Best Paints To Use For Seats And Final Finish

[troy]

Have decided to carve my own seat and would like to paint it after wards (in preferance to dying) but considering the battering its gonna get I am wondering what paints are best to use, the usual acylics or something different and what is the best finish to cover it with to help with weather and my back side etc.

cheers for any pointers

Paul

[Sanch]

You may want to re think this if you're gonna ride I don't trust acrylics although I have had good luck with ETAC brand of airbrush.paint.

[GoldenKnight]

As a general rule, the dyes penetrate the leather vs. paints that stick to the surface of the leather.

If you are going to take the time and attention to detail to paint portions or parts of the seat, then why not simply do that with the colored leather dye? You will be investing just as much precision into the coloring process & you want it to last.

Just my $0.02

[Sanch]

As a general rule, the dyes penetrate the leather vs. paints that stick to the surface of the leather.

If you are going to take the time and attention to detail to paint portions or parts of the seat, then why not simply do that with the colored leather dye? You will be investing just as much precision into the coloring process & you want it to last.

Just my $0.02

what you said! any way the ETAC paints im talking about are heat set and water based but they would need a lac top coat ....see attached....

[Art]

E'TAC has good product for TNT (Teeshirts and Tagging). You might also want to explore urethane paint which is solvent based and a lot more durable for things like auto and bike apps. I use Xotic out of Minneapolis, but there are other brands.

But first, look into stains. Look at some of Peter Main's work, he has proven there is no need for paint.

Art

[troy]

after careful and deep thinking about this, I have come to the conclusion that if I am gonna go to all the trouble of making a fantastic carving, braiding the works then I'm better off letting someone else do it - no perhaps not, I feel alot of testing dyes on skraps of leather coming on - oh well here we go into another different venture.

cheers

[OdinUK]

Please can someone advise how to heatset on leather without damaging the leather. I was considering using a hot air gun but but Ive not tried it yet. I have some acrylic paint for textiles and leather and for textiles I hear that folk use an iron to heatset the paint. Thanks.

[Spinner]

Please can someone advise how to heatset on leather without damaging the leather. I was considering using a hot air gun but but Ive not tried it yet. I have some acrylic paint for textiles and leather and for textiles I hear that folk use an iron to heatset the paint. Thanks.

A hairdryer with a high heat setting will work with most and an automotive heat gun will definitely work but as you mentioned, you have to be careful not to burn the leather. Another trick is to lay a light thickness towel over the piece and iron over the towel. This keeps the iron off the leather but provides enough heat to heat set the paints. Experiment on scrap first to find the right setting for your area.

[David]

Here's my two cents also. It doesn't matter what brand of paint you use, what top coat you put on or what you use to set the paint. Eventually it is going to end up on the seat of someone's jeans.

Dave Theobald

[Art]

You can airbrush or hairbrush stain and get a little longer life, but even that is not long for the world if you really ride. My old pan was like sitting on a sander, the evo is a lot better. If it's for a show bike, there won't be a lot of wear, but for a go bike, everything wears out. Ain't it Grand!

Art