Classic Alfa Forums

as the thread title suggests, painting parts at this time of year is a pain as it's damp and cold, just the conditions that paint hates.

to avoid issues with paint not sticking properly or getting a "bloom" finish then heating the shed/garage is the only answer. a certain amount of cheating can be achieved by heating the part to be painted and using a heat gun to try and warm the painted piece but that brings the the added danger of blistering the fresh paint

whilst looking through a cbs online catalogue last night i saw this simple tip which i tried tonight and is just great.

they called it a paint oven.

simply you get a large cardboard box and lay it on its' side. in front of it you place a small blow heater so the heat goes into the box, amazing how little heat needs to go into the box to keep it toasty. a thermometer helps to make sure you don't get it too hot, turn down the heater or move it further away until you get around 70 degs C

now just paint the part either inside the box or in front of the opening if you get too much blow back overspray but with aerosols it's not too bad.

it really is a great thing, tonight i primed the grille heart and the paint dried off really nicely even though outside the box it was still pretty chilly, you can even leave the shed door open for ventilation without causing the loss of all your heat!

I'll have to give that a go in a few weeks

Great idea - I was wondering how I was going to paint my brake calipers in this weather!

I spend a lot of time ordering stuff from CBS, I think I need to read their catalogue a bit more

Lauren

well worth doing guys, amazing how little heat you need to make a warm space to paint in.

best of all though, its' free!

Good idear , I like that

This thread made me laugh as I have gone to work in my camper van with a FIAT 127 door in the back which I am going to spray in the school hall after a meeting that closes at 18.30 (so no one there) then it is going in the boiler house to cure/dry.... don't tell the Governors!! A box would have been easier!

Chris

Excellent use of the then redundant facilities Chris,

you should be applauded in the next Assembly for such thoughts, who do i email to celebrate this insight?

A couple of years ago we drove a teachers Smart Coupe into the entrance hall at lunch time as it was lobbing it down and he needed some help changing some fiddly head lamp bulbs!

Space is to be filled!!!

Chris

great use of a heated space chris, be nice to have that on my doorstep, i'd be in there myself with a few bits


been down the shed tonight to put the topcoat of satin on. despite it being around 3 degs in the shed when i walked in the spray oven was ready to use in under 5 mins, grille and air space around it lovely and warm.
a few coats later and it's done, really helps too that it dries nicely as the layers can be put on pretty thick without getting any runs.......tempting fate and all

It worked!!!

Fiatchris wrote:It worked!!!

well done that man


great use of someone elses facilities

Hence the phrase mind if I use your facilities. Especially if they don't know.

Hi guys

The guy over here that does my signwriting and vehicle wrapping has introduced me to a new thing that i think has great applications particularly for race cars - it's basically liquid latex I think - www.dipyourcar.com ? Or dipmycar maybe - Just a thought - wonder how that stuff behaves in the cold ?

Hi all

yeah the PlastiDip thing is pretty new to us here, its been big in the states for quite some time.


i see quite a lot of it around me in nottingham, mainly because we have a guy Andy Cole, runs a business AC13, that deals in prestige cars, but also customising looks, wheels etc.

He doesn't get his hands dirty himself, but another local firm Blueprint have been doing Vinyl Wraps and stuff for him for a while.

They have been churning out some pretty hideous cars colours and wheels for AC13's footballer and wag customer base, all trying to out Gay each other Range Rovers and Audi R8's!


The plastiDip and Wrap process seems great, but sadly it has largely been duisgustingly used around here! ha ha!

Put the oven to the test, and some otherwise useless device,

Worked very well, not sure what else i would use that tool for?

Answers on a postcard please to PO Box NG Bald!

love it

works a treat mate, doesn't it

great too that it's a useful tool that costs nothing to make

although like you, i've no use for the hair dryer nowadays either

Used the same trick on a larger scale last Saturday, when even dahn sahf it was a balmy minus 5 - wheeled the Nova out of the garage, closed the door and used a 3 kW thermostatic fan heater to warm up the whole space. Using my Darth Vader respirator (looks and sounds like the real thing, right down to the raspy wheezing), fibreglass cured out very nicely!

I will use the same set-up to paint my calipers (properly this time), as well as final finishing of the dashboard elements. As long as it stays dry outside I should be able to carry on through the winter using this system. Well pleased

Lauren

3kw?

Thats a decent heater that is lauren.

Can i add, as an electrician by trade, that over door heaters such as those that would singe your syrup at woolies (pre 80s memory that! ) rated at 240v, 3kw, are probably THE quickest way to heat something like garage space, and are pretty cheap too these days compared to what they used to be.

I bet p4 matt, fat gimp, can get them at even better prices too,

Well worth an ask if your man shed is leaving you shrivelled!

just a little addition to the cardboard box oven, if you need to suspend something inside it and be able to rotate it then just poke a hook through the top. can then spin it round to paint both sides without having to lay a finger on it or get your hands covered in spray

Youre taking the fun out if it now mate! lol!

Obviously brought up on Blue Peter,he'll find a new use for Fairy Liquid bottles next.

Tried this last night with two vintage cap guns (There is no end to my geekness....ask Shrew, he's seen the evidence!) brilliant!

Chris

Oh, and finished my door!

yeah i did it again myself today too, painting some centre caps for the latest sud wheels project,

works very well Kev, you should patent it!

wish i could get a quid for every cardboard box used

I reckon I'd owe you a fiver by friday mate