Painting fine details? Help!

[Willb2862]

 I referenced in and earlier post about 2 belts im making for my children. As children tend to do,  they want what they want, irrespective of Dad's ability (or inability) to preform the required tasks to make the thing! Both belts have stamping they want colored. One has butterflies and flower, one snowflakes. I have acrylic leather paint and tried very fine brushes on a scrap piece,  it didnt go well. How would you tackle this? Could I use a solid "brush", like a rounded awl? The problem was, no matter how lightly I pressed, the paint still spilled out of the lines.  I did not thin the paint, fyi. Thanks for any suggestions. 

Will

[garypl]

I use small plastic squeeze bottles with very fine metal tips to paint leather.  You can get very fine detail if you are careful!

Gary

[Willb2862]

Fantastic idea! Thank you

[Scoutmom103]

What a great idea Gary

 

[DJole]

If they would be okay with dye effects, instead of paint, you can use Ultra fine-tip Sharpie permanent markers, which have a very narrow tip about the size of a stitching needle.
They are much smaller than the fine tip markers. They are available in different colors. I've used these markers to write in inscriptions, and they work well. 
 

Edited November 11, 2018 by DJole

[garypl]

I have only used gold gel,pens to highlight letters - worked well.

Gary

[canonitr]

i used gold/silver pigment inks by uni ball pens (UM100) ..about 0.8mm tips

it's hard to clean off with DNA or IPA .. but it seems that Columbus Get cleaner (leather cleaner) can remove the pigment inks ..

you could try the other models that uses pigment inks, since you probably need it in other colors.. they probably come in finer tips too 

 

[Willb2862]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I will try out a few this week and see how it goes.  Ill be sure to post some pics of the outcome!

[immiketoo]

If this is the look you're after, this video may help.

 

 

[ABHandmade]

Synthetic brush (orange) No 0 makes it possible to draw very thin lines. You may need to reduce the viscosity of the acrylic paint by adding a very small amount of water.
The use of alcohol dyes generally allows you to make ultrafine lines.

[Willb2862]

First, thanksto all of you who took the time to post suggestions! I tried thefine tip markers anda paint brush tonight. The markers worked great on my scrap/test piece!  Unfortunately,  the color changed drastically when i tried it on the dyed belt. 

I then switched to a 10/0 brush and , as per the suggestion from ABH, reduced the paint. Worked fantastically! Here is a pic of where I'm at so far.  I'll post more pics when the belts are completed. Thank you again to all of the great suggestions! 

[ABHandmade]

Glad to be of help.
Another little tip. When working with acrylic paint, one of the most unpleasant problems is the quick drying of paint on the palette. It is easily solved with a wet palette. I tried to depict it in the picture.

It is necessary to moisten a napkin, but so that it does not ravel out.
Paint on such a palette does not dry out for several hours.
I use a closing palette (like the one in the photo), which I close during breaks in work. It also adds time.

If I need to work the next day, I additionally put the palette in a zip-lock plastic bag for the night.

Edited November 14, 2018 by ABHandmade

[Sheilajeanne]

What a great idea, AB!

This sort of information is what makes it worthwhile hanging out here!  

[ABHandmade]

3 hours ago, Sheilajeanne said:

What a great idea, AB!

This sort of information is what makes it worthwhile hanging out here!  

Thank you, Sheila.
The idea, of course, is not mine. I met the description of the wet palette a few months ago and was able to make sure that it really works.
Before that, I was afraid to work with acrylic paint, because in my first experiments it dried on the palette in just a few minutes

[Willb2862]

AB, thank you! Grabbed the same palette today, and used your method. Paint stayed wet and usable even after 2-3hr break! The belts are turning out great, thank you again!

 

[ABHandmade]

Glad this turned out to be useful for you, @Willb2862.

[JLSleather]

5 hours ago, ABHandmade said:

The idea, of course, is not mine. I met the description of the wet palette a few months ago

That's a cool tip, and it's SO WAY refreshing to hear somebody openly state that he didn't INVENT EVERYTHING that ever existed 

[Tinkerton]

One question I have, is what TYPE of brushes are you using? Different brushes are designed for different types of paint. Are the bristles soft and pliable, or are they stiff and hold their shape? For acrylic paint, you want a stiffer brush to hold up to the thicker paint. Using too soft a brush will make for sloppy lines and poor control.

[Willb2862]

I am using acrylic brushes. Stiff bristles. 

[Willb2862]

I apologize for the delay in getting these posted, been very busy with work. Here are both of the belts completed. I couldn't be happier with the results of the painting, amd im sure the kids will love them! Thank you for all the help!