Our regular readers may have noticed that we have been publishing a large amount of content recently based around the Ponca pen range, this is due to the pens seeing a huge spike in the popularity recently leading to more sand more questions being asked about the pens. As more and more people start to import Posca pens from Japan into North America and Europe, we only expect this trend to continue so expect to be publishing more content based around the Posca pen range soon.
One of the more frequently asked questions that we have noticed being asked is how to properly use Posca pens on leather to ensure that you are getting the best possible results. As a steadily increasing number of people have been asking this with each passing month, we have decided to dedicate todays article to using your Posca pens on leather.
Now, before we go any further, we just want to quickly say that this article is for real Posca marker pens, if you are using a Posca pen alternative then their performance may be slightly different to what you can expect from Posca pens. That said though, these tips should hold true for the majority of good paint markers on the market and help you improve your performance.
How To Prepare Leather For Use With Posca Pens!
Preparing your leather surface for use with Posca pens is extremely simple and you can usually just wipe it down with a cloth that has warm water on it. If the leather is overly dirty then you may have to use a little soap to help the water but for the most part, a minute or two wiping down the leather is well worth it and tends to offer a vast improvement to the end result of your artwork.
Failing to wipe your leather surface down to prepare it is a very common mistake that we see made time and time again that is easy to avoid. The majority of leather surfaces, especially leather clothing will build up a layer of dirt or oils secreted from human skin that can cause issues with the paint from the Posca markers actually bonding to your leather.
As you can probably imagine, this leads to the paint quickly peeling off the leather and causing you problems with your artwork. We constantly see people having issues with painting on various surface types both with paint markers and brush based paint having this issue presuming that it is the fault of the paint when in fact, a minute of two spent repairing the surface could have easily avoided the issue.
Do You Need To De-Glaze Your Leather For Use With Posca Pens?
There is no one size fits all answer when it comes to de-glazing your leather to paint on it as some people will need to de-glazed it to remove the factory shine as it can cause issues with your Posca pens bonding to the leather correctly. On the flip side of this though, some leather will not have any glaze or only have a very light glaze removing the need for this step.
Although it is not an exact science, one method to try and get a better idea if you need to de-glaze your leather prior to using your Posca pens on it or not it so look at the reflection of a light in the leather. If the light is bright and has detail then you it is more likely that you will have to de-glaze it, if the light is dull with minimal detail then it is more likely that you wont.
In our opinion, the best option to de-glaze your leather is Angelus leather de-glazer due to it being cheap and very easy to use. Again though, this step is not essential in all cases but if you feel you do need to de-glaze your leather, just follow the instructions on the bottle and you will be ready to move onto the next step in no time.
How To Apply Posca Pens To Leather!
Applying your Posca pens to your leather surface is the easy part and you simply use the paint marker as you would any other pen. If you haven’t used your Posca pens in a while then you may have to try and dab it a few times to get the paint flowing through the nib but other than that, the Posca marker range is very straight forward.
Although it is not essential, one simple step that you are able to make prior to putting the bulk of your artwork onto your leather is to quickly for an outline of your art. Having a general idea on your leather of what you actually want to paint can help to increase the level of detail in your artwork and ensure that your end result looks as best as possible.
Due to many of our readers being brand new to the arts and crafts space, using a simple outline is overlooked on a regular basis but the process usually takes a few minutes to do. If you are only customising leather clothing for a one off occasion then you can usually skip this but if you are looking to customise leather for the long run this this step is well worth the time.
How To Seal Posca Pens On Leather!
Sealing your Posca pens onto your leather is extremely easy and simple with a product like Angelus leather acrylic finisher helping to ensure that your artwork will be able to last you for as long as possible. Although there are a number of different sealing agents for leather that we go over in this article, we feel that the Angelus range is the best options by far.
There are various product within the Angelus range of leather sealants that each have their own application process so always read the label of the specific product you took. The spray based product do tend to be much easier to use though, especially for beginners.
Depending on your specific needs, the Angelus range should offer a product that is perfect for you. This will help to protect your custom Posa pen artwork on your leather from wear and tear, rain, wind, and UV light from the sun helping to keep the colors as brush as possible for as long as possible.
Are Posca Pens Washable On Leather?
You are able to wash Posca pens off leather directly after their application with minimal problems using nothing but a cloth with warm water on it. This allows you to quickly and easily correct mistakes that you may accidentally make during your drawing phase of your artwork and get right back to work.
Once your Posca pen artwork has dried, it becomes considerably more difficult to remove from your leather though, especially without the use of chemicals to help remove the paint. This is why we recommend that our readers take the extra time to create an outline for their artwork prior to starting.
Once you have applied a sealant to your Posca pens on your leather it becomes extremely difficult to remove quickly even if you are using a specialist chemical cleaner to help you. You can reduce the chances of you needing to wash your Posca pen paint off your leather by checking you are happy with your artwork prior to sealing it though.
How To Remove Posca Pens From Leather!
Depending on the stage of your artwork on your leather, there are a number of ways that you are able to remove Posca pen paint from your leather surface. As we touched on above, if the paint from your Posca pens is still dry then you can often just wipe it off with a cloth that has some warm water on it.
If the paint has dried then you will need to use something to assist you and although there are a number of options, No products found. is one of the better options. Try to ensure that it has a strength of at least 92% and put a little on a cloth and then rub it in a circular motion on your Posca pen paint to remove it.
Once the paint from your Posca pens has been removed from the leather surface using something like rubbing alcohol, we would recommend that you go over the area again with some water on a cloth. This is to remove any traces of the alcohol to stop any potential negative effects on your leather while also allowing you to re-use your Posca pens on that area of the leather with out issue too.
Are Posca Pens Permanent On Leather?
When it comes to the permanence of Posca pens on leather, there are a few factors that you have to factor in. The main one being are you working with real leather of faux leather as faux leather can naturally start to peel causing your Posca pen art to come off with it.
If you are using real leather then your custom artwork will tend to last considerably longer, especially if you have used a sealing agent on the artwork to seal it in and protect it as best you can. If you have used a good sealant such as Angelus leather acrylic finisher then your artwork can potentially last you decades without issue.
If you have used a low-quality sealing agent then your artwork may start to fade or have issued after a few years. If you have used no sealing agent at all then wear and tear will start to take its toll in a matter of months but we go into this in more detail in our article on the perminance of Posca pens.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how to use Posca pens on leather to an end. We hope that you have found the article helpful as Posca pens are an excellent option to customise leather surfaces and they really are an excellent product. In our opinion, they are the best paint marker pen on the market right now with very few competing markers even coming close to them.
