How Do I Use Acrylic On Oily Leather?

[Rolox]

I've had good results using acrylic on veg tanned leather, but now I have a project that requires applying acrylic on oily leather.

Is that possible?

Do I need to treat the leather in any way before applying acrylic?

Thanks in advance,

RG

[Northmount]

I've seen comments about using deglazer, or toluene or other solvent to remove the surface oil before gluing, so suspect that it would help with application of an acrylic finish. Looks like time for some test swatches to see what works and how it stands up to lots of flexing, etc. before you try the real project.

Tom

[Rolox]

Good point, I'll try and see how it does.

Thanks,

R

[Jimdad]

I have used 400 to 600 grit sand paper for similar purposes, starting with a very light brushing first then heavier if needed. This will partly depend on the specific properties of your acrylic, but they're usually thick enough to benefit in their adhesion from the light scuffing and still make smooth any marks made by such a fine grit. As always, scrap tests first.

Edit: the paper I prefer is the (more expensive) wetordry/wet-or-dry. It seems to produce much more consistent results in any application I have used it.

Edited July 13, 2015 by Jimdad

[Rolox]

Thanks Jimdad, I'll give it a try.

R