One of the most helpful tips I picked up from the community is that there IS a paint that will stretch enough to be useable to paint shoes and that paint is Angelus Leather Paint. Guys, this stuff is magical! I purchase mine from Turtle Feathers because they are very quick in shipping and are very competitively priced. I used Angelus on my Vivi costume and my Kiyone costume and so far both pairs of shoes are still in excellent condition with no cracks in the paint.
When I was working on my Mami costume though, I was afraid that I had waited too long to purchase the paint I needed to complete my boots in time so I went off to research if there was another brand of leather paint I could purchase locally. I discovered Tandy Leather caries its own brand of Leather paint, Cova Color. I decided to give it a try, and I can safely say Cova Color is not like Angelus and you should not use it to paint of faux leather.
My Review of Leather Paint:
Both of the products describe themselves as Acrylic Leather Paints. Angelus brushes on smooth and can stretch a fair amount but Cova Color comes out lumpy and cracks after just one wear. I’m not sure if the lumpy texture of the Cova Color could be because I was using a metallic. I haven’t attempted to use a non metallic since my first experience. While it only takes 3-4 coats of Angelus to cover evenly I had to do upwards of 10 coats just to get the Cova Color to look somewhat smooth. I was painting a dark pair of shoes a light color, so I expected to need several coats, but the splotchy nature of the paint made the coats uneven and I believe that contributed to needing more.
I ended up repainting my Mami boots with Angelus but the damage was done and they are still showing some cracks. Luckily the are very small and not noticeable unless you are a foot away from my boot…and why would anyone be that close to my foot? For anyone out there looking to paint a pair of faux leather (or real leather) shoes, stick to Angelus!