6 Easy Steps For Painting Leather Furniture
If the user wants to paint the leather furniture then it is possible, but it is a little bit trickier than painting common upholstery or other items using simple fabric paint. For painting the leather furniture, the user needs specific kinds of acrylic paint and certain other preparations that must be done before beginning to paint the leather furniture. The steps for painting leather furniture are mentioned below:
- Clean Up: The first step in painting the leather furniture is to clean the leather. Here the cleaning does not only mean to wipe away dust as well as debris that can get in the way of painting and working, but the user needs to apply bleach to a large furniture item. Remove anything from the furniture that user doesn’t want to be harmed from the bleach.
- Bleach The Leather: Before going for the bleaching put on the protective clothing like gloves, safety goggles, as well as a mask or respirator. To make a cleanser mix some leather bleach with water. After the mixture is ready, use a soft-bristled brush to scrub away the leather with the mixture. It's important to make sure that every nook and cranny is properly cleaned. Once finished, dry the leather furniture using a hand towel or clean rag.
- Take The Shine Off: The suede leather is known to hold the paint relatively well. However, the smoother and shinier types of leather are covered with the layers of surface oils, wax, as well as other protective coatings. These have to be removed so that the paint will adhere to the leather strongly. In order to do that apply some rubbing alcohol to a washcloth and scrub thoroughly the area of leather which will be painted. This will help to remove away the majority of the protective layers from the leather.
- Sanding: After the above step is done, then take sandpaper and start gently sanding the leather as this will help to make sure all of the protection is removed.
- Prime The Leather: Once the leather is fully ready to accept the paint, now the user needs to prime the material with the help of a solution that is made up of one part acrylic paint and one part water. Basically, this is a base coat of paint, so that the later coat of paint can adhere to strongly. If in case, the leather surface is small, that time use a wool dauber to apply the solution to the leather and for quite large surfaces, such as a leather sofa, use a flat paintbrush and start applying the solution in the long, even strokes. After one layer of this, then flex the material to make sure the paint will not crack when drying. After flexing, apply another layer, so that the solution is absorbed into the fabric beforehand. If in case it is not absorbed then add more water. Continue the flexing and testing the leather material.
- Apply Paint: For painting process, apply a thin layer of undiluted acrylic paint on the entire surface. But before this, the user needs to make sure to flex as well as stretch the leather, so that the paint doesn't crack during the drying process. Then, apply many coats as needed, the thin coats last longer than one thick coat.