I need to spray paint but it's only in the 40s during the day. Spraying in the house is not an option (fumes) nor is spraying in the garage (overspray). This is for a hobby-craft so perfect quality is not neccesary.
In the past I have kept the cans in the house so they are warm, spray a quick coat in the afternoon sun, leave it in the garage for an hour to let most of the fumes dissipate then let it finish drying in the basement.
I could put a space heater in the insulated shed but the heater is small and will struggle to raise the temperature much.
Any better ideas I can learn from?
I will tend to use a heat gun.. Depending on size of part, bring that inside as well to get close to room temp, run the heat gun over it again to get warm to touch before spraying, and I will usually bring part in to dry after 15mins or so if possible; If not I'll try to set up a "shield" around the painted part and heat that with the heat gun, so you're not directly blasting heat on wet paint, but almost :)
Rodan
SuperDork
3/1/22 3:59 p.m.
I set the cans of paint in a pot (upright) of hot water for a few minutes before using them... use a paper towel to dry the bottom of the can, then shake, then spray.
Allow to dry for as long as you can outside, at least long enough for the majority of the outgassing to have already passed. Pick the sunniest spot available, with the least wind. Bring it inside to cure. I've not had good luck with using a heat gun to speed the process... too concentrated to get even coverage.
Mid 40s is as cold as I'd go, and then only if you have a sunny spot to start the drying process.
If your only concern with the garage is overspray, maybe put the parts and cans inside the house until you are ready to spray. Bring them outside when you are ready to spray, spray, and immediately go to the garage with that piece piece? Repeate with subsequent pieces?
Yeah I've done this too many times. Just don't do it. I've been painting some 3D prints outside in 30-40° temps. It's all alligatored
In reply to DWNSHFT :
Use MTN paints, they're good to about 20* F
I painted a fender outside today. Primer, base, and clear. It was 42, no issues no runs
I successfully painted some stuff at 20F with this mongoid mega awesome high solids paint from Kimball Midwest.
This was before I had a garage heater. Coverage was more important than looks but it came out pretty good.
With metal parts I've painted at or below freezing. If the part is warm and the paint is warm then the ambient seems less important.
