Acrylic Paint

[txwalt]

New to the site and have found it very informative and easy to navigate. I'm new to leather working and have had a request for a red celtic cross on a black belt. I havn't used paint on leather before. Will any acrylic paint work (something from hobby lobby perhaps)? In what order is the best way to apply it? I plan on stamping the cross in the belt. Applying block out to the stamp. Dye the entire belt. Paint the cross red. Then applying super shene. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Walt

[Nocturne]

New to the site and have found it very informative and easy to navigate. I'm new to leather working and have had a request for a red celtic cross on a black belt. I havn't used paint on leather before. Will any acrylic paint work (something from hobby lobby perhaps)? In what order is the best way to apply it? I plan on stamping the cross in the belt. Applying block out to the stamp. Dye the entire belt. Paint the cross red. Then applying super shene. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Walt

If at all possible, I would suggest taking the time to dye the cross red and dying the belt black around it instead of painting it. The color may fade or change a bit over a long time, but it doesn't run the risk of being scraped off.

That being said, if you would rather go with paint.. test on scrap first. Sometimes paint has a problem holding to dyed leather. Most painting on leather I've ever done has been without dye underneath. A good acrylic is preferred, and I usually thin it out with some water, and apply in light coats with dry time in between. Gives a better overall coverage.

Another thing to consider, is if you're rubbing in the super shene and not using an aerosol, then you can possibly end up wiping the paint right off when you try to seal the belt.

[Jimbob]

New to the site and have found it very informative and easy to navigate. I'm new to leather working and have had a request for a red celtic cross on a black belt. I havn't used paint on leather before. Will any acrylic paint work (something from hobby lobby perhaps)? In what order is the best way to apply it? I plan on stamping the cross in the belt. Applying block out to the stamp. Dye the entire belt. Paint the cross red. Then applying super shene. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Walt

Hello

I am using hobby lobby acryl paint, on belts, chopper seats and more...make sure u paint on damp unfinished clean leather (veg tan only!) Then dye all remaining spaces then apply to the painted area several thin coats of acryl leather coating, there are several out there...that will last for a very long time!!

James

[Toddo]

Beginer here, but I have a suggestion. There are products called liquid mask that you can get at art stores and hobby centers. You would paint the areas you want to block with liquid mask, then dye over the entire thing, then peel off the mask and paint your area that you protected from the dye. I have not as yet tried it but I'm working on a project that I plan on painting with acrylic paint but that I also want to dye the surrounding areas a light tan color.

Some of the liquid mask products are water soluable. And some I've seen are like liquid rubber latex. I'm going to try the kind that you get at an art store. These mask products are made to apply to different substrates including porus water color paper. I figure if this stuff peels completely off of water color paper, which it would have to in order to paint back in that area, then it should work on leather that has deep groves, cuts and pits in it. I plan on putting on two or three layers to get it good and thick so to that it peels up completely. One way to check it afterwards is to take the peeled off piece and put it up to a light to see if there are any holes in it.

If you google liquid mask you will see a ton of stuff on it. I saw one video of the art store liquid mask being used on a painting and then a tutorial of some hobby center liquid mask being used to paint graphics on a plastic model. Both of them look like they would work fine on a leather projects to me.

It seems like liquid mask is the only solution for us people who like to paint on leather. I would deffinitely try it out on a scrap piece of leather first before you go with it. I plan on posting back a pic of my finished project when I'm done with it.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Toddo

[txwalt]

If at all possible, I would suggest taking the time to dye the cross red and dying the belt black around it instead of painting it. The color may fade or change a bit over a long time, but it doesn't run the risk of being scraped off.

That being said, if you would rather go with paint.. test on scrap first. Sometimes paint has a problem holding to dyed leather. Most painting on leather I've ever done has been without dye underneath. A good acrylic is preferred, and I usually thin it out with some water, and apply in light coats with dry time in between. Gives a better overall coverage.

Another thing to consider, is if you're rubbing in the super shene and not using an aerosol, then you can possibly end up wiping the paint right off when you try to seal the belt.

Took your advice and ditched the paint and just used dye. It came out just fine.

Thanks to everyone for the replies

Walt