Paint And Leather, How Long It's Last ?

[Lithops]

Hi everybody,

I been in the horse industry most of my life & I seen latelty a lot of poeple selling horse gear with paint on it. I'm always wondering if the paint can stay pretty for a long time or not. I have some friends that asked me to paint there horse gears and I have to say, I'm not crazy about the idea since I'm not sure how long it's will last and stay beautifull. Is there some paint that are better quality and how long would it last for out-door purpose ? Where to get them if I decide to do it for my friends ?

I belive dye is better....but my friends want colorfull horse gears.....

Thanks for your help

Lithops

[Matt T]

Are you talking about acrylic paint, or dye? For acrylic, it will make a difference if it's an area that needs to flex, or be exposed to wear and tear. I have used Angelus leather paint as an edge paint before, as a test. It's not supposed to be used this way, so the result might differ on a thinner application, but after a while it developed cracks where there was flexing of the edges. This is a paint that is often used to draw artwork onto leather. Meanwhile, edge paints specifically made for edge-work hold up better to flexing and won't develop cracks.

[Lithops]

Thanks it's exactly what I wanted to know.

What about stain/waterstain like eco-flo or any other trade mark ? Is it good for peice of leather that will move and get exposed to sun, rain & dust ? Is it as good than regular dye ?

Thanks again to take time to answer