Get your shine on...

METALLIC PAINTS FROM IDENTITY LEATHERCRAFT..

In this article we take look at the different ways to achieve metallic finishes on your leather projects.

Whether you want to bling up a pair of boots or shoes, add a shimmer to your work, or create painted effects; knowing what the products can do for you will help you decide which will give you the best outcome.

Testing out the different metallic effects on leather

Identity Water based stains – these are in a liquid form and can be used in much the same way as the ordinary stains, perhaps with the exception of the Shimmering Pearl.

There are two ways these can be used:

1) to give an overall colour generally requiring 2 coats (dependent on the leather colour underneath – see our video on stains and dyes).

2) As a ‘wash’ over the top of coloured leathers. This can be very effective and the way I achieve this is to thin the stain down with around 50 percent water and mix well, then simply lightly sponge over areas.

With the Shimmering Pearl because it is pale and with a white medium, the translucent effect is magnified, so more of the underlying colour shows through.

Make any colour metallic - use this under other water-based leather stains or over the top as a wash to give a pearl look

Shimmering Pearl - use over a white leather to get a true pearl.

Make any Stain Colour a Metallic

When used under any of the other colour stains you can turn them into a brighter metallic finish – so if you wanted to get a metallic pink or turquoise use the Shimmering Pearl first then apply the chosen colour stain over the top.

The final effect you get with these products is a more subtle shimmering metallic rather than a glossy gilt.

LEATHER PAINTS.

We have two options from the Cadence paint range – the Hybrid Pearlised and the Dora Metallic.

1) The Pearlised metallic paints again give a more subtle effect – a shimmer and shine, and can work well to add highlights to artwork, for example if you were painting a wolf howling at the moon, adding some silver and the pearl can create some a play of light that will really add to the atmosphere of the piece.

2) The Dora paints have small metallic mica particles in that give texture and bright gilt effects when painted. To get the best results from this use the paint fairly thickly or layer up. To create a gilt texture area, you can dab on rather than paint or spread.

Metallic effects on leather to give bright shine or subtle shimmer

Summary:

Light wash shimmer - use Identity Store Water Based Leather Stain Metallics
Pearlised effect - for a softer satin look use the Cadence Hybrid Metallic Pearlised.
Bright Metallic - use the Dora paints, in two layers for a bright glittery metallic effect
Highlighting texture or tooling - use the Cadence Finger Waxes