Start painting

Now. This was a tricky one. What type of paint to use? Looking at other people's comments on the web, it seemed different types of paint were preferred.

There are special leather paints you can use (make sure there not dyes). Others opted for enamel paints and some for oil paint. However I was with the water based acrylic party. Firstly, because my son has a set. Secondly, because the colours stay bright. But mainly because they are cheaper, don't smell and more importantly, are flexible and less prone to cracking.

There probably are some drawbacks with acrylics. I don't know what would happen if you had your jacket cleaned. But how often do you send your jacket off for cleaning?

It's possible the paint could soften if left in damp conditions for some time.
I've been out in some serious rain fall and nothing has happened to the artwork.

If I was going to wear the jacket all the time, then i might think about the leather paints.

Anyway. Back to the jacket.

First, the type was painted on, along with the bombs (to show missions flown). I put twenty five on, as this was the amount of combat missions bomber crews were required to fly over Europe. It went up to thirty later. it also suited the shape of the image and gave a better balance.

Two coats were applied to the type and the drop shadow (in red).

I noticed that the less coats applied, the more worn/older it looked. Of course the less paint you apply, the quicker it will wear off with constant use.

You can see the outline from the chalk trace on one of the images.

Oh. One thing to be wary of is the grain of the leather. I found that if the paint was too thin if sometimes ran into the grain. I just cleaned it away with a cotton bud. You can see how the grain affects the paint in the detail image.