Help Painting Stamped Letters

[PappysLeather]

How do you dye over painted letters? Do you need to put something on the paint to protect it? I am working on a belt that I am using Charlie's for two colors and white paint for the third color. The I am dying the built black.

[fredk]

2 hours ago, PappysLeather said:

How do you dye over painted letters? Do you need to put something on the paint to protect it? I am working on a belt that I am using Charlie's for two colors and white paint for the third color. The I am dying the built black.

Dye first then paint the letters. Use 'Mop & Glo' floor polish for a sealant

[RoycesLeather]

Depending on your paint and how much you want it to bond to your leather and the effect you are trying to achieve there are countless ways to go about this. I find that certain colors (like white) of the leather acrylic paints are hard to make solid without a ton of light even coats. So when I am trying to achieve a true solid color affect on a small surface like a letter I use the needle point applicators you can find them at hobby lobby. They allow you to make thin lines evenly and consistent as well as fill in small surface areas evenly. They also don't leave any brush marks so they make a great solid letter color.  I prefer to carve my letters so I don't have the secondary line of a stamp but when you want to fill the secondary border of a stamped letter these applicates will do that very nicely and evenly allowing you to make the border a different color than the letter if you choose. The downfall here is that they take much longer to dry because you are applying such a thick coat at once and I personally feel there is not much absorbing into the leather you are just painting it, but the results of a true solid paint color are unbeatable. 

If you want it to absorb a bit more you can water down you paints to make them more like a dye and brush them on in multiple coats until you reach your desired look.  In my opinion this is more durable but takes longer. Otherwise watering your paints down gives you a great washed out affect that you can then blend and sunburst with. 

Also if you are going to dye your project I would defiantly do that first then paint. Unless you are using an antique then I actually go through my process twice and paint my project then antique then touch up any paint that may have rubbed off. (you can create a cool weathered affect by not touching up your paint much after antiquing over the top though)

Bottom line is don't get stuck on one technique if you have a desired look in your head keep trying different approaches till you find it. I know there are a lot more techniques out there and I have some more that I use but these are a couple of my most common approaches when painting leather. Just my two cents worth use it how you will and have fun!

Royce

[Rahere]

For precision work, I like the fine-pointed almond-shaped Japanese caligraphy brushes.