Painted Flight Jackets - Planes, Names, and Dames

[Leamas]

Maj. Nick Danger,

I'm looking for a local artist but don't know whether I'll have any luck. You're Memphis Belle pinup is perfect. Does the "I charge $300 btw" mean you're accepting work? If so I'm tempted to hire you!

I tried to PM you but the site wouldn't let me. Too new, maybe?

 

[442RCT]

Ya gotta have 16 posts to PM other members, so start posting

 

[Leamas]

Maybe I should start a thread with one word posts?

Post a pic. of your new Memphis Belle! She may be wearing a black outfit instead of either red or blue, but I'm sure it's really nice regardless. I'm trying to get as accurate as possible only b/c this is probably the only A2 I'm going to buy, at least for some time. If I ever do buy a new one, it will most likely be this one from Goodwear (but I'm not even close to being in the market for another one):

 

[442RCT]

SHANGHAI LIL RIDES AGAIN

This is jacket made by Sefton. When I bought it, it was already painted, I'm not sure if it came from Sefton like that or someone added the paint later, I read somewhere that Sefton sold pre-painted jackets at one time . I did a little research and found the artist used elements from two different airplanes (or he may have copied an original flight jacket). The artist used enamel paint and it's developing a patina, the paint is cracking and crazing nicely. If anyone knows anything about the cartoon pin-up, please let me know. From the hairstyle, she looks like a popular European character from pre-WW2 era.

ps- Trivia. "Shanghai Express" was a movie made in 1932.

Marlene Dietrich's call girl Shanghai Lil is caught up in a web of intrigue in this exotic, train-set adventure

In 1933, a song named 'Shanghai Lil' was written into a musical.

Coincidence alert- Anna May Wong's character in Shanghai Express is named Hui Fei. If you take that name and reverse it to Fei Hu, you get the Chinese name for the "Flying Tigers".

 

[Silver Dollar]

Wow!! That Goodwear jacket is a total knockout. I wouldn't mind having one of those myself but I'm saving up now for a good Irvin BoB jacket. By the time I've lost the requisite weight for the jacket to fit like I want it to, I'll probably have enough money to buy them both.

I love that Shanghai Lil jacket. The painter did a really great job on it. I'm jealous (but in a good way).

 

[442RCT]

Acylic Abuse !

If there are questions about how well acrylic paint on leather holds up, here's the pics from an experiment I was doing to artificially distress-weather a patch I'd painted. VF-223 does exist, but this isn't their patch, it was one I made up when I was practicing painting.

I took several patches and put them in a vibrating rock polisher with rock polishing media and a couple of large rocks. I ran the patches through two 8 hour cycles, after each cycle, the patches were cleaned under running hot water with dish soap and a toothbrush, then left to dry. After the first 16 hours, the acrylic painted patch showed very little in the way of wear. The reddish polishing media tinted it and didn't 'wear' the surface like I expected.

My next step was to replace the polishing media with a mixture of gravel and lava rock. After three hours, the acrylic painted patch finally showed weathering and damage to the surface. So if anyone wants to know, a properly prepped acrylic paint job should hold up to everyday wear, if you are dragged behind a car on a gravel road the acrylic paint will show wear. [huh]

 

[Silver Dollar]

The last patch loooks perfect. The weathering is great there. It looks more realistic than using weathering paints, pastels and washes. BTW, I'm still drooling over that Goodwear jacket, I have just started a diet. By the time, I get to my ideal size, I should have enough saved for that well fitting Irvin.

 

[442RCT]

Lost Opportunity

I'm still kicking myself for thinking too long about that sz 42 Goodwear Werber posted for sale on VLJ. By the time I decided, it was sold. :eusa_doh: I like the Werber collar style. Oh well, another will come up sooner or later, they always do. [huh]

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Why of course,..

Maj. Nick Danger,

I'm looking for a local artist but don't know whether I'll have any luck. You're Memphis Belle pinup is perfect. Does the "I charge $300 btw" mean you're accepting work? If so I'm tempted to hire you!

I tried to PM you but the site wouldn't let me. Too new, maybe?

..I'd be delighted to take the commission. It's a real honor to paint someone's personal A2 jacket. Please do PM me when you have enough posts. (I can't PM you either just yet.)

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

If there are questions about how well acrylic paint on leather holds up, here's the pics from an experiment I was doing to artificially distress-weather a patch I'd painted. VF-223 does exist, but this isn't their patch, it was one I made up when I was practicing painting.

I took several patches and put them in a vibrating rock polisher with rock polishing media and a couple of large rocks. I ran the patches through two 8 hour cycles, after each cycle, the patches were cleaned under running hot water with dish soap and a toothbrush, then left to dry. After the first 16 hours, the acrylic painted patch showed very little in the way of wear. The reddish polishing media tinted it and didn't 'wear' the surface like I expected.

My next step was to replace the polishing media with a mixture of gravel and lava rock. After three hours, the acrylic painted patch finally showed weathering and damage to the surface. So if anyone wants to know, a properly prepped acrylic paint job should hold up to everyday wear, if you are dragged behind a car on a gravel road the acrylic paint will show wear. [huh]

Interesting. In my experience, the hide that one paints on makes the most difference. Lamb skin is right out due to the lanolin present in the hide. I had a devil of a time getting paint to stick to an Avirex lamb I painted a few years back. I prepped, and re-prepped the surface with acetone about 10 or 12 times before the paint adhered properly! Horse needs to be worn I think for a while to let the grain develop. The horsehide jacket I painted developed tiny cracks in the painted surface which corresponded to the tiny folds in the leather which developed over time. Goat seems to be the best surface for painting by far, as the surface is already grainy right from the start.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Major Nick Danger - no longer in Ohio? How did I miss that?
The Major does VERY fine work. I've seen jackets he has done and they're excellent.

Thanks Scott. No longer in Ohio. Moved west, and awfully glad I did.

 

[442RCT]

Interesting. In my experience, the hide that one paints on makes the most difference. Lamb skin is right out due to the lanolin present in the hide. I had a devil of a time getting paint to stick to an Avirex lamb I painted a few years back. I prepped, and re-prepped the surface with acetone about 10 or 12 times before the paint adhered properly! Horse needs to be worn I think for a while to let the grain develop. The horsehide jacket I painted developed tiny cracks in the painted surface which corresponded to the tiny folds in the leather which developed over time. Goat seems to be the best surface for painting by far, as the surface is already grainy right from the start.

I'm painting on a lambskin Avirex right now. The jacket had been dyed green, but the dye has worn off in splotches to almost give the jacket a camo look. I wonder if it's what you said about lamb being paint repellent ? I didn't prep this jacket in any way since the paint didn't bead on the surface.

I'm guessing the patch I sent through the torture test was cowhide. I used to buy leather jackets and purses from thrift stores to cut up and paint patches. I used either acetone or methyl alcohol to de-glaze the surface of the leather. Much later, on the advice of an artist friend, I applied a layer of gesso over the leather to act as a primer. For large paint jobs like jackets, I laid the overlay on the jacket, then de-glazed inside the painted areas, then outlined the subject or lettering. I've never gessoed primed a jacket.
I must confess, when I was painting jackets, I had no clue what kind of leather it was made of...at the time I had no interest in the details...I can say now, my personal jackets were goatskin Coopers, and a cowhide made in Korea Cooper was my first 'project'. As for my client's jacket's, I never bothered to look at the tags, again, I had no interest in different manufacturers and remained blissfully ignorant. An A-2 was an A-2 to me...which wasn't a bad thing, since I didn't know what they cost if I were to screw up a paint job.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I'm painting on a lambskin Avirex right now. The jacket had been dyed green, but the dye has worn off in splotches to almost give the jacket a camo look. I wonder if it's what you said about lamb being paint repellent ? I didn't prep this jacket in any way since the paint didn't bead on the surface.

I'm guessing the patch I sent through the torture test was cowhide. I used to buy leather jackets and purses from thrift stores to cut up and paint patches. I used either acetone or methyl alcohol to de-glaze the surface of the leather. Much later, on the advice of an artist friend, I applied a layer of gesso over the leather to act as a primer. For large paint jobs like jackets, I laid the overlay on the jacket, then de-glazed inside the painted areas, then outlined the subject or lettering. I've never gessoed primed a jacket.

Hmm,..when I painted on the aforementioned lamb jacket, everything appeared to be just fine until I peeled the tape off around the image that was masking the areas I did not want to paint. It took my design off right with it!
Never tried gesso, but as it's just another layer of paint, I wouldn't recommend it. I think it is preferred by those that like to paint from light to dark on a traditional ground that resembles what they are accustomed to painting, much like a conventional canvas.

 

[Silver Dollar]

I've figured out how to get the paint to stick by sanding the leather down to the suede and then painting over that. It works very well but you have to add several coats over an area to get the paint to look like it's painted right on the skin. It sort of works like a tattoo but instead of poking the skin with a needle, the paint soaks into the suede and gives quite a bit of mechanical retention. The paint will still crack like it should as the jacket is worn and stretched but I've never had flakes come off or problems getting my paint to stick. When I paint a new jacket, I paint it to look as if it was done back the way it would have looked in the 40's when the wearer just got his jacket done by the squadron artist. Just my preference.

 

[442RCT]

Test...Test...Testing...

After Maj. Nick's post about lambskin, I decided to run it through the tape test. I painted under a pocket flap with white acrylic. This morning I took painter's tape and applied it to the paint and peeled it off. The first time, nothing bad happened, so I did it a second time, really pressing down hard, and little flakes of white paint did come off, but so did little pieces of leather under the tape, around the painted area. :eusa_doh: I'm guessing it's just the nature of the Avirex lambskin, and why it may have been one of the reasons they chose this type of leather for their A-2 line... it ages and weathers easily to give their jackets that 50 mission look.

 

[442RCT]

I paint it to look as if it was done back the way it would have looked in the 40's when the wearer just got his jacket done by the squadron artist. Just my preference.

I likes'em all, WW2 amateur folk artist to present day professional artist...it's all good to me ! You probably have an archive of photos of jackets too.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

After Maj. Nick's post about lambskin, I decided to run it through the tape test. I painted under a pocket flap with white acrylic. This morning I took painter's tape and applied it to the paint and peeled it off. The first time, nothing bad happened, so I did it a second time, really pressing down hard, and little flakes of white paint did come off, but so did little pieces of leather under the tape, around the painted area. :eusa_doh: I'm guessing it's just the nature of the Avirex lambskin, and why it may have been one of the reasons they chose this type of leather for their A-2 line... it ages and weathers easily to give their jackets that 50 mission look.

Yep, the finish surface on mine came off with the tape also. Lambskin is soft and "buttery" as they say, for marketing purposes, but this is not a good quality in an A2 that will be worn with regularity. Lamb is also very prone to tearing. Too bad. Last time I was at U.S. Wings, they had some nice looking lamb A2s that were the last of the line,...but my experience with it prevailed and I didn't buy one.

Those pics are from the Wright Patterson museum in Dayton 442? I never did get to see that,..

 

[Silver Dollar]

Hey 442, now that's what I call a collection of jackets. Those are gorgeous. They are righteously droooooooolworthy. Oh no, I think I wet myself.

Hey Maj Nick. I've got a full set of pictures I took of the jackets at Dayton. I'm in the middle of resizing them. When I get that done I'm going to post the whole set. I think you'll like them. If those pics from 442 are not the ones in Dayton, they should be.

 

[442RCT]

Surf'n The Net

Hey 442, now that's what I call a collection of jackets. Those are gorgeous. They are righteously droooooooolworthy. Oh no, I think I wet myself.

Hey Maj Nick. I've got a full set of pictures I took of the jackets at Dayton. I'm in the middle of resizing them. When I get that done I'm going to post the whole set. I think you'll like them. If those pics from 442 are not the ones in Dayton, they should be.

I don't know where the most of the jacket pics are from, my 'indexing' is non-existent. I just surf the net and eBay and download any pics of jackets or nose art I find...[huh] My photo caption for the jackets in the showcase say they are from the Confederate Air Force collection in Mesa, Phoenix

 

[Phantomfixer]

A-2s on display

Another great source for A-2 viewing is the 8th AF Museum in Geogria, USA.
If you are coming from I-95N it is the first or second exit in Georgia off of 95. You can't miss it, look for the B-47 on static display, oh yeah and the huge billboard with an 8th AF crewman in fleece, awesome. They have alot of A-2s on display and other 8th AF items on display. A gold mine of information. All my pics are 35mm so will have to scan them