Do I Really Need An Airbrush For Dying Leather With Acrylic Dye?

[HC009]

Hi, I am looking to spend about $600 on airbrush equipment to dye shoulders of leather with angelus paint. I have been told it will save me money in terms of paint used - is that true? And also, is there such a big difference to hand painting the coats of paint or is it only minor and I could get away with painting the leather?

What I have noticed is that when I tried to paint some undyed natural hide, it took 4 COATS of white paint to stop the hides colour showing through - would an airbrush use less paint and end up with better coverage? Just some questions as I don't want to spend all this money and then find painting it would be a lot simpler. Many thanks.

[cgleathercraft]

I can't say that it will be cheaper in the long run or more efficient.

What I can say is $600 will buy a lot of paint. It may take quite a while to realize the benefit of the airbrush.

I think volume of work and how quickly it needs to be done would be better questions in this case. If you paint several times a week and it takes several hours a day it may make sense. Otherwise the time it takes to clean the equipment will eat up the time saved.

My airbrush has sat in a corner since I bought it. I can get done what I need to do in much less time than it takes to let the compressor build up pressure.

[HC009]

Ha, ha! Thank God you replied to this topic today as I am definitely not going to buy one now. The expense I wouldn't mind if it did a better job and saved me a lot of time but like you say, this is not going to happen. I am going to be painting 2 shoulders maybe once or twice a week. I think an airbrush is probably better for spirit dyes not acrylic as with spirit if you over lap you get a darker colour whereas with acrylic it just stays the same. Thank you.

[cgleathercraft]

Put it on a list of nice to have tools! I have one and it grows faster than I can cross stuff off.

Glad I could help!

[DavidL]

if you are only going to dye 10 sq feet then theres almost no point in spending 600. If you have 3 sides (60sq) and are committed to leather working then a few hundred in airbrush equipment is a good buy for acrylics. Over 1-2 years the airbrush will have saved you enough time,paint and consistency for it to be justifiable. The cheapest you can go is $25 for badger 250 that can work straight out the box and you can see from there if you like the way an airbrush works.

For around 200 shipped you can get a Iwata eclipse siphon feed brush with a no name brand air compressor off of Amazon. This is probably the most you will need to spend for a great airbrushing set. Add a 50 dollar airbrush fan if you are spraying indoors.

The point of getting an airbrush is to cut down time on dyeing leathers, get a more even dye job and save dye/acrylic inks. I would think 3 coats can get a constant colour (paint coming out of an airbrush is a lot less than from a brush). You can also get resolene to lay on smooth and create fades around the edges. Acrylic paints are not mean to darken on multiple passes and has a brighter colour than dyes.

For dyeing leathers you can use a sponge and get the job done quick, with acrylics the only way for a fast job is with an airbrush.

Edited September 10, 2014 by DavidL

[HC009]

Hi, thanks David L I think you have replied before to my other posts. I am looking to do this as a business and won't be selling large quantities so I won't be dying that much leather but thinking about it I like the idea of having more control by painting rather than relying on a machine that could break down at any moment and where there is a lot of cleaning. I read somewhere on here that you can get a good finish with the washing paint technique. You say use a sponge which sounds like a better idea than a brush so thank you for that. I don't understand though, what you are saying about resolene to create fade around the edges though - could you explain at all please - I've got a bottle of it in a drawer unused?

[DavidL]

I meant to say you can spray resolene finish on perfectly and also spray dark paint around the edges to create a sunburst effect like on guitars.

Sponge would not work for acrylics only dye paints. The wash technique works well, but is time consuming.

At the end of the day time is money, if you spend an hour painting 5-10 wallets you have to charge that to the customer. So the alternative is spend money on an airbrush and you can spray 25-50 wallets in an hour and get a more even look. I would suggest you learn how to do the wash technique and then progress onto an airbrush, but is up to you.

In terms of the machine breaking a lot of airbrushers have cheap backup brushes to get the job done. For an iwata (made in Japan) with 5 year warranty there are very few hiccups with these brushes and many have been known to last 10 years. The parts are also easy to find and cheap at any airbrush store.

Siphon feed brushes can be cleaned faster than gravity as the paint is held in a container and you have to only wash the needle and spray windex through it and not have to clean the paint cup, because there is none.

Edited September 10, 2014 by DavidL

[HC009]

Thank you so much for this invaluable information. I will do what you suggest learn the wash technique then if it is laborious, buy a cheap airbrush set up and give it a go if as you say, painting is too time consuming

[DavidL]

No problem.

Also keep in mind if you want to use acrylics or dyes as they are different products. Dye penetrates leather and acrylics lay on the surface(if done correctly it would last years). Acrylics have brighter and more vibrant colours than dyes and most importantly cover up a lot of uneven marks.

Aniline dye is something you should look into as well.

[HC009]

Hi DavidL I just looked at the set up you suggested - a cheap compressor is ok but I can only find an Iwata NEO siphon feed brush not an eclipse apparently it does large areas - do all airbrushes fit all compressors? Also you talk about an extractor fan - I have tried looking for one but is that what it is called - airbrush fan - cannot find anything.

Edited September 10, 2014 by heavenlychoirs