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If a leather sofa , armchair , ottoman , or other hide - covered piece of furniture is likely on its last leg , do n’t kick it to the curb just yet ! you’re able to check how to paint leather and furbish up its original luster .

Acrylic paints specially formulated to seep into and touch the surface of leather ( such as those made byAngelus ) have been around for more than a century ( view instance on Amazon ) . They are readily usable online and in craft store and give up you to restore the original shade or try a whole novel chromaticity — for well under the cost of switch .

Painted Leather in Different Colors

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Before you begin your nextfurniture makeover , get all of the guidance you demand   for leather house painting below .

Before You Begin

Leather requires measured open preparation and diligence technique to farm a picture - perfect close . To be successful , you ’ll also demand to distinguish whether your piece is made ofaniline(unfinished)orprotected(finished)leather .

picture protected leather require you to absent its shiny , unclouded finishing first . That being the case , our education first detail how to determine the type of leather coating you ’re dealing with , and the instructions then vary establish on the type of stopping point you ’ve determined yours to be .

Tools & Materials

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Step 1

Place the leather furniture over a tarp or drop material on the floor of a well - ventilate room or open service department .

Step 2

In a bucket , aggregate one teaspoon of limpid dish soap with four cup of distilled warm water .

Wet a soft cloth in the soap solution , rack it out until damp but not dripping , and then wipe down the integral leather surface to remove dirt and debris .

Make a 2nd liberty chit with clean cloths dampened with only distilled quick water to remove the soap resolution . have the leather air - wry completely for about half an hour aftercleaning .

Leather finish water droplet test

Photo: gettyimages.com

Step 3

Splash a few drop of water anywhere on the leather to watch if it ’s aniline or protected .

Step 4

wear a dust masque and rubber gloves , stream a scant amount of rubbing inebriant onto a gentle cloth and softly scrub the leather area of the furniture to off the protective finish along with any grease stains . get the furniture zephyr - dry whole for about half an hour .

Step 5

do the piss droplet mental test from Step 3 again . If the water pawn into the leather within a matter of second , you have successfully dismantle the protective coating .

If the urine still pools on the surface , pass over it with a juiceless cloth and then sand the leather with one gentle pass of ok - grit emery paper . Then execute the water droplet test once again to control that the protective covering has been stripped . If so , wipe down the leather with a ironical microfiber material to remove any sanding dust . ( If not , continue gently sandpaper and testing until urine no longer beads on the cloth . )

Step 6

Protect non - leather areas ( such as wood or metal feet ) by comprehend with painter ’s tape . If the piece has large non - leather areas ( such as a wooden base ) and the leather element can easily be detach , take it aside . take out the fasteners that connect theleathercomponent ( practice pliers to remove credit card snaps , a screwdriver for piece of tail , or a wrench for bolt ) , then extract the leather component off with your hired man . Put only the leather components on the tarp , and set the other piece safely aside .

Step 7

To help the rouge adhere well to the leather , mix up a primer   of equal share acrylic pigment ( one that ’s formulated for leather ) and plain water in a plastic pail . immingle with a stir stick , then rain cats and dogs into a pigment tray .

Wet one side of a foam paintbrush with primer and apply a single , thin coat to the leather using long , even stroke . Cover the entire surface , include any seams . Let the fuse coating air - dry for one to two 60 minutes .

Step 8

Pour undiluted acrylate resin paint into a clean paint tray . Wet one side of a clean foam brush and then paint leather with foresighted , even strokes .   Make   sure to cover the entire surface , include seams , in a thin pelage .

Step 9

to prevent acrylic paint from crack as it dries over the lifelike sheepcote of the leather surface , use both your hands to pull the painted aerofoil taut a few times during the drying phase and keep it smooth . Let the first pelage airwave - dry for one to two hour , then follow with one or more additional coats of undiluted acrylic resin paint until desired opacity is achieve , making indisputable to pull in as it dry to keep cracking . allow the leather air - teetotal for six time of day after hold the last pelage of paint .

Step 10

Maintain the flawless finish of the painted leather by sealing it with one thin coating of matte or glossy acrylic finisher , applied in farseeing , even strokes to the entire control surface using a foam paintbrush . Let the leather dry for at least 24 hours before removing the panther ’s tape measure and re - attach the leather components to the article of furniture if you ’d take it apart . model and enjoy !

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Applying acrylic paint to leather

Photo: gettyimages.com

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