Live In Very Humid Enviroment. Can I Still Paint?

[TheCamaroKid]

I live in Florida and we only really have a few months were it isn't humid. Today we are back up to 90% humidity already. Can I still paint or do I have to wait several months? I'm using Tamiya Spray Lacquer.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Simply put, because the air is already burdened with water vapor, things will take longer to dry from evaporation in high humidity.

Color coats, particularly lacquers, may "blush".

This is a whitish or milky appearance on the surface of the paint.

But it's not a serious issue. Most blushing will easily polish off the surface after the paint is dry.

 

[TheCamaroKid]

7 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Simply put, because the air is already burdened with water vapor, things will take longer to dry from evaporation in high humidity.

Color coats, particularly lacquers, may "blush".

This is a whitish or milky appearance on the surface of the paint.

But it's not a serious issue. Most blushing will easily polish off the surface after the paint is dry.

 

How long should I wait between quotes.

In low humidity it's 15 minutes or so between light coats. usually I do 2-3 light. Wait an hour and then start the wet coats.

Also what about for clear coat? I usually do 2 light coats with 20 min gaps, then wait a day and then do several clear coats?

I read on an older thread that Duplicolor might be better than Tamiya for high humidity? Any experience with this?

I did a full scale hood years ago in Duplicolor but that was in 50 degree weather.

[Ace-Garageguy]

You're going to have to be the judge.

In my experience, most rattlecan paints are pretty forgiving of high humidity conditions, within reason, but it usually takes some experimentation to find what works best in any given situation.

In high humidity or lower temps, my biggest problem is how long it takes primers to dry.

[Tabbysdaddy]

Florida man here. I had a very low success rate with any type of gloss model paint. It put me off building for a long time until I figured out that anything else worked much better. Flat paints almost always sprayed fine though. 

[TheCamaroKid]

40 minutes ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

Florida man here. I had a very low success rate with any type of gloss model paint. It put me off building for a long time until I figured out that anything else worked much better. Flat paints almost always sprayed fine though. 

I dont need them to be show quality. Im building hard body drag cars for slot car drag racing. I just want to make sure they look presentable and the paint will dry.

[TheCamaroKid]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

You're going to have to be the judge.

In my experience, most rattlecan paints are pretty forgiving of high humidity conditions, within reason, but it usually takes some experimentation to find what works best in any given situation.

In high humidity or lower temps, my biggest problem is how long it takes primers to dry.

What dry time do you recommend?

[Tabbysdaddy]

4 minutes ago, TheCamaroKid said:

I dont need them to be show quality. Im building hard body drag cars for slot car drag racing. I just want to make sure they look presentable and the paint will dry.

Well, if you want it to be presentable then I would recommend using paint that isn't made specifically for models.

 

 

[Fat Brian]

Get some Mr Super Clear Gloss. It seems almost impervious to humidity and dries with a rock hard gloss.

[TheCamaroKid]

What kind of paint then?

[TheCamaroKid]

2 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

Get some Mr Super Clear Gloss. It seems almost impervious to humidity and dries with a rock hard gloss.

Will it work over Tamiya lacquer or should I just try Mr Super Paint over a new model? I have a Cuda that doesnt even primer on it.

[TheCamaroKid]

2 hours ago, Tabbysdaddy said:

Well, if you want it to be presentable then I would recommend using paint that isn't made specifically for models.

 

 

Is Duplicolor good or is there another brand you use?

[Fat Brian]

19 minutes ago, TheCamaroKid said:

Will it work over Tamiya lacquer or should I just try Mr Super Paint over a new model? I have a Cuda that doesnt even primer on it.

It works over everything I've tried it over, Tamiya,  Duplicolor,  Testors, doesn't seem to matter.

[Tabbysdaddy]

51 minutes ago, TheCamaroKid said:

Is Duplicolor good or is there another brand you use?

I like Duplicolor.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Tabbysdaddy

[Ace-Garageguy]

Duplicolor can be great, but can also be on the hot side for some of the softer kit plastics, sometimes crazing them.

Duplicolor sprays nice, but can be prone to "blushing" in humid conditions, as I said above, but the blush will polish off.

This is one of Duplicolors "mica" colors, a finer flake than their "metallics".

[TheCamaroKid]

11 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Duplicolor can be great, but can also be on the hot side for some of the softer kit plastics, sometimes crazing them.

Duplicolor sprays nice, but can be prone to "blushing" in humid conditions, as I said above, but the blush will polish off.

This is one of Duplicolors "mica" colors, a finer flake than their "metallics".

I was wondering about the hottness of duplicolor since its meant for metal. How should I do duplicolor?

 

Is their primer hot? I usually like to stick to same brands with primer, paint and clear. Less change of a reaction.

 

Should I just do several coatsbof dupicolor primer, paint then clear? Say the humidity is 60%-70%. How long should I wait between coats?

 

I gotta Plymouth Cuda that I want to do in orange. So I might try Duplicolor Nissan Orange color match with their pirmer ans clear as well as flat black for the shaker hood, louvers and spoiler.

[TheCamaroKid]

Update. I'm going to order a couple of dehumidifiers. I'll use one and put it next to the painting tent between coats and the other in the garage where I keep my models. I brought a humidity sensor too. I'll test them out and see if that helps.

[Miatatom]

17 minutes ago, TheCamaroKid said:

Update. I'm going to order a couple of dehumidifiers. I'll use one and put it next to the painting tent between coats and the other in the garage where I keep my models. I brought a humidity sensor too. I'll test them out and see if that helps.

You're doing exactly what I would suggest.

[TheCamaroKid]

2 minutes ago, Miatatom said:

You're doing exactly what I would suggest.

I just ordered two. A larger one for the garage with a 35 oz tank and a small portable one that I can place in my paint tent (my paint tent is tiny). I hope they get the job done.

I'll keep the one in the tank and it's a short walk to the garage and I will store the models near the garage.

[Fat Brian]

I swear by Duplicolor white primer. It's not hot and can be removed with Super Clean so you can paint whatever on top of it and strip it easily. You still need to be careful with the paint even with primer, use thin coats so the paint can gas out before it etches the body.