How To Paint Leather

[bcflyguy]

Newbie here. Once a piece has been carved and tooled how do you paint and protect the leather afterwards. This piece will live outdoors on my saddlebags

thanks bcflyguy aka Neil

[lydian8]

I'm pretty new as well, but I think what you are looking for is a 2 step process.

First, you'll want to dye your project. There are a ton of dyes out there. I use Ecoflo because I have a Tandy store close by. They have a bunch of colors and it's pretty easy to work with. You might want to wear disposable gloves as the first time I worked with dye, it was red and I had bare hands. The dye doesnt come off for several days and it looked liked I killed the cow I dyed.

Once that is dry. You'll need a finish. If this is going to be outside, you'll want something that is considered waterproof. I haven't made something that's going to be in the rain, but I know Fiebing's Acrylic Resolene is pretty good stuff and dries to a semi glossy look. I know there is stuff out there for weather-proofing shoes, but I don't know the name. That might work better for you.

I'm sure some other people will jump on as help you as well with ideas today, but this should get you started in a good direction.

Lenore

[lydian8]

I was just poking around and found some good information on this thread http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=19583.

Sorry, don't know how to hyperlink that. I'd look around in there and the forum that thread came from.

If no one else answers you, you might want to repost the topic as "How to finish leather". There are people that use paints on leather to paint pictures, but EVERYBODY wants to finish their projects.

Lenore

[Wild Bill46]

Hi, Flyguy and hi also to Lenore

As a topcoat several options are available.

As Lenore says, Resoline is very good but, most use it cut 50/50 with water !

Now is when I use it, full strength As a topcoat.

------------ Or ---------------------

SuperSheen is prefered by many.

I have used it in spray form, but it only leaves a semi gloss

Saddlelac also in spray form, is what I now use, and leaves a more shinny coat.

All of these are Fiebings products and available at Tandy

----------- Or --------------------

I read that some prefer Mop and Glow cut 50% with water

still others use a mixture of Beeswax, Turpentine, Glycerene heated together before hand. makes water tight I guess ?

I hope this might help you find your direction. ----------------------- Wild Bill46

[lightingale]

Just wanted to add that you might want to consider using dye instead of paint.

Dye penetrates the leather and is much harder to rub off, whereas paint can rub or flake off with a lot of wear, even with a good finish. If you're making this for a client, people can sometimes be very rough with their product and have the expectation that the paints will last without any TLC.

For this reason, I try to use dye whenever possible. As a caveat, I make dog collars, which probably take a lot more abuse than most leather products out there, particularly in a multiple-dog household!