steps for finishing

[Ragingstallion]

ok, so I am working on a commission, I have already tooled the design, and am about to place my order for some Angelus paint.

I am wondering what steps to finish this will be, as I am wanting to use some gel antique, and the angelus paint. Do I apply the paint first? do I put the antique on first? anything I should also do in between? I have never painted leather before, only dyed,  so any helpful steps are most welcome.

[DJole]

Angelus leather paint is acrylic, so it should act as a resist to any dye you apply over it. The dye should not affect the paint color --but you should test this, of course, using a scrap piece of the same leather as your project.
If the results are not what you wanted, then  you should do the dye first.
For the project below, I didn't use paint--I used the colored dyes first (that white is actually Fiebeing's notorious white dye, which actually worked well for the weathered, old-fashioned look of this project.) The eyebrows and mouth were done with a fine point black Sharpie marker. 
Then I carefully applied Fiebing's Resolene over the dyed areas (white, red, black and other), let it dry, then used antique black for the rest of the wallet. The antique wiped clean from the resist-covered dyed areas. 
<http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Samurai Wallet/SamuraiWallet.htm>

I used white acrylic paint in another project: <http://djole.altervista.org/djole/Publications/Leather/Pouch/CometPouch-1.htm>. But I didn't use antiquing. 

I think the antique dye should be first, then the paint (since that will cover any dyed areas), then the finish (Resolene or whatever).

[NVLeatherWorx]

If you are using an Antique then you can go with doing the color detail work first (whether using dye or acrylic paints) but you should always add a resist (even if using acrylics) to ensure that there is no unwanted penetration from the Antique.  Once you have your coloring all done, including the Antique, you can seal it with whatever your top coat of choice is.

If you are using dyes as your main coloring then you want to dye all of the leather first and once it is dry you can do all of the color detail work and then seal it once dried.  Dyes will penetrate resists and you will ruin the entire project.

 

[billybopp]

You mentioned using antique gel - if you're referring to Tandy antique gel, be aware it tends to penetrate and at least a little discolor acrylics and resist.  Depending on the look that you want that's not necessarily bad, it will mute the colors - just be aware!  Fiebings antique paste doesn't penetrate paint and resist nearly as much.  I'd suggest using some scrap leather with the paints, dyes and resist that you intend to use and experiment a bit before you go to work on your actual piece.

- Bill

[immiketoo]

I would never use paint AND antique.  In fact, I rarely use antique at all.  However, if you do use antique on paint, you'd be better off with using Fiebing's past antique after a good acrylic resist.