Repainting that old leather

[MVFD108]

I just need little advice, I plan on painting my now yellow "Sam Houston"leather helmet black(moving up in the ranks)anyway its chipping and the paint is cracking so nows a good time as any.Do I need to remove the old paint or paint over it,maybe a light sanding, also what kind of paint is best .I've never painted one so I would appreciate all the input, this things gotta last me a while Thanks in advance

[Kramer1075]

HI, I RECENTLY REPAINTED MY LEATHER. WHAT I FOUND THAT WORKS BEST IS TO: SAND HELMET DOWN, GET HIGH HEAT GRILL PAINT, AND THEN PAINT IT. THE MORE COATS YOU PUT ON, THE DARKER IT LOOKS. THIS PAINT SEEMS TO BE MUCH BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL PAINT. IT DOESN'T CHIP OR PEEL AS MUCH. GOOD LUCK!

[Lt.Houck]

I just painted my dad's, he's going from chief to black hat. I used a spray on stripper that was for use on wood products to remove the old paint. took it off nice. don't know what cairns would say about that but it didn't harm the helmet any and he already had two different coats on there and i didn't want to ad to that. Use at your own risk!! But it worked for me.