So I wanted to take the time, to share with those that are interested some of the most essential supplies that I use for my Leather Art. Taking the time to review some of them & also answer a questions that I had in regards to some of the products to which I could not find a satisfactory answer online, but had to experiment around to find out for myself.
So at the very top of the List I will start with those supplies that I have from the “Angelus” Brand.
Angelus Paints
These are hands down my favorite products, so far, especially their paints (their neon line is a true joy to play around with).
In regards to the paints themselves they are of high-quality & look beautiful on the leather, they have allowed me to literally change the color of certain leathers that I had & if you apply it evenly in several thin layers, it will look beautifully homogenous while still revealing the texture & grain of the leather, which I was very surprised about.
You should of course prep your leather beforehand by making sure to remove any varnish etc that might have been applied to it, they have a special product for that which is for the most part Acetone at least from my researching the product, I have not tried that yet, but I’ve used pure alcohol which also works without issue it seems, cleans the surface of any oils, varnish etc. At least I’ve not yet run into a piece of leather where the alcohol did not work.
Angelus Acrylic Finisher
Once one is done painting, they offer 2 different products which you can use as a finisher. The Standard “Finisher” that comes in matte, satin &, high gloss, this offers a light layer of protection to the paint, but more intended for areas which are not exposed to a lot of wear. This one has been very easy to work with, which is why I really enjoy using this one for paintings which I do for example on the inside of my wallets.
Angelus 4-Coat (Heavy Duty Protective Top-Coat)
For the exterior of my wallets & parts that are exposed to a lot of wear, this is what I have been using so far.
This one I have a love-hate relationship with. It is a fantastic product, but application can be quite a pain in the ass & requires some practice with the product to get a feel for. It dries VERY fast, you need to apply an even thin layer across the entire surface you want to seal in & you need to do it fast, very fast. As soon as your brush is dipped into it & hits the leather, it is already drying, you have only a very few brush strokes before it begins to be very sticky & tacky at which point you no longer want to brush over those areas, cover everything fast with a thin even layer, let it dry for 20min then apply your second layer.
If you do everything right, it leaves you with a beautifully finished product that is sealed in very evenly without revealing any brush strokes. I very much enjoy using a mix of Satin & High-Gloss, for example in my Eye paintings, the eyeball itself I love using High-Gloss, but using satin on everything that surrounds it such as the eyelids etc. Creating a beautiful contrast.
This one also comes in Matte, Satin & High Gloss versions.
Question I had to answer on my own.
Can you use “Angelus Leather Paints” as “Leather Edge-Paint"?
Yes & No.
I’ll start with why I say No.
If you have used a real leather edge-paint, then you will know how it behaves, it is able to be applied in thicker layers, it levels any uneveness where the layers of leather meet at the edge & it dries into this beautiful even coat that also gives your edge a slightly rounded polished look if you do not sand it down, at least I very much love that look. You will definitely not get the same effect using Angelus Paints.
Why do I say Yes?
Because while it might not be a true substitute for a leather edge-paint, you could use it to paint your edges, although you will never get the same look, that a proper edge-paint will give you. But if all that you are aiming for is to create a homogenous edge at least in terms of color, you could give it a go. The paint will flex enough to technically be durable, although if you go this route, I would sand down my edges as level as possible, then apply my first layer of paint, once that layer is dried, I would sand it down, since most likely you will now see any uneven areas more pronounced than prior to painting, after sanding apply again then add another layer of paint, repeat until you are satisfied then just seal it in using your Angelus 4-Coat for example.
Other Essential Supplies
From Angelus I’ve used the 2-Thin, which is quite useful to thin down some of the paints for certain use cases, maybe you want to dilute a color & use it as a more transparent layer or thin it down for other purposes, this works great.
Can I use Angelus Leather Paints with Dip-Pen?
I actually got “Angelus 2-Thin” because I wanted to see if I can use it to thin down some of the Leather Paints enough, that I might be able to use them with my dip-pen for future projects where I wanted to try paintin with dip-pen on leather & write some texts in calligraphy on Leather. Also I’d probably prefer doing my black outlines etc using the dip-pen.
I mixed some Paradise Purple with 2-Thin & it works great actually. Bad choice of color, since it is very transparent undiluted, so even more so thinned down, but I was able to write easily with the dip-pen, flowed perfectly.
Bad choice of color, since it is very transparent undiluted, even more so thinned down, but I was able to write easily with the dip-pen, flowed perfectly. I could have diluted it significantly less & it would be even better, since this was almost too liquid.
My first Leather Paints were “Artme” Acrylic Leather Paints which I can not complain about, they are very decent, well pigmented & worked without any issues, they seem a reliable brand. I did some experiments applying those to the edges simultaneously with the Leather Edge-Paint, I’d apply a layer of edge-paint & then lightly touch parts of it with a brush dipped in artme paint, to create a funky colorful acrylic pouring style effect, since the artme acrylic paints tend to “sink” into & below the edge paint, creating cool effects. I used very little since I did not want to ruin the integrity of the edge paint, by having it possibly react in a weird way with the acrylics.
Leather Edge-Paint
Here I have so far only used one Brand namely “Stilz", which I obtain from one of the suppliers that I source some of my Leather from. The actual Edge-Paints are produced by Stilz but branded with the Logo of the Leather Supplier(Cuir en Stock). Here I have been very satisfied, these are up to now my go-to edge paints & edge top-coats. They are super easy to work with, a breeze to apply (I do not use the weird roller/applicator one can buy to apply them, I find they do a lousy job & just seem to waste edge-paint, I just use my saddler-needle to apply it, which has proven to be the easiest, cleanest way to do so)
So with this I leave you all with a few pictures of my finished creations using these products & hope that this article might be helpful for some of you that stumble upon it!
