How cold is too cold to paint?

[Gavkiwi]

so, Ive missed my window for low humidity, warmish weather here in the states, now its getting cold, winter is coming....sooo my question is

How cold is too cold to paint?

I have Tamiya spray paint cans, the garage is a possible place to paint, but garage will be open, never painted in cold weather before

any solutions?

[tigeraid]

Don't.

If you need a temporary solution, do this: Go out on the porch/patio/whatever with the model on something you can paint (box, newspaper, whatever), spray the coat you plan on spraying, then immediately carry it back inside. The majority of the fumes are from the can, so it won't smell too terrible or be dangerous. Make sure the model is warm before you take it out (leave it near a heat register or something) and make sure you've warmed the paint in a bowl of hot water first. That way you're maximizing the temperature you can work with. If it's particularly windy and the garage is a really short walk from the house, then do it in the garage instead, but be sure to immediately get the car back into the house. Cold and paint do not work together.

[freakray]

Anything below 60 is too cold, although some paint successfully below this temp, it's a gamble.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Tamiya spray paint is supposedly good down to 50 degrees F, if you can spray quickly and get the model back inside to a warm area you might be okay. Make sure paint and model are warm before spraying. My basement gets down to 50-55 degrees in the winter, I use an auxiliary heater when I work down there and use my dehydrator to warm the paint/bodies and have no problems at all with those conditions, I vent the paint fumes outside.

[bhop73]

You could always put a couple electric heaters in the garage and paint near them.. just a thought. I don't know how well it'll work with the door open in really cold weather. It doesn't really get cold here in SoCal, so I haven't tried it.. heh, heh..

[tigeraid]

Originally Posted by bhop73

You could always put a couple electric heaters in the garage and paint near them.. just a thought. I don't know how well it'll work with the door open in really cold weather. It doesn't really get cold here in SoCal, so I haven't tried it.. heh, heh..

You definitely do NOT want to do that, because you'll cause an explosion. There are very, VERY few (and trust me, I've looked everywhere for em) heaters that are safe for paint vapours. Every single one I looked for for my garage said it was dangerous around vapours.

I also tried heating my paint booth with two electrical heaters, turning them off, and then painting. Didn't work at all.

[bhop73]

Originally Posted by tigeraid

You definitely do NOT want to do that, because you'll cause an explosion. There are very, VERY few (and trust me, I've looked everywhere for em) heaters that are safe for paint vapours. Every single one I looked for for my garage said it was dangerous around vapours.

I also tried heating my paint booth with two electrical heaters, turning them off, and then painting. Didn't work at all.

I see. Bummer...

I guess for you guys in the cold, a proper indoor spray booth vented to the outside is the way to go if you plan to paint year round.

something like this maybe

[tigeraid]

spraybooth is for sure the way to go, but in my experience even a REALLY well ventilated one, built properly, still gives you some fumes/smell in the house. In my case, the old lady said that is simply not an option now. Which is why I'm scrambling to get my wood stove ready in the garage in time for winter, so I have a place to paint!

[924_CarreraGTS]

This is a dilemma I have, too. During the summer, I paint in our garage (with airbrush), right by the big door with it open, to get rid of the fumes. The garage is directly attached to the house, and well-insulated, but not heated. We have an electric heater that could be placed at a distance, totally out of range of the paint vapors, but when used at the same time as the construction lamps that I use to light my work space, it trips the circuit breaker I could heat up the garage first (it never drops below 50), then paint, with the door shut and the window on the adjacent wall open (there's a car between that wall and my paint area). I'm sure the paint area would remain 60 degrees or higher. Would this work?

[astroracer]

I've sprayed paint in minus 20 degree weather using the method outlined below. As long as you can keep the body inside when you are finished spraying you will be okay.
1). Before you do any spraying set up an area that you can dedicate to leaving the model in for a couple of days without being disturbed.
2). I put up two of those aluminum clamp on work lights with a pair of flood light bulbs in them. This is a good source of heat while the model is drying. DON'T put them too close....
3) Warm your paint in a sink (or bucket) of HOT water. Leave the can in until it is very warm to the touch (about 10 minutes) and try to spray before it cools off to much.
4) Make sure the body is warm also. Setting it in your lit (and heated) work space for 15 or 20 minutes should be sufficient.
5) Once everything is warmed up, do your painting outside. Try to do it on a calm day.
6). Once you get the first coat on, bring the model back inside and set it under the lamps to warm back up. Applying heat like this will also help the paint to flow while it is drying. Especially enamel.
7). Repeat the above as necessary to complete your paint job.
8). Mount your body to a secure fixture so you can paint it from all directions.
My set-up allows me to hang the model upside down to minimize dust settling in the fresh paint. I use the 3 wire hangers from flower baskets, taping the three wires to the inside of the body. This is very secure, allows me to rotate the model for good coverage and also keeps my hands out of the overspray... using the hook on the end to hang the model from a shelf or wood dowel.
This works very well for me. I have a paint booth that I built from an old printer cabinet. I've never used it...
Mark@MAS
www.mas-parts.com

[MidMazar]

Ive had great success with TS paints in 40-50 degree outdoor temp, but like previously said i spray quick coats and run inside the house.

[bobss396]

I paint outside too and run back in with it. I also warm the paint up which helps it flow better for a smoother finish.

I also use a dehydrator which is a must have for cool or humid weather painting.

Bob

[924_CarreraGTS]

I just tried my painting method last night when it was about 25 degrees F outside and maybe 55 F in our garage (I warmed it up with an electric heater for a couple of hours before painting, then turned the heater off). With my construction lamps (two 100 watt lights on a stand), the painting area was plenty warm enough for any kind of painting. So if you have an unheated room in which to paint, get some work lamps and you can paint all year long. As it is, my garage is so dimly lit that I needed the lamps anyway.

[cyberkid]

Originally Posted by bhop73

something like this maybe

LOL! That's almost the exact same thing I use... only my tube is around 8 meters long and I have the fan on the spray booth...I'll take some pics when I get home from work!

Steve