cover the underlying color without applying a dozen coats or more.

[DavidL]

Thanks for he response, cleared up a lot of things for me.

Could sealant be used for dyes instead of atom wax do you think, I always worry that the dyes will come off on my hands and sealants look like they work better than finishes.

[LilyLionLabyrinth]

Spinner explained the differences between finishes and sealants wonderfully!

I have to use sealants myself in most cases, since my pieces tend to be drawn/painted on very graphically as the main emphasis (like masquerade masks). I wind up not having exposed leather, so it makes more sense for me to do the last coat as an acrylic sealant.

Sealant can be used on dyes. But they have a really different feel than using something like a wax, almost plastic-like. For leather projects that you want them to be heavily used and age gracefully in that distressed way, I would think wax would be a better bet as an overall finish. I have, however, done half-and-half: seal off the acrylic with a sealant, and the dyed or raw areas with a finisher.