I have an Avirex A-2 jacket I bought about 16 or 18 years ago. I know an artist who is going to paint a Vargas pin-up on the back for me, but he’s never done a jacket before. I heard that six and a half decades ago guys would paint jackets with any paint they could get their hands on. Then again, I’ve also heard that they used to ‘dry clean’ their jackets with gasoline. Something I’ll have to research, I guess.
Anyway, my artist friend is going to use acrylic paint but he doesn’t know if or how he should prepare the surface. I don’t know what, if any, perservative Avirex put(s) on their leather (steerhide, in this case) jackets. This is not a jacket I wear, so I don’t remember if I’ve ever treated it with mink oil. I’m under the impression that the area to be painted can just be cleaned with rubbing alcohol.
Can anyone tell me how to prepare the leather for painting?
I don’t really know what you’re supposed to do…but I can tell you that I painted my leather jacket with cheap acrylic paints back in 1990 and it still looks pretty much the same after more than 15 years. I think I may have ironed it when I was done–placed a towel over it after it dried and used an iron on it. I know I did that when I painted my denim, but I don’t know why: just that my high school art teacher told me to, and I believed her. Something about making the paint not run when it gets wet with rain I believe. (I’ve worn both jackets in the rain many many times with no damage to the paint)
I’ve painted a few leather jackets. I used fabric paint because it has good flexibility and will move and stretch with the leather without cracking. You’ll have to apply 2-3 coats with some colours as they will appear translucent.
Before painting I just wiped down the area to be painted with a damp cloth and some mild soap and let dry, then laid the jacket out flat onto a wooden board to have a good solid surface.
Latest one I did was about 5 years ago and still looks pretty good - no fading or cracking.
Come to think of it, I put a simple stencil in white acrylic under the collar of a G-1 jacket back in the '80s. I don’t remember, but I think I did not clean the area first. I just checked it, and the paint hasn’t cracked or anything. Not a high-wear area, of course.
I know I didn’t treat the jacket before painting it. I probably cleaned it by wiping it down with a paper towel or something to make sure there were no big globs of dirt, but that would be about it.
This guy seems to treat his jackets a bit special with regards to painting. He seems to be painting for guys that wear them in and out of the cockpit, so he might know what he’s talking about.
That’s about all I could find, but there were pointers (unable to find details in them though) on other searches to this being a common event in the “goth” community. I don’t know if you know any goths (I don’t, and I’m not really looking for any), but that might be an avenue to investigate.
Thanks for the link. I’ve sent the information to my friend.
No doubt the guy’s jacket art will last forever. But do I need it? It’s basically ‘for the collection’, and I won’t be wearing it much. (Let’s face it, a Vargas pin-up isn’t going to fly given today’s sensibilities.) batsto did no prep on the leather, and his painting has lasted 15 years. AFG’s painting is going strong after five years. My unprepped stencil is as good as new after almost 20 years. I doubt Avirex prepped the leather on my Patroille de France jacket, and I can tell that they didn’t use a white undercoat on the parts that are actually painted on the jacket (as opposed to the painted leather ‘patch’ that is also on the jacket).
Anyway, I’ve given my friend the information. He can make his own decision, as he’s the artist. I wouldn’t want to insist that he remove the dye under the painted areas, since he’s charging me one-tenth what that guy charges. But if he wants to, then so much the better.
Thanks for the answers so far. I’ll keep sending him your recommendations as they are posted.
