Dying Whole Sides - Anyone Use This Gun?

[BDAZ]

I have been purchasing drum dyed sides for consistence on bulk orders but I want to save some $$ and so some larger scale dying myself. I have had good success with small compressed air sprayers on finished projects but want to dye a whole side prior to cutting using Feibings oil dye.

I am considering:

http://www.amazon.com/Critter-Spray-Products-22032-Siphon/dp/B00006FRPJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1416956407&sr=1-1&keywords=critter+spray

Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks!

Bob

[NVLeatherWorx]

Well, by the time you get all of the dye that you will need to saturate the leather (which is how a drum dyed side is done) and the equipment, you won't actually be saving any money. I personally would just stick with the way you have been doing things but you might want to start looking for some suppliers who can sell you the drum dyed sides as single items. It sounds like you are purchasing direct from a tannery if you are doing at a bulk purchase. There are plenty of suppliers out there that have them as single hides and other sized pieces.

[BDAZ]

I don't need to saturate the leather. It just needs to be a consistent black which I am getting on products sprayed post assembly. I can't imagine it will cost $5 a square foot in dye? I am selling wholesale so I don't have a lot of margin to play with. any savings goes straight to the bottom line.

Cya!
Bob

[TwinOaks]

I'm curious as to just how fine of a mist that particular sprayer can make....and how fast the dye particles will clog the tip. I think you'd be better off going with an HVLP sprayer that's designed for things up to the thickness of paint. They use a siphon tube, true, but they have a larger nozzle port. You can get inexpensive (but serviceable) models at Harbor Freight and they're usually all metal, have a seal, and since it's directed through a nozzle you'd have more control over the spray pattern. The other IMPORTANT thing to consider is the amount of over spray you'll see. The solvent will be flashing off as soon as it hits the air, and if you're far enough away from the piece of leather, you'll be literally spraying dry dye particles onto the hide. (Incidentally, those DON'T penetrate nor stick to the leather). If you're getting even 20% over spray, you certainly won't be saving much money. After spraying, you'll need to buff the entire piece, then condition it, and working a whole hide/side at a time would, I think, be a bit cumbersome.
FWIW, I think you'd be better off dyeing the pieces as you need them, or in batches instead of a whole hide/side at once. If you don't have one, see if you can contract clicked patterns from one of our members here. That would at least save you the time of cutting out the pattern(s).

[BDAZ]

Thanks for the feedback. I did some testing today on some smaller samples and using Feibings Black oil I dyed one piece, dried then cased and stamped it. I cased and dyed then dried, cased again and stamped the second and the third I cased, then stamped, dried and dyed. There was no discernible difference in the color and finish in the unstamped areas. The dyed then stamped parts had some issues with the letter stamp which broke through the dyed area and left a little of the underlying leather visible in the deepest areas.

The point is I feel like I can dye the cut pieces and get a consistent color and finish and don't need to do the whole side. Luckily my products are black and not various shades of brown.

My goal was to avoid dying an assembled product to avoid dying the thread. It seems that the best method will be to case, stamp and then dye so my plan to spray the whole side is not worth while. I may spray, stamp and then give the stamped area a very light over spray prior to stitching.

I have not had any issues with the solvent flashing off using the air powered sprays to date.

My compressor is only 5CFM at 40PSI so it won't work with an HVLP sprayer. The Critter sprayer is well within the capabilities of the compressor. As for die cutting, I have too many variations to make it worth while having clicker dies made. My typical order quantity is 10 of each models per order.

Cya!

Bob

[stelmackr]

Would vinegaroo work with a paint brush? I have tried with brushing it on both sides, letting it dry and cut the leather in half and the leather was black all the way through. The vinegaroo is cheap, but takes some time to make, so I make it in 5 gallon batches. Here is how it is made: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=14946&hl=vinegaroo&page=1

Bob Stelmack

[BDAZ]

I do use vinagaroon often and always have jars brewing in the sun BUT for commercial work I found that any savings in dye costs are blown out by nutralizing, finishing costs. extra steps, more oil required, color changes over time, and never getting the finish I get with one or two coats of Feibings Oil dye.

I use vinagaroon for utilitarian p[projects but for production I find either drum dyed or spray dyed makes more sense.

One interesting side, I was asked to dye a banjo head and the vinagaroon had absolutely no effect. I was testing on scraps and eventually, after a couple of days the scrap turned black. I even soaked in strong tea to add tannins but it only turned a chocolate brown.

Cya!

Bob

Edited November 27, 2014 by BDAZ

[BDAZ]

The Critter sprayer arrived and it's excellent. I tested it with 50/50 mix of Feibings and denatured alcohol and it worked like a champ! It looks bullet proof and since it uses standard mason jars, inexpensive to use. It comes with a 1 pint jar but I cut the stem down and replaced the jar with 1/2 pint jars which will be perfect for storing various dyes and finishes. They cost around $.75 each at Wally World and are the perfect size.

THis shoul dmake quick work out of dying leather and more convenient than the Prevail compressed air sprayers.

As for dying the whole side, I think that I'll decorate, then dye then glue and stitch.

Cya!

Bob

[TwinOaks]

thanks for the update, good to hraer that it works so well