Spraying shell in cold weather??

[jonny_bravo]

Just wondering if any guys in the UK spray shells in these sort of temperatures?,. if got 3 that im dying to paint[] ,. my garage is freezing and i dont really want to resort to persuading the wife to let me turn one of the spare bedrooms into a sprayshop! Have i got to wait for summer till i can spray again? or can i warm the paint can or something?

[Shodog]

Don't do it, you'll be sorry. I sprayed up a shell once when it was really cold. Regardless of my clean prep, the paint didn't stick and flaked off. If you have a warm spare bedroom, I would use that. Then after your done, open a window and use a fan to blow out the smell.

[jonny_bravo]

Ooops,.. time to fetch the fan back out the loft then []

[jozza]

You can paint in the cold, but it's likely to cause problems. I found the main problem is damp rather than cold though. The cold weather tends to make moisture condense on the shell (even if you can't see it) and this stops the paint from properly taking to the lexan.

If you get a humidity indicator from somewhere like Homebase or a garden center, then you can make sure there's not much moisture in the air when you paint. I spray in my workshop, and use a fan heater to get the humidity down to about 40%, then it's worked fine. Anything over 50% and it's destined for disaster.

Also depends on the paint you are using. Acrylics don't seem to mind more moisture in the air, being water based, but the normal polycarb paints don't like the slightest bit of wet.

[fury_dice(2)]

Not sure what the long-term stability will be, but I painted my last two polycarb shells outdoors (don't even have a garage [] )using the following sequence:

- Wash and dry shell. Mask as needed

- Warm paint up in a bowl of hot water

- Warm the shell up using g/f's hairdryer (mind the masking doesn't lift with the heat)

- Run outside very fast with shell and paint

- spray a thin coat

- Retire indoors and dry paint/warm shell with hairdryer

- Repeat as required []

The paint hasn't flaked off yet...

[spammy]

i spayed mine in the cold and its fine i havent had any probs.......................yet was a long time ago nearly a year as for the spoiler thats a different matter. i wouldnt heat the can to much.

[WillyChang]

Warm the can whilst shaking it under warm water; water approx 40-45degC, not hot enough to burn your skin.

Keep can in your pants pocket or inside your jacket to keep it warm.

[Stevenchat2000]

I put my spray cans on the Radiators , they seam to give a better pressure from the can and the paint dont run so easy as its warm and drying very fast .

Ive been doing this for years , but I would not leave on radiators whic are too hot to touch []

[davep]

I have been spraying indoors for years.I use a home made spray booth.all you need is a large box,cut out one side and cover the opening with mess wire.Then when you spray the paint and smell stay in the box!! don't ask me why as i was told this by a old modelling friend,but it does work.

[raemin]

You may try it indor with parma faskolor paints. Although I have not tested these, they are reportedly almost not toxic...