What's the coldest temperature I can paint in?

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:10 am
I do spot repair on bumpers--usually no more than 1 square foot--and work outdoors in my customers' driveways. With winter approaching, I need to know what's the lowest temperature I can work in.

I live in Portland, OR, and winter temps are low 50s in the day and upper 30s at night.

Tools:
lacquer base / lacquer clear
1500w infrared curing lamp

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:21 am
16 degrees celsius is my magic number, and only that cold if the humidity is OK. You might be able to get away with a little colder, lengthy flash times, but I don't think it's worth it. Best bet is to follow the recommendations of the paint manufacturer, and get one of those thermo/hygrometer combo dealies, I have one in the booth and mixing room.



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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 12:52 am
So, about 60 degrees fahrenheit.

60 degree days are not common in the winter here. Can I use a directional heating fan to heat the small area I'm painting?

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:29 am
You're working outdoors? Do you have a pop up tent or something to set up around cars? The proper and safe way is to never let any source of spark near the painting area. How dangerous are electric heaters in a booth with good ventilation? In my opinion not very, but if it were me I would seperate the heat from the paint area no matter what type it is. In other words, heat the air in one area, then filter it and pass it into the booth. Your heating costs will be big because you'll be blowing the heat straight through the booth and outside, welcome to the world of painting in cold weather. Post some more info and I could elaborate on some solutions and maybe get some others to chime in.

If you're talking about something like a lamp to heat the panel being sprayed only... tough to control the temperature evenly across the panel I think. Might work, but expect solvent/temperature related problems.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:34 am
Oh, I just realized you stated your tools as lacquer and an IR lamp... jeez I dunno. Pretty tough to work with those tools under those conditions even if you're the best painter ont eh planet. Try getting several thermometers and putting them across the whole repair area and setting up the lamp(s) so you can dial in the temperature befor eyou start spraying. If you're outdoors you shouldn't have to worry about blowing up, but keep a fire extinguisher beside you, better safe than sorry. I don't know what else to say, if you practice I suspect you could decent results with this setup but it's so unorthodox it's hard to say.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2005 8:20 pm
I wouldn't shoot lacquer under 70 degrees, and check the HUMIDITY, lacquers will blush in a heartbeat, if the moisture level is too high

a trick for using an IR lamp, or electric heater in a small space SAFELY:
all you do is heat the area really well,.....make sure the surface that you will be painting is at or above 70 degrees.
make sure the paint is at or above 70 degrees when you spray it

before shooting, TAKE THE HEATER OUT OF THE PAINT AREA, OR UNPLUG IT.

then shoot, as many coats as you can, checking the surface temp often ( you can attatch a probe type thermometer, or I use an IR "gun" that reads temps at a distance of 12".

the temp thing is CRITICAL in shooting lacquers, so make sure you are at or above 70 when you shoot.


you could always use urethanes and forget about temp until it's below 55 degrees or so, humidity does not matter with urethanes, you can shoot in a driving rain storm with excellent results.

why are you using what basically amounts to horse glue for paint anyway?
"I believe the state of arkansas flag colors should be,...................PRIMER"

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