New to modeling and have a question(s)

I see you already have some comments about ventilation, will just repeat that this is very important that you have fresh air and not be breathing concentrated vapors of paint/glue/resin/etc. Since you have already invested in apretty fancy setup, you might also want to have a vacuum system to suck away particulates from tools like grinders, bandsaw, etc that will generate fine dust that you should not be breathing in (use a dust mask when appropriate, too).

Hello felow TEXAN ! I too live in the same state. I live in the lower " HILL COUNTRY area" In NEW BRAUNFELS. It gets very hot and sometimes very cold here too. The reason I have not lost product (paints and other liquid supplies) is this.I keep the GARAGE, which I share with my landlord who is into stained glass,fairly reasonable. How, well, In winter I do run a heater.in summer I run a very small A/C unit.This keeps the temps reasonable enough that product (paints and other liquids) are not endangered.When I want to sand ,  I fill up a " mud tray" that I bought from (HOME DEPOT ) and sit it on my saw table.There, I have a wet sanding area. Now , as far as plumbing, I can and will this summer when we re-model the area put a "T" connection on the water outside and feed a garden hose inside to fill it .this way I got running water I will then get a deep sink and fit a hose for the drain and drain the water into the back yard. There ,water problem solved. I have worked in this " shop " area for three years now and even turned out some 1/96 scale models and 1/200 scale models for clients. So as nice as you have things ,there are things you will change or modify in the coming months.You may want your computer (or a computer) out there.Make sure you have a dust cover for the keyboard and mouse as well as the cpu. It,s dusty here!  Then make sure you have arranged space for tunes.(It,s nice to have music while you work.) Also , make sure you have plenty of wall space near the bench for those ubiquitious little multi-drawer cabinets. I started with one, and I now have nine ! As far as regular cabinets are concerned don,t go to far with that. I went to (GASP !) WAL-MART and bought a nice cheap tool cabinet (mechanics tool chest-top and bottom) and that,s where I keep my compressor and airbrush equipment , sheet plastic and wood etc. Good lighting over the bench work area is very important too ! I have two floor type OTT lights for that (They do give the right light) And it,s also color true !  Overhead you want day type 48" flourescents to light your way .You want one right over the bench !There ! does that help ? You can use a large box with a squirrel cage fan on the back with a place for a filter and use foil or wax paper to line it " VIOLA "one spray booth ! Being a large box, you can put it anywhere.I do recommend starting with a medium large box as you can get.These can be gotten at U-HAUL - Do NOT use a used box!. I tried that once. never again! Good luck , WELCOME and happy modeling !            tankerbuilder      P.S. Keep the A/C turned very low and the heat about 68 and you,ll be fine.                                             

I'm a Native Texan, although I wound up in Iowa (married a Yankee) and never lost any paint due to temps...  

I too live in Texas. Probably one of the coldest regions, the Panhandle.

While I do not keep my hobby paints/supplies in an un-heated/cooled  area I have kept left over wall/house paint and caulking in an non airconditioned garage and have had it go bad.  According to a house painting friend he said it was due to the winter cold.

I would think constant wide flucuations in temperature could cause problems.

KINGTHAD

the only problem I have is cooling it down so I can work out there!

Thad

 

Thad - be a man and tell the wife you are going to work inside!!! 

Hey Bat

I live in Texas also and have a shop out back. I keep my paints out there year around and the closed up shop gets up to 120 in the summer. I have lost very few paints or anything else due to weather condition....

the only problem I have is cooling it down so I can work out there!

Thad

Oh I definitely have the fumes going out from my Art-O-Graph 1530's exhaust system. I have the exhaust tubes attached and they go through the wall and blow outside. And, I have a screen door that I can keep open when using paints, glues, etc. as well as two windows with screens so they can be open for the circulation.

Thanks so much for the help you all! I can't wait to get going!

Should I refrigerate the paints? Like low temp? That would help for the summer and then in the winter maybe use the suggestion above.

Welcome to the hobby!

i had some acrylic paint freeze when i moved (Wisconsin winter weather+open top trailer for moving= bad juju for acrylic paints. they thawed but seemed to clump up and dry much faster than normal. if you want to store your paints in the workshop, my suggestion is this: if you have a military surplus store around, go try to find some .50 caliber ammo cans (usually about 5bucks apiece around here) and store your paint in those.  to keep the paints from freezing use a hot hands (or similar iron-powder-based warmer) in the cans to keep the paint warm...they wont get hot enough to harm the paint and they ususally throw warmth for about 12 hours. hope this helps!

Hi Dave & welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you've got a sweet setup for your workshop.  Congratulations!

I would also raise the concern about the room being too airtight - you definitely want to make sure that you are turning the air over in the room. 

I live in Florida and my workbench is in the corner of  my garage.  I have a box fan to move the air around and can work out there most of the year out there with the garage door open, except in the late summer afternoons when it's in the direct sun.

I haven't had too many problems with paints, but do keep my cyanacrylate super glues in our garage refrigerator to prolong their life.   

I have a sink a few steps away in the laundry room just off the garage and that's where I wash parts and do wet sanding, etc.

One of the things I have to be careful about is the humidity when using my airbrush.  Moisture trapped in the paint can botch up a paint job big time.  I've got an inline moisture trap on my airbrush but still avoid airbrushing on very humid or rainy days.

Again, welcome.  Hope you enjoy your new workshop.

Mark

Hello Dave and welcome

First off nice too see your level of commitment to the hobby for a joiner! Now to answer your questions as a lot of things we use paine solvents glue etc are liquids then they will be effected by the cold, I've never seen paint freeze but I'm sure some of the people on here up in Alaska or Finland probably have. Cold will also effect drying times for paint and humidity will have an effect in the opposite way.

I'm a little conserned you say you spent a ot of money making your room almost airtight. Ventilation is necessary for us all as some of the fumes can be very strong and some dangerous, even some of the dust from resin items have been said to be cancer casuing. When spraying you will need a mask no matter where you spray as the paint will be atomised and wont be good for your lungs over a long period.

On the subject of running water I think its something you will need for cleaning the kit before you start work and cleaning your airbrush and brushes but I use the kitchen sink as I like to think the drain is a bit larger there and it will take the water and other liquids away easier.

Hope that helps and I'm sure others will chip in if they feel it required

Phil