i have a pair of leather boots that i want to hand paint. What kind of paint should I use?

Question

I do plan to wear these boots. So, I should be able to clean it without the painting coming off.

Answer 1

If you are careful with them, you can use fabric paint or acrylic paint with a mix-in compound to make it a fabric paint. You would be best off applying a clear acrylic over just the painted part to make it more durable.

I just actually looked this up, because I have not done it before. the article I looked at agreed with the acrylic paint, but cautioned against using it on items that must move or bend a lot. I found this true of some other surfaces I have painted on with acrylic. Oil paint is more expensive, and has a much longer drying time, but clings to a surface like leather much better, due to the nature of the oils in the surface.

Get some pieces of scrap leather, and try a small painting of both acrylic with the fabric compound, and oil, and test it. My guess is you will have better results with the oil but I do not know for sure.

Painting and dying leather are two different things, dyes work into the leather itself but paint remains on the surface. The trick is finding a paint that binds well to the leather.

Answer 2

Try Tandy you can call their customer service number and see if there leather paints would be good for your project
http://www.tandyleather.com/products.asp?dept=175

Answer 3

I'M PRETTY SURE IF YOU CAN FIND SOMEPLACE WHERE THEY CARRY LEATHER CRAFTING STUFF, THERE ARE DYES MADE ESPECIALLY FOR LEATHER