Airbrushing Leather?

[Mrs Ogre]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm thinking of investing in an airbrush and I wondered if anyone had any tips or advice on which model aribrush to purchase, and which paints it would work best with? Someone recommended an Iwata airbrush, but I've been told that you have to be careful which paints you use with it, as different viscosities could end up clogging the mechanism.

Any tips/hints/advice would be very much appreciated to a leather airbrushing novice!

Thanks,

Louise AKA Mrs Ogre

[Oldtoolsniper]

I have six or seven, I prefer Iwata. I repaint old fishing lures. Think of an airbrush as an ink pen, some people have beautiful penmanship while others not so much. The pen does not make the penmanship. The paint makes a difference but different colors in the same brand will behave differently. The most important thing you can do is learn to clean it and keep it clean. I've run about everything you can think of through mine and have no fear of doing so because I can clean it. I use two part catalyzed clearcoat for cars to finish my lures. With a catalyzing finish there is no cleaning if you let it set up, the airbrush is ruined. Practice with Ink., food coloring, 50 Cent bottles of acrylic paint from the craft store. I use it to apply most stains to my leather. Don't be afraid to experiment with them.

I prefer iwata because I can get parts for them locally, they also are resistant to solvents. They are also easy for me to keep clean since that's what I started with.

I run mine off of three different compressors, two are big enough to run my framing nailer and roofing guns, the third powers a whole shop. My point is you don't have to buy only airbrush stuff to run one.

Here is some examples.

[JAZZMAN]

Hello mrs Ogre, here are a couple of you tube links yo might find interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP0BfZcZ4vU

Sorry if you have seen them already, or they are not what you were after, i too am also in the market for an airbrush mainly just for creative dyeing rather than any intricate artwork, what kind of spraying were you hoping to do with it?

Oh and it is nice to see someone else on here from the UK.

[JLSleather]

I have six or seven, I prefer Iwata.Practice with Ink., food coloring, 50 Cent bottles of acrylic paint from the craft store. I use it to apply most stains to my leather. Don't be afraid to experiment with them.

I prefer iwata because I can get parts for them locally, they also are resistant to solvents. They are also easy for me to keep clean since that's what I started with.

I run mine off of three different compressors, two are big enough to run my framing nailer and roofing guns, the third powers a whole shop. My point is you don't have to buy only airbrush stuff to run one.

Here is some examples.

This is good, common-sense, no-nonsense, actually USEFUL information (perhaps you meant to post it on some OTHER site?).

My 2 cents, before i now must fish rest of the day ... I use mostly Paasche airbrushes. Parts are everywhere (including bottom of the hill at the hobby lobby). Easy to clean, and nearly indestructible. Plus, they're not high-dollar. I'll spend money when i need to, but I don't like spending money just so I can say I did.

With leather dye, you'll want somewhere between 15 and 30 pounds of pressure (yeah, that's all you need). I have a separate one I use for finishes - which are a bit heavier - and there I often use more like 40 pounds.

I second the thing about the compressors. I don't care for the little table-top things often called "airbrush compressors". They run MUCH too continuously, trying to keep up. The one I use is intended for nail guns - goes up to about 120 pounds, which would explode that airbrush. Set at about 22-25, it kicks on. Loud for a couple minutes, but then only kick on maybe every 20-30 minutes for a few seconds. Whichever you use, get yourself ...

air regulator (pretty common they'll come with it)

moisture trap (may be included with compressor)

cleaner tips

solvent for what you're spraying

I din't watch al teh vids above, but at a glance, you can see that 1) he don't say much a bout airbrushing, for how long the video is and 2.) a few minutes after he starts, that litle air joke is kicking on again (meaning, it's trying to keep up enough pressure in the line).

As for practice, I recommend using the dyes you use on the leather, to get used to them But, you can practice on like bristol paper, or even cardstock. I'm going to do some video stuff shortly (promised some others). And I'll show, and what you should do, try spraying frm 3 inches away, then same thing at 10 inches back. Try 15 pressure, then same thing but with 35 pounds pressure. Sorry, Iowa boy don't really know what that is in kg/cm³

^{Try spraying yellow , like even coat. Then darken it at the top with the same yellow. Then put in some red, do the same thing, but allow it to overlap. Where the colors blend, do it again on a piece of scrap leather, noting the difference in shades between the leather and the white paper....}

^{Okay, I quit.. gone fishin' .........}

^{Oh, the videos I'll try to add USEABLE info, instead of the standard U-tube FILLER you see these days 'cause they get paid to keep you watching longer.}

[JLSleather]

OH OH OH

Had to dig a bit, but found this old one from about 5 years ago. This is a STohlman design (inverted leather carving book) that is NOT TOOLED at all. Airbrushed only. Red on the rose, and the leaves were green (not kelly green). The stems were the same green, with a bit of dark brown added directly to the green dye.

Oh, and do let us know what you're going to paint, and I can recmmend a TYPE of brush (syphon / gravity, internal / external mix, cup or bottle, etc.) JUST CLICK THE PIC

Edited April 21, 2015 by JLSleather