*Painting in Cold Weather*

[Zippi]

I have this posted in my 61 Impala thread but I thought I would post it here to get a few more eyes on it.  Cold weather has hit here pretty quick and I didn't have a chance to get the body of my 61 Impala painted.   My question is, If I have my garage warmed up above 60 degrees, paint has been warmed up before mixing, can I step outside my garage where it's about 45/50 degrees and airbrush a coat and step back inside the garage were its warmer to let it cure awaiting the second/third coats.  Same with clear coating.  What effect would this have on the quality of the paint job or would it just take longer to dry?  Or.....is this a bad idea?  

[Bainford]

Generally speaking, it's doable. I've airbrushed in temps much colder than that. The problem you might face is, when bringing the now cooled and freshly painted body back into the warm garage, condensation may collect on the body. If possible, I would leave the body outside until the paint has well flashed. Also, keep in mind that paint will flash much more slowly in cool temps, so paint will be more prone to runs. Spray accordingly.

Your best bet may be to warm the body and paint significantly, apply the paint quickly so the body doesn't have time to cool before bringing it back inside. Just spit balling here. Experimentation may be in order.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Bainford

[Zippi]

18 minutes ago, Bainford said:

Generally speaking, it's doable. I've airbrushed in temps much colder than that. The problem you might face is, when bringing the now cooled and freshly painted body back into the warm garage, condensation may collect on the body. If possible, I would leave the body outside until the paint has well flashed. Also, keep in mind that paint will flash much more slowly in cool temps, so paint will be more prone to runs. Spray accordingly.

Your best bet may be to warm the body and paint significantly, apply the paint quickly so the body doesn't have time to cool before bringing it back inside. Just spit balling here. Experimentation may be in order.

I appreciate the info Trevor.  Yeah, I plan on leaving the body in the house until it's time to paint.  I want everything to be warm.  I guess once I spray the body I could leave it outside with a plastic tub over it for about 15-30 min then bring it back in.  I'm going to give it a shot when the time comes.   

[Painted Black]

I use a light box, I put the body, airbrush and anything to do the job inside till its warmed up, take it out for the 10-15 seconds to spray and back in the box. Works great.

[Zippi]

58 minutes ago, Painted Black said:

I use a light box, I put the body, airbrush and anything to do the job inside till its warmed up, take it out for the 10-15 seconds to spray and back in the box. Works great.

Yup....sound's like that will work.  its supposed to hit 50 degrees tomorrow afternoon and sunshine so it looks like a good day to give it a shot.

[Sandboarder]

Can you paint in the garage? 

[Zippi]

33 minutes ago, Sandboarder said:

Can you paint in the garage? 

No can do.

[Sandboarder]

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

No can do.

Bummer. I thought if you can heat it up, that’s be a prefect spot. I do everything in the shed but I’m always a hostage to the weather. 

[slusher]

I have stepped outside and sprayed in cooler temps and brought my body back inside. I have not had any problems yet.. I am painting out of a can..

Edited November 3, 2021 by slusher

[Bills72sj]

For quick blasts, I will take warmed paint and room temperature parts and do a quick blast outside. If I have a lot of painting I will set up my temporary paint booth in our spare bedroom.

 

 

[Zippi]

Thanks for the info fella's.  

[David G.]

It seems to me that as long as the paint and the surface you're painting are warm enough, there should be no problem. In the Midwest where you are, condensation due to the change in temperature and humidity when transferring the painted item between the garage and the house may be a bigger concern. But there would have to be a significant difference between the two areas.

Let us know how it works out Bob.

David G.

[Zippi]

51 minutes ago, David G. said:

It seems to me that as long as the paint and the surface you're painting are warm enough, there should be no problem. In the Midwest where you are, condensation due to the change in temperature and humidity when transferring the painted item between the garage and the house may be a bigger concern. But there would have to be a significant difference between the two areas.

Let us know how it works out Bob.

David G.

I will report back my results this afternoon.  It's 31 degrees this morning so I'm hoping it gets in the high 40's today.  There will be sunshine and very little wind.  I'm hoping for the best and expecting the worst. 

I made a run to the hobby shop yesterday and bought some Tamiya TS-44 Brilliant Blue spray paint (rattle can) as I thought this would work better than dragging out the airbrush.  My plan of attack is to leave the body and paint in the house until ready to paint, put the can of spray paint in hot water for about 5 min before painting.    

Edited November 3, 2021 by Zippi

[Tom Geiger]

Low 30s in the burbs west of Philly this morning! Had to scrape the car windows for the first time this season!

[R. Thorne]

Being also from Southern Indiana, our forecast is 60-65 this weekend and sunny.  The humidity level is also critical.  More conducive to good results.  After saying that, I have painted in today’s conditions and not had any problems, but painting is so BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH picky that I would not do it again.  Thankfully, my paint booth negates all those worries now.

[SfanGoch]

This is becoming ponderous. Buy a paint booth or build your own. You guys build models, so, constructing a simple paint booth will be a piece of cake. Even an idiot like me can do this. It's nothing more than a box with exhaust fans. It'll cost you around 40 bucks in materials, including two 4.7" 110v axial fans. Mount the fans on a board, fit the board to an adjustable window screen, place the constructed box on a small table and slide it against the window sill behind the fans and paint. I live in an apartment and manage to do this. No fumes from enamels, lacquers or acrylics; additionally, it's never to cold or humid to paint.

[Dave G.]

When I was an apartment dweller  I just put a fan ion the window, shrouded each side with cardboard and shot near the fan. Everything went outside basically. In that time frame I was shooting Pactra and Testors enamels for cars and ships and Floquil paint for model trains.

[SfanGoch]

Dat's wot I'm talking about. K.I.S.S. ?

[Zippi]

Thanks for all the info fella's.  I appreciate it.  

[Zippi]

Ok....the paint has sat now for about 45 min.  I'm pleased with the results for the paint conditions I had.  There is some orange peel but not to bad.  I sprayed two light coats and two wet coats letting it flash for 20 min between coats.  I had the can of paint setting in warm water until time to paint.  I'll clear it tomorrow is the weather is ok.  

[TransAmMike]

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

Ok....the paint has sat now for about 45 min.  I'm pleased with the results for the paint conditions I had.  There is some orange peel but not to bad.  I sprayed two light coats and two wet coats letting it flash for 20 min between coats.  I had the can of paint setting in warm water until time to paint.  I'll clear it tomorrow is the weather is ok.  

????

[Smoke Wagon]

I stepped outside yesterday evening to shoot some Rustoleum 2X Hunter Green and 2X Sun Yellow, both went on their respective parts glossy, but dried almost satin and dimpled. The temperature was in the mid 40’s. The parts weren’t outside for more than a minute or two. I did the same process with their 2X primer and that went on fine. 

[Zippi]

14 hours ago, TransAmMike said:

????

Thanks for the upward thumbs there dude.

[Zippi]

5 hours ago, Smoke Wagon said:

I stepped outside yesterday evening to shoot some Rustoleum 2X Hunter Green and 2X Sun Yellow, both went on their respective parts glossy, but dried almost satin and dimpled. The temperature was in the mid 40’s. The parts weren’t outside for more than a minute or two. I did the same process with their 2X primer and that went on fine. 

Yeah I know the flat gray 2X primer I use lays down really nice and is different than the topcoat paint.  I put my cans in pretty warm water for about 10 min before spraying and once finished I step back in the garage where it was about 55 degrees.  It was around 48 degrees when I painted yesterday and the humidity was around 30%.  I did not prime the body this time because I wanted the blue to be a lighter shade plus the Rust-Oleum 2X primer really takes a couple days before it's really cured. Probably a day or two longer in colder weather.  Sorry it did turn out better for you man.   

[David G.]

Thanks for the update Bob. Although it doesn't often get that cold in Phoenix, I have painted outdoors when it was in the low 50's. Like I said, warm paint, warm surface, no problem.

I'm glad yours worked out for you.

David G.