Airbrushing

[kgg]

The following is long and my experience for dying, oiling leather. My journey to airbrushing and the cost of a small setup not including a spray booth. 

How I got here:

i) Tried the dabber method I could not get consistent results from one piece to another and used to much dye. 

ii) Tried the dipping method got consistent results just never liked what it done to veg tan leather or the end result.

iii) Tried the brushing method getting consistent results were difficult.

iv) Tried the continuous spray bottle that women use for misting hair but typically gave a spotty coverage. The spray bottle was large,  clumsy and awkward to use.

v) Tried the small cordless airbrush which was a dual action airbrush. It did work but was under powered pressure wise, clumsy and awkward to use due to it's battery pack size.

I have used a single action Pasache airbrush in the past with a real compressor and it worked perfectly. The pro to a real air compressor is all the reserve air capacity while the drawback particularly indoors is the noise of the compressor motor. 

To that end I purchased off Amazon.ca two cheap single action airbrushes ($40 CAD), nylon braided 6' hose ($28 CAD), 10 pack of 60 degree down angle glass bottles ($30 CAD), three way outlet splitter ($10 CAD) and a small airbrush compressor with a 3 litre reserve air tank ($106 CAD ) for a total of $214 CAD.  

The reason for:

i) Airbrushes: The simplicity of the single action airbrush vs the dual action airbrush.

Insert the bottle of mixed dye and thinner (50/50) to the airbrush,  push the down on the "go" button,  set the nozzle spray and you are good to go. As a note I use 100% pure organic JOJOBA oil and the airbrushes will apply it without dilution. I like JOJOBA oil as it is almost identical to sperm whale oil.

ii) Hose: The air hoses that came with the Amazon airbrushes, to be kind, were absolutely terrible. They are made of plastic tubing with poor end fittings that leaked. 

iii) Compressor: The airbrush compressor is almost silent, had a cooling fan, water separator and a 3 litre air reserve tank.

iv) Bottles: 

Pro's: Glass bottles are easier to clean, don't stain like the plastic ones and you can see at a glance how much dye / oil you have left. Also I can mix different dyes, oil and thinner without the worry of any cross contamination.

Con's: Getting 60° angle down angle adaptor lids with rubber seals, spout covers and 22 cc (3/4 oz) glass bottles for single action airbrushes can be either difficult or expensive ($6 - $10 CAD each). 

v) Outlet Splitter:  Simply convenience. The three way splitter with three separate shutoff valves makes it so easy to change between airbrushes.

Personalization:

The setup was still lacking for my needs. It needed:

i) an airbrush storage holder and I'm to cheap to buy one that fitted over the Pressure Regulator at $30 CAD

ii) a dye shaker to prevent any die/thinner separation. 

So me being me I designed a very simple one and 3D printed it. The holder mounts on top of the ON/OFF electrical box, install 3mm high density rubber in the bottom of the holders and was dirt cheap to make. When the compressor motor kicks in the airbrushes and or bottles vibrate slightly.

Conclusion:

What I have found is that airbrushing for dying and oiling uses considerably less fluid then any of the other methods that I have tried and gives more consistent, repeatable results. As a note I use JOJOBA 

All comments are appreciated.

What are your thoughts???

kgg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 hours ago by kgg

[Dwight]

Airbrushing produces a pretty appearance . . . and can be feathered to the extent that it is very very uniform in color.

It can also be used to make a two or 3 or even more . . . toned layers of color . . .  making some really unique and lovely color(s) or color patterns.

BUT . . . airbrushing is only a light surface dying technique.  Almost any scrape or beating will remove the dye . . .  there is a thread on here about re-dying shoes . . . the scrape on his right shoe proves my point . . .  as shoes (especially Oriental made) are very lightly air brushed with the appropriate cheap thin dye.

I much prefer and seriously advocate dip dying if one wants one color . . . and wants the item to be able to stand up to at least some serious abuse.

May God bless,

Dwight

Edited 14 hours ago by Dwight

[chuck123wapati]

I don't know if a dye shaker is a need or a want, lol. But you have built a really cool setup, and you can learn to paint in your off time.

[kgg]

2 hours ago, Dwight said:

BUT . . . airbrushing is only a light surface dying technique.  Almost any scrape or beating will remove the dye . . . 

Thank you. I have a tendency to agree if the dye isn't applied with the proper air pressure to drive the dye into the leather. From what I have seen on youtube people are using pressure settings in the sub 20 lb pressure range and the dye is basically a top coating.  Probably because most people are painting model figures/cars/nails/cakes/etc. I use a 30 lb pressure setting when applying the dye with multi coats in different directions to get a more even dying which I apply after the oiling process. My basic process is oil/dye/oil.

44 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

I don't know if a dye shaker is a need or a want, lol. But you have built a really cool setup, and you can learn to paint in your off time.

Thank you. The shaker part is probably not necessary, just an added feature. Many, many years ago the father while trying to teach me some basic bodyman techniques always said to shake the paint when I refilled or changed to a new cup on the gun. I guess it just stuck.

kgg

[Samalan]

So the second oil is to draw the dye into the leather a bit more? Then finish? And thank you for that post, it's always good to hear how other people do certain aspects of leather work.

[kgg]

3 hours ago, Samalan said:

So the second oil is to draw the dye into the leather a bit more? Then finish? And thank you for that post, it's always good to hear how other people do certain aspects of leather work.

This how I do it in a nut shell:

i) Apply Jojoba oil. The oil is undiluted and applied with +30 psi to the veg tan. Wait 24 hours. My theory is that with +30 psi the Jojoba oil is forced in the leather and causes the leather fibres expand to allow for better dye absorption. The reason I don't use Neatsfoot oil is there is a possibility of it going rancid and degrading stitching over a period of time?????

ii) Apply the dye. The dye mixed with 99 percent rubbing alcohol at a 50/50 ratio and applied at +30 psi. Wait 24 hours. On the shoes (done August 2023) I used a Paasche airbrush with a psi setting of +45 psi.

iii) Apply Jojoba oil to the veg tan. Wait 24 hours then finish.

Here is a couple of photo's of one shoe from each pair of shoes (done August 2023) after two years of wear. Like @Dwight mentioned you can do some nice fading which can be seen being a lighter tone on toe and darkening to the body of the shoe. 

kgg

Edited 1 hour ago by kgg

[Tim Schroeder]

Nice set up. I really want an airbrush and the knowledge/skill to use it. I spray all my dye thru a DeVilbiss Finish Line HVLP auto paint gun. Just a great big airbrush. 55-60 lbs pressure. Any less it wants to get spotty when spraying really light.  Tried the spray bottles and little sprayers at Home Depot. Not even close.  I do understand what Dwight is saying about it being more like a topcoat. I use sheepskin for black and many coats usually. Everything I do is the same dye with black around it. I started spraying the dye when I made those backgammon boards in my albums. I was using veg tan for the fields, so I made a template 1/32" bigger than the points/pips and taped the stencil to the raw veg tan. Sprayed very light probably 10 coats at least so it wouldn't bleed past the stencil. No cuts in the fields. The guy was professional player. The blue on the outside of the Braves board is sprayed and it turned out pretty even. I get up to a 12" pattern if I want and total control how much dye. Almost everything has a coat in all for directions and then some. 

I haven't really noticed the sprayed dye being a problem with all the stuff my wife and daughter have. I still understand what Dwight is saying.