Using Spray Cans Outside in Cold Weather

My garage is  insulated, but in winter it stays around 45F pretty much all the time. I don't like to spray inside either because of the fumes, but I also want the temperature to be decent when I spray. I compromised by spraying the parts in the garage, and then bringing them back inside immediately so they can stay warm. This way the majority of the fumes are expended in the garage. When I bring the parts inside, they do smell a little bit, but not nearly as bad as if you'd sprayed inside.  That's the way I do it, anyway.

dirkpitt77

I compromised by spraying the parts in the garage, and then bringing them back inside immediately so they can stay warm.

Watch out when you do this, particularly if there is a fair temperature differential between inside and outside, as bringing a cold item into a warm room can induce condensation, which may cause "blooming" on your freshly applied paint.

What I'm mostly worried is a minimum application temperature.  I think, for most paints, it's 55F or something like that.  I don't know what will happen if I spray at, say, 35F.  

I could spray in my garage, but to ventilate I'd leave the garage doors open. Then, it would be similar to spraying outside.  Perhaps, the best way would be to pick a relatively warm day in winter to spray outside.

I think because the part is room temperature before I go out in the garage to spray it, it doesn't have enough time to cool down to garage temperature before I come back inside with it. At least, I haven't had problems yet. Thanks for the heads up, though, Phil.

I'm in the same situation and my garage like dirkpitt77's stays around 45 deg. I keep the parts and also the paint in the warmth of the house and only bring them into the garage to paint. After they are painted I put the parts in a box to help seal off most of the fumes and back into the house everything goes. I haven't had a problem yet (I use Tamiya primers mostly.) I would recommend you spray up a test model and see what happens. Hope this helps!

Do you guys spray in your garage with the door(s) closed?  My garage temperature stays around 50F with the doors closed.  Much better than 35F outside for spraying.

In winter I will spray with the doors closed....but I try to remember to move the wife's car out first....hate spending time polishing the primer over spray (and surprisingly there is) off of her car.....

Also, try putting the cans in warm water for 10 or 15 minutes to bring the paint up to a better temp and allow it to flow better. I tried this for the first time recently and it definitely seemed to help.

Yup, I keep my garage doors closed when painting. My Jeep is sort of a beater with all sorts of mods on it for offroading, and the the wife's car is nicer but usually the coat of dirt keeps the overspray off. I will usually take care to spray against a sheet of cardboard set behind the model. That way most of the overspray hits the cardboard. I don't spray enough for fumes to be much of a problem. They dissipate in the garage after a few minutes.

I'll make sure I move my wife's car out!  Also, the warm water tip is great.  Never thought about it.

re:  spray can in the warm water-I use a large zip lock type bag to put the can in and then put the can-in-the-bag in a container/cup of warm water....and make sure that the water isn't too hot-I left a can in too hot water and the can expanded at the bottom-no harm but it wouldn't sit upright....

I've always done that since I started this hobby. Duck out the door to the sheltered side of the house, spray with a pre-warmed can of paint (better pressure and finer spray) and then take it inside to dry. My only complaint is sometimes the visibility isn't as good outside and I have to make several more trips out to do touch up.

Try this temp booth. Take a large moving box (the kind that hold clothes works nice). Cut a hole near the bottom on one side. In that hole place a hair dyer nozzle. Then on the opposite side up high cut an exhaust hole and plug in a shop vac hose in suction mode(it will work decent without the shop vac so do'nt worry if you lack one). Then hang a cheap 60 watt shop light inside. Cut 2 arm holes at a workable height,take in account you want to be able to manouevre the part you're painting and still operate the rattle can. Cut another square out big enough to see through real good and tape some clear plastic wrap over it so you can see what you're doing.Cut an access door and hinge it with some masking tape. You can put another smaller box inside to set everything on or even hang the part up . Set the hair dyer to the hottest setting,Turn everything on and let it warm up,just do'nt turn anything off until the fumes clear you do'nt want a spark inside there, it could flash over. Wearing a cheap shirt with some cotton gloves will keep the overspray off,you can use it more than once and its low cost makes it easily disposable. Hope that helps cheers Trey

bobbaily

In winter I will spray with the doors closed....but I try to remember to move the wife's car out first....hate spending time polishing the primer over spray (and surprisingly there is) off of her car.....

Plus having to buy her some flowers and/or a box of chocolates.

The title of this thread is what inspired me to design my spray booth so that I could use spray cans indoors.

Wouldn't it be easier to decant the primer outside into an airbrush bottle which will remove the propellant and so the smell then just use the airbrush??

Just a thought

Phil

As noted, spray cans heated in warm water work great.  However, don't get carried away heating them!  A long time ago, before I had an airbrush, I was heating up a small can of gloss white (don't remember what I was getting ready paint) and had filled the sink with hot water when the phone rang and the wife yelled that it was for me.  With out thinking I dropped the can into the water and went to take the phone call.  A few minutes later, I'm still on the phone when I hear a funny "pop" followed by my wife hollering!  Drop the phone and down the hall I go to discover  the pressure of the heated paint and propellant has blown the bottom out of the can and the bathroom now has wet paint and water everywhere!  Wife has been known to remind me of this fiasco on occasion.  Lesson learned - A. Don't use hot water to heat spray paint cans and B. Don't leave the cans unattended in even warm water.