m408 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I'm a pretty impatient guy who just can't keep his hands off of painted parts. I know that using a food dehydrator will speed up the curing time for the paint, and am about to purchase one, but need some help. Any recommendations as to manufacture? Or are they all about the same? Suggested time and temps for the various paint mediums? HELP! I'm going nuts watching the paint dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I recently saw some dehydrators at a local Harbor Freight store.They looked identical to the Magic Chef brand that I have had for a few years.These have a heating element and a fan to circulate the air and have a vent at the top that you open & close to regulate the temp.Mine runs about 100 degrees F. with the vent open,and about 110 degrees F. with it closed.I usually run it for a few hours with the vent open after putting parts or a body in to allow the paint to gas out quickly.Airbrushed enamels,properly thinned,usually are hard enough to be polished out in about 8 hours,longer if from a aerosol.I don't bother putting lacquer painted parts in it as they dry pretty fast without any help.HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I have a Magic Chef ftom Wal*Mart, but have seen other brands at Target or Kohls recently. Mine is state of the art with a few modifications I've done to it. I run mine at around 105-110 with the vent wide open, unregulated it will run to 140. I have a dimmer wired into the heater circuitry. You have to have the vent open in order to exchange the air, which is sucked in through the bottom so keep the area under it clear and clean. I agree on the 8 hours for enamels, which I rarely use. I'll go 4 hours for acrylics or lacquers and will go as little as 2-3 hours if I'm color sanding between coats. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I bought mine from Wal-Mart about 2 years ago. American Harvest by Nesco is the brand. This one has variable temperature settings. I always use the 100 to 105 degree option and never had any issues. What I like the most about using this gadget is that I am ready to paint in minutes after washing my parts and also after priming the models I am always certain to have a completly dried primered model before laying my paints. I use to wait a whole day after priming but I don't worry about that anymore. When I am done with painting I usually just leave the parts for 24 hours and that paint is completely dry and ready to polish and wax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 (edited) Do yourself a big favor and use either lacquer or acrylic paints, not enamels. I have the same problem you describe-I just can't wait for enamels to dry. Since I've switched to lacquers and acrylics, I can't be happier. They go on smooth and dry incredibly fast...as fast as just minutes, sometimes a little more depending on brand, but generally they're dry before you know it. No dehydrator needed! I'll never go back to enamels. I only wish I had made the switch years ago! Edited January 10, 2008 by harrypri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I've got the same unit Marcos has. American harvest by Nesco. Adjustable temperature and you can stack it as high or low as you want. I can usually put a Tamiya paint stand with body on in mine. I agree also that enamels take at the very least 8 hrs. When i use Tamiya paints I run them through for about 2-4 hours. I too run the temperature at about 105. Here are a few shots of that unit: You can buy extra rings for it as well. Works great for warming cans, drying just washed parts and of course just painted parts. Good investment in my opinion and turn around from the time you paint and back to building all in the same day is priceless. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 you can get a thermometer for $5.00 at harbour freight ,my unit cooks at about 120. I built a dimmer box and marked it for 108.now I can "cook"all paints and fillers. do a search on this topic and you will find this question asked be me in a earlier thread with great ideas!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m408 Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Do yourself a big favor and use either lacquer or acrylic paints, not enamels. I have the same problem you describe-I just can't wait for enamels to dry. Since I've switched to lacquers and acrylics, I can't be happier. They go on smooth and dry incredibly fast...as fast as just minutes, sometimes a little more depending on brand, but generally they're dry before you know it. No dehydrator needed! I'll never go back to enamels. I only wish I had made the switch years ago! I too prefer lacquers. However, I can't seem to find many color variations other than in large spray cans. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. The only acrylics that I have found are flat finish. I just got back into building a few months ago after a 40 year lay off and have few material sources. Any suggestions for small quantity lacquers with large color selections? And, this might sound stupid but, couldn't flat acrylics be brought to gloss by covering with a clear coat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m408 Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 you can get a thermometer for $5.00 at harbour freight ,my unit cooks at about 120. I built a dimmer box and marked it for 108.now I can "cook"all paints and fillers. do a search on this topic and you will find this question asked be me in a earlier thread with great ideas!!! Thanks Mike. Will do the search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olle F Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I too prefer lacquers. However, I can't seem to find many color variations other than in large spray cans. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. The only acrylics that I have found are flat finish. Do you have a Hobby Lobby nearby? The store here in town carries a pretty large assortment of Testors enamels, acrylics and lacquers. They don't stock their complete line, but I believe that most of these paints come in bottles and many of them come in spray cans as well. You should also be able to order them from your LHS. I prefer enamels though, mostly because they are easier to find and easy to use (as I usually don't want to use primer). The drying time sure is an issue though, I'm kinda impatient too so I might just get me one of those dehydrators one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I too prefer lacquers. However, I can't seem to find many color variations other than in large spray cans. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. The only acrylics that I have found are flat finish. I just got back into building a few months ago after a 40 year lay off and have few material sources. Any suggestions for small quantity lacquers with large color selections? And, this might sound stupid but, couldn't flat acrylics be brought to gloss by covering with a clear coat? Yes, flats can be covered with gloss clear. That's exactly how real cars are painted these days! Most hobby shops carry a wide selection of lacquer and acrylic sprays. And there's always the online hobby stores. Personally I prefer DupliColor automotive spray lacquers. They're found at any auto parts store, and come in a wide selection of colors, in 5 oz. spray cans. The Murray's Discount Auto by me has GM, Ford, Chrysler and Import colors...probably over 100 colors, and also they make a matching clearcoat. Each 5 oz. can runs $4.49, which is cheaper than the 3 oz. can of Tamiya or Testors (the size that typical "hobby paint" spray cans come in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 By the way...this is Duplicolor (actually a GM metallic color) under Tamiya clear, straight from the can. Absolutely no polishing whatsoever. Fast dry times, and a finish that comes out looking this good with no work at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m408 Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Yes, flats can be covered with gloss clear. That's exactly how real cars are painted these days! Most hobby shops carry a wide selection of lacquer and acrylic sprays. And there's always the online hobby stores. Personally I prefer DupliColor automotive spray lacquers. They're found at any auto parts store, and come in a wide selection of colors, in 5 oz. spray cans. The Murray's Discount Auto by me has GM, Ford, Chrysler and Import colors...probably over 100 colors, and also they make a matching clearcoat. Each 5 oz. can runs $4.49, which is cheaper than the 3 oz. can of Tamiya or Testors (the size that typical "hobby paint" spray cans come in. Great. Not as dumb as I thought. I use DupliColor primer all the time and have used some of their colors as well with good results. My kids got me an air brush set up for xmas so thats why I'm looking for some small quantity colors. Want to do some experimenting with color mixing etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m408 Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 I recently saw some dehydrators at a local Harbor Freight store.They looked identical to the Magic Chef brand that I have had for a few years.These have a heating element and a fan to circulate the air and have a vent at the top that you open & close to regulate the temp.Mine runs about 100 degrees F. with the vent open,and about 110 degrees F. with it closed.I usually run it for a few hours with the vent open after putting parts or a body in to allow the paint to gas out quickly.Airbrushed enamels,properly thinned,usually are hard enough to be polished out in about 8 hours,longer if from a aerosol.I don't bother putting lacquer painted parts in it as they dry pretty fast without any help.HTH looked up Magic chef and Harbor Freight on line. Neither one listed a dehydrator. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m408 Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 I bought mine from Wal-Mart about 2 years ago. American Harvest by Nesco is the brand. This one has variable temperature settings. I always use the 100 to 105 degree option and never had any issues. What I like the most about using this gadget is that I am ready to paint in minutes after washing my parts and also after priming the models I am always certain to have a completly dried primered model before laying my paints. I use to wait a whole day after priming but I don't worry about that anymore. When I am done with painting I usually just leave the parts for 24 hours and that paint is completely dry and ready to polish and wax. In looking at dehydrators, they all seem to have layers. Do they have to be modified to handle bodies and frames etc? If so how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 In looking at dehydrators, they all seem to have layers. Do they have to be modified to handle bodies and frames etc? If so how? Yes, you need to cut out the floors of as many trays as needed to get the hight required for a body, and if you prefer a stand, which is probably about 4 or 5 depending on the dehydrator. They are just plastic so a saw or dremal with the right bit will cut and clean the trays you cut (to make stackable rings) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 looked up Magic chef and Harbor Freight on line. Neither one listed a dehydrator. Any suggestions? Thses were at a store location locally to me.Maybe that's all they had I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.p...;hl=dehydrators Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Kucaba Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Here's the item # for thr Harbor Freight dehydrator...94878.I punched this in and it came up Out of stock/discontinued,but they do that a lot.I'd call and ask CS to check using that number.HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 In looking at dehydrators, they all seem to have layers. Do they have to be modified to handle bodies and frames etc? If so how? Some guys cut out the trays, which I thought about and wound up making a "ring" instead out of aluminum flashing material. I've seen plastic sheet used too. Mine is 10" tall and I can fit a paint stand into it with ease. I still have room to put other things around it, only lower. The ring I made is attached to the bottom tray with pop rivets. The seam is also pop riveted. To get the length of material needed, measure the cover inside diameter and multiply it by 3.1416, add an inch for overlap. I should go into business selling these things, think I could get a c-note or better for one with temperature control and a thermometer thrown in? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.