I have made many outdoor things, my gnomes come to mind. I paint them with acrylic paint and spray them with an acrylic clear sealer that lasts for several years! BUT I also take them in for the winter to keep them from the thaw/freeze factor. Ceramic painted objects will NOT last too many years exposed to the winter elements. I found that out the hard way. After several years they may have to be repainted or just touched up. Because of the sealer I usually wash them with warm soapy water, wipe them down with plain alcohol (to remove some of the spray on sealer) and repaint! I don't use varnish or Thompsons waterseal. I am afraid I would not be able to get it off with alcohol if I wanted to repaint. What do you think? Rosie

My first question would be how old is the varnish? My 2nd would be what color was the leather you put it on? It may have absorbed some color from that. Before good fabric paints came along I would mix my multi-purpose varnish into my paint to eliminate the need to varnish afterwards. Multi-Purpose Sealers are adhesive and durable and they seal most hard craft surfaces for indoor or outdoor use. They can even be mixed with paints to eliminate the need to varnish outdoor surfaces. I have used Flecto Varathane Diamond Satin finish for many years with great success (now owned and sold by Rustoleum). http://rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=70 More info..... http://www.polyclay.com/varathane.htm These days I prefer to use a paint that's made for the surface so I don't have to deal with a finish. I absolutely love Tulip's So-Soft Fabric paint. It air cures and you don't need to seal or heat set it.

I'm sorry! I guess no one has an answer for you. =( I hope you can get it done so you can enjoy this gift from your friend.

This is interesting. In a recent thread another poster (Ingrid) used acrylic paint to change the color of parts of her new area rug. I wondered about the permanence of such a thing. Is the difference that one rug was polypropylene and this one is wool? IOW, paint could be removed from one and not the other?