mole53 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Harbor Freight has thier dehydrator on sale, http://www.harborfreight.com/5-tier-food-dehydrator-66908.html, and I am thinking of getting one. How good is it and what is involved in modifing it use for painting? Any info would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brodie_83 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 I personally bought a Nesco dehydrator because it has a temp setting so you don't have to worry about the temp getting too high and warping the plastic. Just my personal preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 If you can, find a dehydrator with some type of temperature control and get a thermometer that you can drop down inside to keep an eye on the temperature. What can happen is the dehydrator can get to hot and start to warp what your drying. Its happen to me on a custom interior I had spent weeks on. This will expand your vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taaron76 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I bought the Harbor Freight one and I use it religiously for everything I paint. I didn't modify it all and I only use the top rack... so far, I haven't had any issues. Maybe one day I'll get one with a temp setting (Max 105 Fahrenheit), but this one will work for now. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 My dehydrator is an Oster, which looks surprisingly similar to the HF unit, made from the same materials, same setup, only the shape of the lid on top is different. The Oster is pre-set to a temperature of 120F, which is just fine for styrene bodies and parts--I've had body shells in it for as long as 12 hrs, with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I would be very cautious, however, with resin bodies, as polyurethane resin is much more temperature-sensitive. For temperature control, you can use one of the inexpensive "sliding rheostat" extension cords that are sold for use with table lamps and the like--a decent oven thermometer would help you in finding a certain temperature setting if you need it to be lower than the factory settings too. As for modifying it for model car use, I simply cut the "grating" out of the very top shelf, which gives it plenty of clearance for any 1/24-1/25 scale car body I've put into it--should I need more height inside, I can always remove the grating from a second shelf. Art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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