Painting in cold weather.

Just looking for suggestions....

I am going for my Level 3 in April. I have until then to build, document, and paint my rocket. I will have the building done by mid-January, likely. But since Red Glare is the first weekend, in April, I am afraid I will not be able to paint it. And since I want to photo and video the flight, I'd hate to certify naked.

So, does anyone have any ideas for how to paint in cold weather? Let's say right up front that I don't want to build a paint chamber, or paint in my house. But I am hoping someone will say something like...

"Call a car body shop and ask them if you can use their paint room after hours..." (Anyone ever tried that?)

"I live near you and I already have a paint room. Come on over...." (Anyone, anyone?)

"Use BrandX of paint. They make paint for cold weather."

"Heat everything with a heat gun and then paint, and then heat it again."

You get the picture. THANKS!

Got a garage at home?

Not a heated one. Have to paint with the door open.

Rattle can: place them in a bucket of warm/ hot water prior to painting.
If it's too cold the propellant won't respond well.

JD

JDcluster said:

Rattle can: place them in a bucket of warm/ hot water prior to painting.
If it's too cold the propellant won't respond well.

JD

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What about curing/drying? Isn't that weather-affected?

What about a propane heater for the garage? Since you need to leave some space for venting fumes, CO/CO2 build-up shouldn't be a problem, and you can maintain a comfy temperature.

I mention this because I'm considering buying a propane heater for a similar purpose.

I am in the same situation. I'm building a 10 foot Formula 150 that I hope to fly at Red Glare but don't know if I will be able to paint it by then. I paint in the garage with a compressor and paint gun but I leave the door open because I don't want brain damage. I wear a respirator but even with that I wouldn't spray lacquer in an enclosed room.

And there is no way I'm ever flying an unpainted rocket!!!

Bat-mite said:

What about curing/drying? Isn't that weather-affected?

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Most definitely, and dependent on the paint you are using as well. For example, Rusto Painters Touch: "Apply when temperature is between 50-90°F (10-. 32°C) and humidity is below 65% to ensure proper drying."

I've used the warm water bucket for rattle can procedure. I've brought rockets inside to dry as well; I have a small bathroom close to the garage with an exhaust fan vented to the attic. Of course, moving your L3 project around might be problematic. If you cannot keep your work space temp within the range specified for your paint, I'd say you have two choices:

a) find someplace that does (your buddies or a business as you mentioned) -or-

b) wait for warmer weather.

How cold are we talking here? Snow on the ground cold?

I paint out doors dry in heated garage , paint and rocket is warm from being in heated garage

this is January 2015 oh and no bugs to deal with

Cold weather paint = graphics

I'm in the same situation. Rockets finished, bought the cans of Duplicolor tonight on the way home and praying we have a few warm snaps sometime soon. It's been on and off in DC, so I'm really hoping for a few days here and there. (Sooner than later!) No garage sadly, so outdoor only.

Bat-mite said:

Not a heated one. Have to paint with the door open.

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Well.... I guess there's your answer. Upgrade the garage.

We have a club member who skips the whole issue and covers his rockets with Econokote film. Results are beautiful, and no fumes so indoors is perfectly fine. Haven't tried it yet myself but just a suggestion.

I did the same thing with my X-Celerator -- bought on black Friday last year, had Mark make me a full body wrap, left the NC naked. But this time, in the interest of saving money, I wanted to go with paint. There is always Monokote trim, too, I guess.

I've thought it because this is my first winter in my new house. So far, in the cold snaps we've had, the attached garage has only been down to 55 when it was 30 outside. My plan, is to have the rocket and paint in the house, go outside to spray the paint, then bring the rocket into the garage to dry. I can bump up the temperature a little with a small space heater, if it turns out to drop below 50 in there.

In the colder weather (40's-50's), I generally take the rocket outside spray some and then retreat to the basement. Wait. Repeat. Might be harder on an L3 sized bird.

PS - People generally don't want my advice on painting

PPS - A local body shop was willing to shoot leftover auto paint on one of my rockets. Back then we had teens and were good customers.

My garage is unheated, also. So I use my green house. The only problem I have is limited amount of time to paint because it takes a while to warm up and then paint before the sun goes down. The green house cools down quickly and affects the drying of the paint. But it works.

I have a spray booth, but it wasn't big enough for my L3. Rolls of plastic from Home Depot paint department is your friend. I used the plastic to enlarge and extend the spray booth.

You can use this to create a booth or room in your garage to paint in. Leave the garage door open a foot but hang a sheet of plastic over the opening. Cut a number of small holes for exhaust in the plastic. Cut a hole in the opposite wall and tape a cheap Wal-Mart box fan in the hole. Use an electric heater (no CO2) behind the fan so it pushes the heated air into the plastic room. That should give you enough heat and space to paint what you need. The plastic will also prevent the over spray from covering everything in the garage. Duct tape the edges together since the fan will push the plastic apart and you only want the fumes and over spray going out the holes below the garage door and not all over the garage.

You can use 2x2 wood pieces to staple the plastic to and give you more stiffness. Or make panels out of the wood and plastic and put them together to make your large booth. Either way, the key is to use a heater to warm the garage and get air flow pushing fumes and overspray outside.