Dr. Cranky Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Done good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackinac359 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Mine has no fan or temperature settings and I have to be VERY careful with length of time a part stays in the drier. I have to very REALLY careful with resin, short, short sessions in the drier or shapes change quickly (and not for the good). Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenb Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 At the present I have the lower tray standing on some spring clamps to vent out some of the heat. it runs just at 114 degrees. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macmaniac Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 much like you are thinking except I used a sheet of thin acrylic and formed a clear circular "wall" bonded together with proweld. I got mine from a yard sale and it has the adjustable temperature,really handy Great idea! Thanks. BTW, how high did you make it, how tall? Would 10" be too much, or would 6" be too little? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macmaniac Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I bought one for 5 bucks at a thrift shop..and tried modifying it with a dimmer switch to control the heat. I'm no electrician so it was a pain in the ass and a little dangerous. Especially when I plugged it in the first time and and purdy blue spark shot straight up from the outlet and tripped the circuit breaker! I went out and spent 40 bucks on a Nesco American Harvest, has it's own temp control. Works like a charm. Even warms up my build room during the winter! Wow, you are brave to try that. Makes perfect sense-- too bad it didn't work. It should have worked. But with your Amer Harvest, how did you solve the problem of the trays having plastic in the centers? Did you cut it out? If so, how did you d0 it? Or did you build your own cylinder out of something? If so, what material did you use, and how did you bond it together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macmaniac Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I have one from I believe American Harvest with different temperature settings, I just set it for 105 and that's good enough, leave it in there for at least 24 hours and have never had a problem no matter what paints I have used. Just make sure that if you put your painted bodies on any type of holder that you take the holder off, like that you don't have to worry about any warpage issues............ Great post. How did you deal with the plastic grid in the center of the trays? I have an Amer Har, too. Just now setting it up. I don't understand your point about the holder. My pea brain is reading it like, if you put your body on a holder (stand), don't use stand. What kind of stand do you use in the dehydrator? I'm unclear what you were trying to say. Please clarify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Wow, this is a really old resurrected thread! When I paint my bodies, I like to use a stretched hanger to hold it. Just make sure to place your bodies in the dehydrator without any stress, any amountof heat can warp them. Let the body airdry for at least 12 hours and then just place it in the dehydrator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 Here's my Dehydrator:Mine's the same. I routinely run it about 105-110 degrees for styrene ... no more than 95 degrees for resin. No problems; wonderful technique for curing and hardening paint fast!Been using it for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportandmiah Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 It seems the speediest form of paint drying technology is a food dehydrator. Has anyone used a small toaster oven? Is there a difference? A toaster might use more wattage...the one below has temp controls that go from 70-250 or something in that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Doug, DO NOT use a toaster oven to dry paint Brother, you WILL melt the plastic! A dehydrator is MADE for this sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a/gass Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 ive tryed the toaster like that one DONT DO IT ! it didnt melt but it warped beond repair in less than 10 min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randx0 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 most lacquers dry pretty quickly anyway so you really donteven need a dehydrater it is useful but not necessary. I use mine for warming up paint cans more than drying paint on the model and if you are using the enamel paints heat doesn't always help if it gets too hot it kinda turns into a soft gooey mess that never wants to dry . in short dont use a toaster oven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportandmiah Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 No toaster then.. Thx guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 If you like Donn Yosts Paint tech with enamels...this will make a big difference. I shoot lacquers and a couple of hours at 105....its ready for tape and more colors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I say dehydrator too, not oven. No, no, no oven. Well, you get the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Simply cut out the centers and leave the outside ring. As far as wiring a dimmer....IF YOURS HAS A FAN IT WON'T WORK Mine was a convection type, thermometer in the top (2 for 9.995 at Sams Club) I dim it down for 105 and marked the setting, Works like a charm.....for resin I dial it down to 95 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportandmiah Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I purchased the $16.00 Harbor Freight food dehydrator, and it works great! I didn't modify or change anything. I simply put my freshly painted car body and pieces on the top shelf, put the lid on, opened the triangle vents, and the next day the body was ready to detail. No warped or melted pieces. Will this work with every model? Who knows. But I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Appetite Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) Wow, you are brave to try that. Makes perfect sense-- too bad it didn't work. It should have worked. But with your Amer Harvest, how did you solve the problem of the trays having plastic in the centers? Did you cut it out? If so, how did you d0 it? Or did you build your own cylinder out of something? If so, what material did you use, and how did you bond it together? all i did was cut out the tray and left the outter part alone it does work from what i've read on SA's forum..a guy posted pics and even laid out instructions for me..but..i'm no electrician hehe as a matter of fact...this is MikeMC's setup! Edited October 26, 2011 by Evil Appetite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 as a matter of fact...this is MikeMC's setup! Yep.....it does NOT have a fan....thats why the dimmer works well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Appetite Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Yep.....it does NOT have a fan....thats why the dimmer works well I checked mine for the heck of it, and it doesn't have a fan either.there's an element at the bottom. It looks like yours, except with a smokey tint to the plastic..it's an old Ronco i think. Better I bough the Nesco than burning down my house though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMc Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 I checked mine for the heck of it, and it doesn't have a fan either.there's an element at the bottom. It looks like yours, except with a smokey tint to the plastic..it's an old Ronco i think. Better I bough the Nesco than burning down my house though You can buy a rheostat switch pre wired. that said this was electronics 100....simple circuit...hard not to get it correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miatatom Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I finished my drying box and got it calibrated today. I used 1/2" plywood. It's about 14" wide x 12" deep and 20" tall. I bought 2 receptacles and wired them in with the dimmer switch to be able to vary the amount of heat I'm putting into the box. I lined the box with some quilted material that is aluminized on one side. Had it left over from the Cobra I built a few years back. With the lining, I found I really only needed a single 60W incandescent bulb to generate enough heat to maintain 105 degrees. Here's a few pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 looks good think i'll try and build one myself,been thinking about it for a while now, i hate waiting so long for the enamel to cure on it's own how long do you figure it will take to cure in the box Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thats pretty nice. I would imagine it would also be good for keeping dust off also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 What do you bake in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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