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SMARCH: Tip of the month! Lousy Smarch weather!

 
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Katachi
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007
Posts: 17
Location: Madison, WI

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:21 pm    Post subject: SMARCH: Tip of the month! Lousy Smarch weather! Reply with quote

If anyone's tried to spraypaint a prop or get fiberglass to cure in the garage in the winter when it's like 30-40 degrees, you know what I'm talking about here. Deadlines are deadlines and you can't very well spend all afternoon freezing in the garage with the heat gun trying to get paint to dry, or resin to harden. Trying to get a space heater to heat the whole garage to 50-60F can take FOREVER and be expensive, especially when it's -9F outside with a -30F windchill. Sad Here's how you can get things to dry/cure in the garage without wasting all that time and money!

This was in an issue of Car Audio and Electronics Magazine last winter. Basically you take some foil coated sheets of foam insulation, 1x2"s or brackets, some wood screws and some fender washers, and a 12" space heater and you build yourself a little oven. Mine is 2'x2'x4' and took me all of 3 hours to make, and cost ~$30. PLEASE EXCUSE THE MESS IN THE PHOTOS!




I sealed off all the sides with that metal dryer/duct tape so no heat escapes anywhere but the seal around the door. I also used a grill thermometer that I picked up at Home Depot to see what the inside temp is. The door isn't permanently attached, but I cut the sides and top of the oven with an overhang of a couple inches so that they will grab the panel used for the door and hold it in place.

So what you do is, you build the box, place your little space heater in it on a low/medium setting, close the door and find out at what temperature it shuts off and mark that on the dial on the space heater. I have a 60-85F degree range I use on mine, and the oven will heat up to this in 5-10 minutes with the door closed, and kick in for a minute or two MAYBE every 10 minutes to keep the temp constant. 30 Minute Sandable Automotive Primer is dry and sandable in 30 minutes. Fiberglass cures and is ready to sand in 15. Usually I heat up the oven, then open the door and mix my resin and apply the fiberglass in the heat in the oven before it all escapes, and then set everything up and close the door to let it cure. I've gone out to the garage on days when my Pepsi would freeze on the bench next to me and I'd still be able to get my fiberglassing done!
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TK 109
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Joined: 11 May 2007
Posts: 712
Location: Galena, Ohio

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nice tip! really clever!

when we moved here (to ohio, i mean), our workshop came with and industrial heater that goes up to like 100* (why is beyond me...), and an air-conditioner. Wink
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jegner
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Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 2144
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great tip! Good idea. I can see adding a set of holes, that you can put your arms through, to help keep the warm air in. What do you do for venting the fumes etc?
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Katachi
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007
Posts: 17
Location: Madison, WI

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jegner wrote:
Great tip! Good idea. I can see adding a set of holes, that you can put your arms through, to help keep the warm air in. What do you do for venting the fumes etc?


I don't. It's not a fume hood or a spray booth. It's more of a hotbox for keeping the air within 70-90F Degrees for curing. I wear a respirator while I work so fumes aren't an issue and the garage is detached from the rest of the house so I don't worry about fumes. Ideally though, if you wanted this to be something you used in your garage or basement and wanted to minimize the escape of fumes, yeah a sealed box with big rubber gloves in the box would be nice, but then you have to build a better frame, and a better door, and a better seal around the door, and a better way of attaching and removing the door to get parts in and out. This was just a 3-hour, $40 solution to the problem of "how do I make paint dry and get resin to cure without having to heat the whole garage?" Also, this thing can be unscrewed and put away in about 5-10 in the spring when you don't need it any more.
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jegner
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Joined: 30 May 2003
Posts: 2144
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Katachi wrote:
jegner wrote:
Great tip! Good idea. I can see adding a set of holes, that you can put your arms through, to help keep the warm air in. What do you do for venting the fumes etc?


I don't. It's not a fume hood or a spray booth. It's more of a hotbox for keeping the air within 70-90F Degrees for curing. I wear a respirator while I work so fumes aren't an issue and the garage is detached from the rest of the house so I don't worry about fumes. Ideally though, if you wanted this to be something you used in your garage or basement and wanted to minimize the escape of fumes, yeah a sealed box with big rubber gloves in the box would be nice, but then you have to build a better frame, and a better door, and a better seal around the door, and a better way of attaching and removing the door to get parts in and out. This was just a 3-hour, $40 solution to the problem of "how do I make paint dry and get resin to cure without having to heat the whole garage?" Also, this thing can be unscrewed and put away in about 5-10 in the spring when you don't need it any more.



Agreed, it's not a paint booth, but I was really thinking more about a door that you could see and work through, to help hold in the heat. No rubber gloves, but a window to see what you were doing, and holes for your hands to go into.

Some sort of spray booth is a totally different creature, and is a good idea if you can't work outside.

Good points.
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Katachi
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Joined: 27 Dec 2007
Posts: 17
Location: Madison, WI

PostPosted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jegner wrote:

Agreed, it's not a paint booth, but I was really thinking more about a door that you could see and work through, to help hold in the heat. No rubber gloves, but a window to see what you were doing, and holes for your hands to go into.

Some sort of spray booth is a totally different creature, and is a good idea if you can't work outside.

Good points.


Oh, I see what you're saying. Cut 2 round holes in the door to put your hands through. You'd still need something to cover them up with so the heat doesn't escape when you take your arms out. I don't know, maybe some heavy rubber flaps?

It's definitely something that could be built in small steps as you need it. Build the box one weekend, make a second door with holes and a window the next, add a light and better electric thermostat the next, etc.
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Stomper
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Joined: 01 Oct 2005
Posts: 473
Location: Woodburn, Oregon USA

PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would have had to go this route, but I decided to install a "ductless" heat pump (indoor unit mounts on the wall) and now my shop is climate controlled all year long. It was a SERIOUS issue for me when it got too cold... the resins I use wouldn't cure properly, or would take 2-3 DAYS... instead of 20 minutes!
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