Leather effect finish

[Gus]

Just trying to get a leather effect finish on a flat moulding (r&h pw203 Obeche) can't get it looking quite right, saw PB doing it perfectly on a course -at the FATG - didn't write up notes and can't remember how it was done.

Can anyone give a heads up as to what to do pls.

Many thanks.

[prospero]

What you need to do is build up a slightly uneven texture using thick paint. Wickes Ripple paint with some powder paint mixed in. This will bulk up the paint a bit and also tint it away from the bright white. Natural leather is brown, so a sort of muted brown is probably favourite, but green or red can be done. Shovel it on the moulding and brush it about/stipple it. When dry, sand it smooth to remove any undesirable lumpy parts.
next paint it with a flat coat of similar colour, but in artist's acrylic paint. When that is dry, a thin wash of Burnt Umber+Black. It's a question then of working it around while wet to get the desired effect. Dab it with a paper towel and observe how it settles. A few dabs of thicker brown here and there might help. Complete the finish with a good wax 'n' buff. A bit of experimentation is the thing.

You won't get a perfect facsimile of leather, more a leather look.

[Gus]

That's great Prospero thanks. I'll have a go this evening.

[Kwik Picture Framing]

In my opinion it's about two things - texture, and time. Trial and error. Perfecting your technique may take a while, so test it out before doing it on your actual product.