Rub n buff

[NVLeatherWorx]

2 hours ago, alpha2 said:

Just tried Cova Color for the first time. What an experience...and not in a good way. First coat, pathetic coverage, second, coat, pretty much the same. I had hoped to cover the bare spots with a fresh coat after first dried, nope, same areas with no coverage. Checked in to this thread to see if I'd missed something. Once again, I fell for the "can get it locally" trap. Maybe if I let it dry for TWO days, then try to get it to cover, I'll have better luck. I was hoping to not have to count on luck, though.

Did you use Tandy's Eco-Flo Cova Color?  I found that it is very watery and doesn't cover worth a hill of beans; I have always had good results with the original Cova Color from Fiebing's (I order direct as a distributor of their products).  I have also experimented with the moisture content of the leather when applying Cova and have found that when the leather is still a bit moist (not soaked) I was able to get a more even cover; still had to apply more than one coat but the reaction between dry and damp leather is total opposites.  Give it a try on some damp leather and see what happens.  

Another tip that I have learned over the years of using these acrylic paints is that you can't just shake the bottle to get it all worked up; remember back to the days of grade school when you were doing the fingerpainting projects and that acrylic paint was all lumpy?  You have to stir up the settled layer on the bottom of the bottle and then give it a shake or two; if it is a bit thick just add some water and shake some more until it has a "creamy" look and flow to it.  This stuff can be tricky and also very annoying but the pop of color is hard to match with just regular dyes.

Looking forward to hearing your progress on this.

[cjartist]

3 hours ago, alpha2 said:

I fell for the "can get it locally" trap.

You should be able to buy Golden Acrylics at any art supply store including Michaels.  I would get their fluid acrylic to use on the leather.

Edited August 13, 2017 by cjartist

[alpha2]

Thanks for the tips, guys! I did shake the heck out of it, and it seemed pretty "soupy", and the leather was just a bit damp, as I'd heard that tip before. One final coat going on this AM. I'll get to Michael's or the local art store before I try paint again though!

[Northmount]

A Canadian source for Angelus paints is http://www.longviewleather.com/angelus-paints/ Located in Longview, AB, about 30 minutes or so south of Calgary on hwy 22.  They have a web store.

Tom

[aharri64]

I've had tremendous results with Rub 'n Buff. It's waxed based so it's pretty malleable. It's also easy to apply, works on just about everything, is durable, dries quickly, and you can polish it. I haven't done thorough testing so this might be a fun experiment for you. Depending on what color I'm looking for, I will either add a black pro dye base coat or not. If you want to dry brush, it's not that great, but that's what angelus is for. Hope this helps. Sorry I'm 5 years late