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

[Colt W Knight]

I would completely avoid electric sprayers. Everyone I have ever used either broke, or didn't function anywhere near as well as a pneumatic spray gun.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[DavidL]

would you say a LVLP gun (rated at 3 cfm) w/ a 1.3mm tip and a 2hp motor w/ 20gallon tank compressor work in a real situation with a 20 sq foot hide? Based on what I read it looks promising, the lvlp shoots more efficiently and requires less cfm from the compressor.

Would this compressor and spray gun combo from full tank to empty be able to spray for a minute before the compressor kicks in. If the tank runs out of air and the compressor is running would their be a difference in the airflow? I plan to set the compressor away in another room or in a small closet to prevent the heat from effecting the air.

I use a variety of spray guns, but they are all pretty standard size hvlp guns designed for automotive use. I think they generally have 1.4 mm tip for the larger ones and .8 mm for the detail guns. I use very large 60-80 Gallo air compressors because I also utilize them to run pneumatic tools like impact wrenches and die grinders.

Cheaper spray guns are less durable, don't hold adjustment as well, and don't atomize paint as well. However, those might not be an issue with leather dyes. Dye is lot different than trying to get automotive paint to lay down as smooth as possible.

You might also be better off with a siphon fed gun. You could keep all your different color dyes in different cups, and have an extra cup full of cleaner/solvent to flush/clean switching from color to color.

Edited September 16, 2014 by DavidL

[Colt W Knight]

I don't have much real experience with lvlp. So take this with a grain of salt.

I do not think you can cover a hide that quickly with a lvlp. I think you will want a hvlp to get the volume up. That leather is going to literally suck up the dye you spray on it like a sponge.

I doubt that compressor will not run during use with a spray gun. That doesn't mean it can't keep up on small projects though. It's just going to be noisy. Ideally the compressor will keep about 120-140 psi in its tank. You will have a pressure gauge on the tank to adjust how much psi the compressor will hold before the motor kicks on and starts refill ING the tank. You will have another gauge that allows you to set the pressure to the Ling going to the gun. I generally set mine about 60-80 psi. Then you can pit a gauge on the gun itself that will allow you to control the psi entering the gun, ~30 psi. Then you fine tune the spray with the adjustment knobs on the gun.

If the pressure gets to low, the gun will start to spray different and you can just release the trigger and watch the gauge till its ready to go again.

If the pressure gets to low, the gun will start to spray different and you can just release the trigger and watch the gauge till its ready to go again.

Edited September 16, 2014 by Colt W Knight

[DavidL]

I was looking at the videos of lvlp and they spray almost the same as the HVLP with less of overspray. I was under the impression that the lvlp is the same as a HVLP, yet spraying paint at 60 percent air pressure of a HVLP preventing the overspray. I may get a LVLP and a cheap HVLP dedicated for resolene.

Thank you for the info about the compressor. Its really helpful.

Edited September 16, 2014 by DavidL

[HC009]

Right, I have bought one of these flaming Earlex machines now for £60 and will post back on here the results in a few days.

[HC009]

Hi, I have now tested the Earlex diy spray station with Angelus acrylic paint thinned down to the right consistency and have found that this machine works great! There is hardly any overspray and it sprays out an even pattern / mist of paint which you can adjust so theres either a lot of paint coming out or hardly any at all so it's a very fine mist. I noticed the trigger gets stuck a bit but that's easy to fix. All in all I am very happy with this purchase and cannot wait to use it on some leather as I only tested it out on some pieces of cardboard. The only problem with it is the fan motor is quite loud like a loud hoover.

[HC009]

Another thing I forgot to add is it is a bit flimsy as in it's a very basic bit of kit and in the instructions it tells you that the gland nut will wear out and need to be replaced. It is not built like a proper car spray gun. But I would prefer this thing because I can always replace the parts as the company is very helpful / has a good reputation or when it packs up, for the price and can go and buy another one.

[Colt W Knight]

Glad that turbine system is working for you.

[HC009]

Hi, I just rang a tannery up and they say they can custom colour a 2mm shoulder including the leather for around £70! If an undyed shoulder cost £50-£60 and paint costs around £25 then it doesn't make sense anymore to dye your hides yourself! She is getting back to me on the specifics but said they charge £6 a square foot for custom colours.

Edited September 26, 2014 by heavenlychoirs

[DavidL]

At nearly 10 USD the quality would be good I imagine, do factor in VAT if it isn't already factored. At 75 USD for Angelus paint for a gallon - 3.7 litres, you can probably do 10-18 sides or 20-34 shoulders (2 thin coats) if you cut out patterns then spray - just an estimate, someone who using acrylics on whole hides or paints with a spray gun may know a closer estimate.

$8 USD X 10sq shoulder =80

75 dollar paint / 28 shoulders = $2.5 per shoulder

= 82.5 USD own shoulder vs 100 USD pre dyed shoulder (Do try to find out what process they use for dyeing - drum dyed or hand dyed)

After 4 shoulders dyed yourself it would cost you the same amount of money as 4 pre dyed shoulders. After 16 more shoulders - 360 USD dollars saved, downside is that you have to provide the labour and pay for mess ups if you can't get the consistent quality. Dyeing yourself can increase your profit margins if you can get a similar finish as store bought.

Typically painting leather yourself is the cheaper route, more time wasting and if your a beginner there is a learning curve I would imagine.

Upside to it is that from one hide you can get different colours and colours can be mixed.

From what I know tanneries use very similar dyes to the ones leatherworkers use, although they could very well be fiebings or custom made dyes.

Drum dyed leather is unlikely to be replicated . Other companies like Horweens have a multi week finishing process that would also be nearly impossible to replicate.

Good Luck