Anyone have any idea on how to weather 'man made' material boots?

[crowe07]

So I purchased some pirate boots off of ebay, described as 'man made material' which I'm assuming means like pleather.

For leather and natural hides, i know that acetone works really well to distress the surface, removing the shine and all that and making the boots look old. But what can be used for a 'man made' material.

I've tried sanding, and it doesn't really do all that much, so before i go to crazy thought I'd try for some advice here.

heres a picture from ebay of what they look like:

Thanks!!!

 

[Capn_Jack_Savvy]

I would say a combination of light sanding (without breaking the surface of the pleather) and acrylic paint. Be sure to apply the acrylic paint on with a drybrush technique. This means to lightly dip a large brush in the acrylic paint, smear it on a practice piece of paper to remove excess, and than lightly stipple it onto the pleather.

Pleather is non-porous so you really have to use paints to achieve a faux weathered look.

Be sure to wash the pleather surface first with mild detergent and warm water. You want to have a clean surface.

Go to Joanns fabrics and buy yourself a small piece of scrap pleather to practice. Better to practice on a scrap material than on your actual prop item.

Nice thing about acrylic paints though is if you don't like the way it looks you can wash it off with warm water and mild detergent.

Use a matte acrylic sealant to seal the acrylic paint onto the pleather. Be sure to apply a light amount so that the acrylic sealant is not dripping or forming droplets on the pleather. Dab away excess if it does form droplets. Allow at least 24 hours to dry.

Hope that helps but here is another helpful link!

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Leather/FakingLeather.htm

 

[Propsjonnyb]

Acryllic paint drybrushed black and then brown will weather pleather effectively , wipe the brush almost clean and use light strokes , you can always repeat the process , experiment with a sample first to see if you are happy with the finish