Painting leather is a great way to add your unique touch to an item with a leather surface such as a bag, shoe, or even a piece of furniture. Even if you don’t really have much artistic skill, you can create beautiful abstract or geometric patterns with just a paintbrush and some inexpensive paints.
What is the best paint for leather? You can use acrylic paint, metallic paint, pearlescent paint, and a specialized dye for painting and coloring leather. Leather dyes are more durable than leather paints because they seep into the leather for a longer lasting results.
Paints are usually more colorful and are more versatile. Paint is the best choice for artistic purposes like adding an intricate design, and dye is the best choice for changing the overall color of the leather.
We’ve put together this guide to help you find the best products that will suit your needs. Before we get to our top 5 picks for the best leather paints, let’s learn a little more about the different types of leather paint and their uses.
4 Types of Leather Paint
Leather paint is a broad term that refers to the different types of paints and dyes that are primarily used for coloring, fixing, and decorating leather materials.
The different types of leather paints include acrylic, metallic, and pearlescent paints as well as leather dyes. These all have unique characteristics and uses.
1. Acrylic Leather Paints
Acrylic leather paints are water-solvent paints which are made by dissolving pigments through acrylic polymer emulsion.
They are widely used for painting different leather items including fashion accessories such as leather purses, jackets, belts, and boots.
Acrylic paints can easily be mixed with other colors. They can be washed away quickly and reapplied during painting. This makes them ideal for experimenting with different customization techniques and patterns.
Once dry, they’re water resistant.
2. Metallic Leather Paints
Metallic leather paints deliver a glossy, metallic-looking finish. They’re made from metal flakes and utilize a top-coating of acrylic polyurethane to achieve the glossy look.
These paints are commonly used in automobiles along with vinyl paint. They produce a glazed look with durable colors.
3. Pearlescent Leather Paints
This type of paint is made from tiny specks of ceramic called mica.
Just like metallic leather paints, pearlescent leather paints are also used for painting the interior parts of automobiles such as the leather dashboard, seat cover, and steering wheel cover.
However, they provide a more versatile sheen than their metallic counterparts.
4. Leather Dyes
Leather dyes are generally more durable than leather paints. They seep into the material they’re applied on and, as a result, are less vulnerable to fading, cracking, stains, dust, and scratches.
Thus, they’re used for more heavy-duty paint jobs and for complete makeovers of leather items.
On the minus side, leather dyes offer a restricted color range and lower vibrancy compared to leather paints. They’re also not ideal for more intricate colorings and designs that require a higher level of precision.
The Best 5 Paints For Leather
When shopping for a leather paint product, you’re likely looking for something that is high quality, versatile, non-toxic, and available in different colors. We reviewed the options available today and these are our top 5 picks.
| Rank | Brand of Paint | Type of Paint |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Angelus Leather Paint | Non-toxic acrylic leather paint |
| 2. | Jacquard Lumiere Exciter Pack | Metallic leather paint |
| 3. | Kaps Super Color Dye Paint | Alcohol-based leather dye |
| 4. | U.S. Art Supply Leather Paint | Acrylic resin leather paint |
| 5. | Fiebing's Leather Paint | Water-based acrylic leather paint |
1. Angelus Leather Paint
The Angelus Leather Paint Set of 12 product is certainly one of the best leather paint products you can find today.
Its manufacturer, Angelus, has been manufacturing leather related products such as leather paint, polishes, and protective sprays for over a century.
This product contains 12 tightly sealed bottles of paint. Each jar holds an ounce of a different color of acrylic paint.
The colors include red, blue, yellow, orange, purple, green, lilac, turquoise, pink, purple, black, and white.
Thus, the Angelus Leather Paint Set of 12 kit contains all the elements you’ll need to create whatever unique designs you want.
The jars are clearly labeled to enable you to identify the paints correctly. The paint contained in those jars are made from non-toxic substances, which is great.
You can mix the different colors with each other or apply multiple layers of different colors until you get the shade you want. The paint can be cleaned easily and reapplied if necessary.
The Angelus Leather Paint Set of 12 is great for customizing leather items such as shoes, jackets, and bags. You can use it to hide scratches and scuff marks on these items as well.
The product comes in at an affordable price for the quality you get.
2. Jacquard Lumiere Exciter Pack
The Jacquard Lumiere Exciter Pack is another excellent product you should check out if you’re looking for a great leather paint.
The pack comes with 9 bottles of metallic leather paint which contains half an ounce of paint each.
When it comes to colors, you get halo pink gold, halo blue gold, halo violet gold, and sunset gold. You also get pearlescent turquoise, pearlescent green, pearlescent magenta, russet, and pewter.
The bottles are tightly sealed to prevent damage.
These metallic paints feature a clear coating of acrylic polyurethane, which gives them their glossy look. They can be applied on other surfaces besides leather including wood, cotton, polymer clay, and paper. You can apply the Jacquard Lumiere pack using a rubbing sponge, a paint brush, or an air brush.
The Jacquard Lumiere Exciter product conforms to the ASTM D4236 standard and doesn’t contain any dangerous elements.
The paints work well on darker surfaces and are great for getting started with painting leather.
3. Kaps Super Color Dye Paint Set
If you would like to try out a leather dye, the Kaps Super Color Dye product is one of the first options you should look at.
This product features an alcohol-based leather dye which you can use on your leather bags, shoes, and other accessories.
The dye is great for covering up defects such as scratches and abrasions on leather surfaces.
The Kaps Super Color dye can be used to permanently recolor leather accessories. Each product features 1 jar containing 25 milliliters of dye of a particular color.
The product is available in a total of 70 different colors – everything from dark lilac and beige to turquoise and chocolate. The kit comes with an application sponge and paint brush.
The Kaps Super Color dye product is manufactured in Europe by the Kaps company, which has a lot of experience with leather care products. It comes in at a really affordable price and has a lot of positive customer reviews.
If you’re looking for a leather dye that will offer higher durability and longevity compared to regular leather paint, the Kaps Super Color Dye is an excellent product to consider.
4. U.S. Art Supply Acrylic Airbrush, Leather & Shoe Paint Set
Next up, we have the U.S. Art Supply 12 Color Acrylic Airbrush, Leather and Shoe Paint Set.
As you can see from the product’s name, you’re not just getting some leather paint when you purchase this, but a complete kit that’ll help you get started with your design craft.
The U.S. Art Supply Leather Paint Set comes with 12 bottles of acrylic leather paint. Each 1-ounce bottle contains a different color of paint.
The available colors include Pure Pink, Bright Yellow, Bright Red, Deep Purple, Orange, Coffee Brown, Hot Pink, Sapphire Blue, Flesh, Deep Black, Grass Green, and White.
Also included in the package is an airbrush reducer and extender base, as well as one airbrush cleaner. If you prefer to paint using an airbrush, then the U.S. Art Supply set has got you covered. The paints are made from high-quality acrylic resin and they meet the ASTM D-4236 safety requirements.
The U.S. Art Supply Leather Paint Set is available in three different configurations:
- Pearlized colors set
- Primary colors set
- Transparent colors set
You can use the paints on a wide variety of surfaces including plastic, wood, and even metal.
If you’re looking for a complete leather painting kit to help you get started with creating beautiful artwork, the U.S. Art Supply Set is an excellent choice.
5. Fiebing’s Acrylic Leather Paint
Fiebing’s Acrylic Leather Paint is another great leather paint product to consider. It features a properly sealed bottle containing 2 ounces of water-based acrylic leather paint.
The paint is available in 11 colors including blue, dark brown, red, turquoise, orange, and yellow.
Fiebing’s Acrylic Leather paint is excellent for painting leather surfaces as it dries quickly, and can last for a long time without peeling or breaking.
It produces smooth leather surfaces and is water resistant when dry. You can dissolve the colors in water to thin them before applying them to your leather surface.
The Fiebing’s Acrylic Leather Paint product comes in at a really affordable price. It has a good amount of positive reviews and recommendations from satisfied customers and is a high quality, affordable option that would suit your needs.
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