Airbrushing, whats the ideal temperature?

Painting at low tempuratures can wreak havoc on your finish. Just like oil, a paints viscosity is effected by tempurature...I've had big problems spraying Future in my very cold, winter, new england, basement. Ever since I built my spraybooth, I paint at room temp.

I would not be crazy about moving models in an out of extreme temperature differences either. I'm not sure, but I suspect you could have problems...like condensation...but really not sure.

I like this thread, and seems as how winter is comming up (for those of us north of the equator), it raises a good question.

It seems to me that drying temperature and painting temperature would be 2 different things.

So my question is, can I paint enamels at, say, 40deg F if I bring it inside the house after airbrushing and let it dry at room temperature?

Hi,

Thank you for your replies.

I shall probably add a bit more heat before I next spray and see how things go.

Cheers

Richard

Times given for resin hardening are at "room temperature" which means 20° C . I think the same temperature ( at least) for paint drying is reasonable. A gentle heat will accelerate the process, but too much heat will make paint dry too fast. You want paint to dry on the model, not before reaching it. 14° C seems to me a little "pas assez" but you said you had pleasing results, so it could suit your needs anyway.

14 deg C might be a LITTLE cool for the paint, but I know of some here that paint in that kind of temperature without problems.  Basically a room temperature type environment is ideal (what your house would normally be plus or minus to some degree.  If you have to put on a parka to paint I would worry about the paint being a lower viscosity than optimum for painting. 

From what i have read in the fourms they say that you shouldnt paint on rainy days  it takes the paint longer to dry. I live in Arizona so its not real humid or wet and i havent had any problems if you have a heater i think that should be just fine.