How to speed up drying time in my cold garage

[snowathlete]

Hi everyone,

I am painting the bumper on my Mitsubishi Pajero. I am about to sell it and this is the last job i need to do before advertising it.

I have painted bumper parts before, and although i use rattle cans and have a very dusty garage, im not bad at it, and get very passable results.

The problem is, i did manage to create some runs and so i waited a couple of days and then tried to remove them with some wet and dry. But, because its so cold the paint has not really hardened. Rather than coming away in a fine dust, it rips small bits of the surface off. I persevered, but i cant get a smooth finish because its not dry enough.

I thought about leaving a fan heater on overnight but my garage is a mess, with an old mattress that needs to go to the dump and a stack of old cardboard boxes and flamable chemicals etc. So, i think i need a better idea.

I cant really bring it in because it does stink and we have a baby.

I have just setup a small light bulb in a box that ive put the bumper in, but its a very small bulb (i only have a small battery to power it) and im not convinced this is going to generate enough heat.

Any bright ideas would be very much appreciated...

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

Im not a paint sprayer, so not an expert, but maybe try one of those infra-red heating lights. I understand they are sometimes used to help the curing process

 

[steveo3002]

any method of warming it that you feel is safe to use ..halogen lamp /infa red

couple of hours with the panel hot to the touch should speed it along..aim for temps like a panel would feel on a summers day , dont go crazy if its plastic

 

[snowathlete]

Thanks. i think i will try tomorrow to set it up with the fan heater blowing on it, and check it every half hour. It wont be easy to get the temp right because its so cold that it needs to be quite close. But as you alude to, with it being plastic, i dont want to melt it...or the pain either - i guess that could get too hot and blister if im not careful.

I will give it a go and see if it helps.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Not sure what paint you are using but I have been spraying rattle cans of Plasticote this week in varying temps from -2 to 5 degrees on cold metal with misty damp weather coming in every time the door opened and it has dried fine, which I will admit surprised me.

 

[Paint munky]

Ive also been spraying in the same conditions as cumbriasteve but with primer, basecoat and UPOL 1k clear and its turned out ok. I turn the fan heater on once ive finished each coat, leave the shed and give it a bit longer to dry before i do the next one. Ive had the odd run but thats nothing unusual anyway