Painting in damp areas

[junkyardjeff]

I build in my basement which is damp most of the times so I paint outside most of the time but during the winter I paint at work,I forgot to take the Dodge truck to work so I tried it at home using a heat gun and turned out well. Warmed it up then shot the paint then heated it back up and did not get the usual flat look when there is too much moisture in the air.

[astroracer]

Yea, humidity makes it tough. Heating the model was a good idea. Just be careful blowing that hot air on the fresh paint as it can pick up junk from the (dust) and blow right onto your wet paint.

If you are using rattlecans for paint heat them in hot water before spraying also. 10 minutes will do it and, doing that really helps the paint flow. Another thing you can do to warm up the model is to make a hot box out of a big cardboard box. Set the box so it is stable and use one of those silver clamp lights with a flood light bulb in it to heat the box. The heat will drive out the moisture and makes for a nice dry spot for the paint to cure.

Mark

[DaveM]

If you are airbrushing in a damp place, like a basement, there are a couple of things you can do to help.  If you are using a compressor, make sure the compressor is in a dryer location.  We had a rental house where I had to paint in a dirt floored stone walled basement.  I set the compressor upstairs in the Living room with a dehumidifier and the furnace running full blast.  That way, I was at least starting with dry air.  I used two moisture traps, one by the compressor with a filter, and an inline one right before the fitting where the short hose to the brush attached.  I brought the model upstairs within a few minutes after it was painted, and let it sit near a heat register.  (I always refreshed the furnace filter frequently)  I usually ended up with pretty decent paint jobs and very little blushing.

[junkyardjeff]

Picked up a dehumidifier and it helps.