drying

Are you using enamel paints?

My sincere recommendation would be to look at using either Tamiya spray paints or the new Testor's Lacquer line.They have a ton of colors to choose from.  Enamel paints just take waaaay too long to gas out and dry.

I live in upstate NY, so I know about the cold. I've given up trying to coax, beg, bribe enamel coats to dry in any reasonable time. I don't use them anymore. Lacquers are my preferred paint, or Tamiya spray cans. I also will airbrush their acrylics if I need a special color that doesn't come in cans.

I use a digital thermometer like for use in a smoker.It has a probe that I hang inside the additional cake hat that I bought so that I would not have to cut the trays as much to accommodate taller projects. I purchased my stuff from Walmart for under forty $$.

fiddercrab

I use enamel paints  allot & dry times where always a concern so the dehydrator was a good solution for me. I bought a dimmer switch & regulate the tempt to 105 degrees. Dry times run six to eight hours with no warps on main bodies hoods etc.Small parts like frames wheels work in the dehydrator as well.Some parts are planned ahead & dry time is not a factor.

How do you monitor the temp inside the dehydrator?  Does it take a lot of attention to keep the temp there, or is it a set and forget operation?

I use enamel paints  allot & dry times where always a concern so the dehydrator was a good solution for me. I bought a dimmer switch & regulate the tempt to 105 degrees. Dry times run six to eight hours with no warps on main bodies hoods etc.Small parts like frames wheels work in the dehydrator as well.Some parts are planned ahead & dry time is not a factor.

Thanks so much!

Find yourself an appropriately sized tupperware plastic tote...shoebox size should do. Paint the model, then immediately drop it inside the tote...cover it or as Don said use it upside down as a cover. You don't need much air gap...a pencil under one side is fine...just let the vapors escape so the paint can out gas and cure.

As long as the temp is between 50F - 100F it will cure normally. Colder or hotter and time will vary. Also humidity plays a role as well. Higher = Slower.

Regardless of the temp, I put an inverted box over the model or parts while they dry. I use enamel, so it always takes awhile to dry and is susceptible to dust. The box is up on small blocks so air can get in from underneath.

I find temp does not have as much to do with drying as humidity.  My shop doesn't vary too much in temp summer to winter, maybe five to seven degress.  But humidity sure is different.  As a result, I get far better drying in winter than in summer.  A stretch of rainy days in summer makes enamel take forever to dry.

I have a few friends who use food dehydrators for drying, but they occasionally have had warps.  None of the dehydrators they use have an adjustable thermostat- what it is set at is what you get.  I would like to build a drying box with a good thermostat, but just haven't found a good thermostat at a price I'm willing to pay yet.