Looking For Advice On Finishing A Piece

[treybecca]

We are relative newbies and looking to reproduce this beautiful piece and need advice on how to finish it. What type of dye would you suggest? How would you suggest getting the antiqued look with the darker low lights? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Ellen]

We are relative newbies and looking to reproduce this beautiful piece and need advice on how to finish it. What type of dye would you suggest? How would you suggest getting the antiqued look with the darker low lights? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

If it should be of light gray color, as on picture, then there is a problem: uncommon color. Read about coloring leather white, I personally didn't do that, or try dilution of the black spirit dye, or diluted acrylic leather dye and see what will work better.

For antiquing and highlighting commonly are used antiquing paste (Fiebing's, wax-like), antiquing stain (either oil- or acrylic-based), but all I have seen and tried are too dark for this.

Try acrylic artistic paint in most flexible medium? Really a problem.

[TwinOaks]

Not a problem.

The easy way to do it is to carve and tool the piece, then antique/highlight as normal. Then apply a wash (very thin mix) of white acrylic paint one thin layer at a time with either a dry brush method or block dying method. For the block dyeing method, you are essentially silk screening over a piece so that only the non-tooled/ non-compressed areas get touched by the color. Be sure to clean the leather very well before application, and the acrylic should stick. The use of acrylics on leather should be done on pieces that will receive only limited flexion. Seal with an acrylic sealer like Resolene, and you may find a sprayed application easiest for good coverage with little chance of wiping off the wash.