leather paints and dyes

[bunn]

Does anyone out there know about colouring or painting leather?

I have what was once a blue collar with gold bits but is now faded, and a black collar that I'd like to decorate in silver. I am wondering if it's possible to dye the blue one back to a truer blue, and what sort of paint would be most durable to create a pattern on a thick leather surface. Any tips or links would be appreciated!

Comments

[chainmailmaiden]

I've dyed several pairs of leather shoes with leather shoe dye and it's always worked quite well. You tend to have to use several coats though, otherwise it can look patchy. The other problem is the colour can rub off on your skin for a while, so you may end up with a multicoloured Mollydog :-)

I tried using a fabric glitter glue pen one time to decorate some shoes, unfortunately the leather surface was too shiny and so the pattern just fell off when I wore them. You might be able to get something that would work in a haberdashery store, but I'm not sure whether you'd have any good ones near you. If you get stuck the following link is from a website I've used for sourcing craft supplies in the past.

http://www.craft-fair.co.uk/suppliers.cfm?SubCatno=190