painting in cold weather

[Decyferon]

What do you guys do?

I am in the UK and live in a flat and don't have a garage or space that I can paint in so will either have to paint outdoors or indoors and somehow make it well ventilated.

any sugestions as to how to get around this problem would be helpful, I know really I should get a spray booth but as am just starting out don't want a huge outlay of cash

[356speedster]

Originally Posted by Decyferon

What do you guys do?

I am in the UK and live in a flat and don't have a garage or space that I can paint in so will either have to paint outdoors or indoors and somehow make it well ventilated.

any sugestions as to how to get around this problem would be helpful, I know really I should get a spray booth but as am just starting out don't want a huge outlay of cash

a big cardboard box + a 120mm high cfm fan (brushless) + 120mm ventilation duct/tube + some ductape, works as a cheap portable spraybooth. Not perfect but a lot better than than nothing.

I wouldnt recomend spraying outside belowe +10 celcius, but it helps to warm up the model and spraycan and make a quick sprayjob outside, and run inside as soon as possible with the model.

[stevenoble]

The problem with painting indoors without a spraybooth is not just the smell but also the overspray/dust goes everywhere.I have just purchased a spraybooth and after only one use I can honestly say I wish I had bought one years ago.The difference is amazing.I agree with 356 Speedster you can maybe make some sort of spraybooth in the way he advises.Before I got the spraybooth I used to paint outdoors.I used to warm the model parts before spraying,warm the aerosol can before in warm water and warm the model indoors after painting which helped a lot.

[chato de shamrock]

I have a similar problem Decy... I live in a one bedroom appartment and have to wait until nighttime to paint to avoid spraying anyone passing by in the face

What ive been doing right now, that the cold weather is in town, is to shake my cans indoors and then step outside and quickly do some light coats. I then set them on the dining room table and turn on the ceiling fan. I also open the window next to the table so that the fumes can go out. My suggestion is to put it next to a window and, depending on how cold it is, open the window up for an hour or so. Be patient and if you can do it during the day then take advantage of whatever sunlight you get.

[cyberkid]

A lot of modelers have this problem... So, if you're serious about modeling.. I would suggest a spray booth.
Here's a link to mine and a few others:
Paint Booth: Display, Ideas, Suggestions...
I've since upgraded to a 6" (150mm) fan, tubing was also changed. The stuff that I replaced cost me around 100us.

HTH
Steve

[Mikke]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I thought this stupid question belongs here:

I've seen quite a lot of comments about how important a good weather is to spray-painting, but how about airbrushing? Is it just as weather-sensitive?

[Adam Baker]

I dont know about others, but Ive had similar issues w/ airbrushing, that I had w/ using rattle cans, in cold & high humidity weather.

The paint is still being transmitted by pretty much teh same method, its being atomized, and it has to pass through the air, so whether its really cold, or really humid, it would probably affect the paint in the same ways.