I have heard a few of you mention your dehydrators, I have a couple of specific questions. The last thread I can find here on subject is from 2003 and it doesn’t cover my questions.
What temperature do you use?
At least one YouTube ‘expert’ mentioned letting parts air dry for 20 minutes prior to putting in the dehydrator. That seems counterintuitive and time-wasting to me. Anyone doing this and if so, why?
Any general comments on experience and/or specific info on actual dry/cure times for various paints and coatings would be great, too.
Lastly, I know Don and maybe others have made drying booths. I’m too lazy and have already procured a dehydrator…but I’d love to know what temperature you use.
I use my dehydrator nearly every time I paint regardless of brand. Not so much for speeding things up, but I do want everything fully cured by the next day, and this makes sure that happens.
As far as temp, I set mine at 113 deg. Time set usually 2-4 hours, perhaps more for cars where I will go 6-8 hours. The dehydrator speeds drying time, but for me it makes absolutly sure it is fully cured when I go to work on it next and I am not waiting for that. And you can dry parts after washing them to make sure no water remains before painting.
As far as time before I put it in, maybe 5-10 minutes. As long as I can safely move the parts and not have dust stick when I do that or dust stick once it’s in the booth.
Using one is a game changer and I will never go back. I’ve had mine almost a year now and I can’t imagine not having it. It really is a massive help in the paint phase.
I have decided that waiting for paint to dry is a real fun-killer for me in this hobby. I’m already using MRP and that’s sort of why I got the dehydrator, having lost my patience waiting for everything else!
That said, your message recieved, and you are right. [;)]
I still have an Oster toaster oven that I bought a few years ago to use as a drying booth since we use one at work for the same thing on small parts that we paint. Shortly after buying it, I tried MRP…the toaster oven is still pretty much brand new…never used it. Wish I had been able to mix some MRP to make the corrogard paint I just airbrushed onto my F-4B wing leading edges last week, but I had to use Model Master enamels for that because I’ll be brush painting the leading edges of the engine intakes with it. If I could have done that, I wouldn’t have had to wait a week for the Model Master paint to fully cure. [:D]
Be sure you get a dehydrator that has a temperature setting. I know people who did get a cheap control-less one and melted their models. I built a cheapy using a 60 watt incondescent bulb and a light dimmer, and have a spare thermometer in the box. I run it at about 110 F.
And I think I would rather take a break and read than Use a Dehydrator or Toaster oven. Thing is, I have never gotten in any kind of hurry at this phase. I build to my schedule not any Show or Contest schedule. I just simply refuse to. If I don’t show the model til the next time so be it! I only show now( Display Only Table), I don’t do contests because of the Attitudes of some folks toward newbies and their classical mistakes.This is one thing that will make my blood Boil. Boiling Blood and Temper are not a good mix!
That and I got in a heated arguments with some judges once where we had to go in a closed room. Why? Well some Nit-Picker said and argued vehemently that My Piping was wrong on a Scratch-Built Tanker, Deck Piping, that happened to be a model of the ship I was Captain of at the time. Even with On deck Photos he was insisting I was wrong and it should be pulled because it wasn’t “Up to Snuff!” (His words). I don’t put up with that anymore by not competing.
Understood, Doc, and it’s neat that you are able to do that.
Wish I could too, but I need to keep some sort of rythem/progress going or I lose interest. Too many delays stack up, and I end up frustrated and on modeling haitus like my last 18 months.
We are all wired differently, and I respect your position and even envy your patience in waiting for paint to dry. [:)]
Thanks for joining the discussion.
BTW, for any visitors landing here from a search, don’t use a toaster oven (which TankerBuilder mentioned, (inadvertantly, I’m sure) instead of a dehydrator or dedicated paint-dryer like Don’s above. Lowest adjustable temperature is far to hot and will almost certainly warp styrene of certain shapes.
Yup. The Oster I bought is the only toaster oven I know of that can have its temperature adjusted as low as 100 degrees. All of the others are way too hot for plastic.
One tidbit of advice from a secondhand source. Don’t forget about your model in the food dehydrator. One of the guys did from So Cal AMPS did that during our 12 hour GB challenge and accidentally destroyed his model that way.
Yikes! I’d sure like to know more details about that, especially at what temperature that happened, but how would you know.
Good tip, Stik, and you’ve given me an idea. Clear out a some of my test spoons (ha ha) to make room for a test sprue with a nice thin or skinny or both piece and run some tests, for sure.
Why the “ha ha?” A lot of my modeling friends have spoons just for paint testing, and refer to them as their test spoons. I thoroughly endorse doing experimenting when there is a question about a new technique. BTW, I consider spoons better than sprue- closer to the shape of model parts. Drying times do depend on local curvature of surface.
Oh, I don’t know, Don. I guess at the time I must have found it funny that my fancy new dehydrator was full of plastic spoons. It really doesn’t make sense on re-read.
Yes, I go through so many plastic spoons for testing that I happen to have a new box on my grocery list right now.
I’ve often wondered if spoons are really a good test substrate seeing as I don’t know if they are polystyrene or not, and they are so slippery smooth. I’m taking your endorsement as a last-word “yes” on that question, and thanks for that.
I do get asked by folks if I eat a lot of Pudding, Because they see spoons everywhere! Yes, even on Brush painting the Spoon is the go to. Why? Well, you certainly tell if the coverage is what you want or if the paint product is too thin for brushing ,Yada,Yada,Yada!. Like others I now buy them buy the 100 count. The change in paint brands has me back to Old Methods with Testors,mainly Mixing their enamels for the Color I need .The acrylics are okay but, you have to many steps to Brush. I don’t have the time to add,Retarder,Thinner and so on.
Yeah, Mixing takes time. But, when I get the shade and temperature I need then I can create a larger than normal batch for my projects. remember Models of ships and Stuff are NOT the only models I build for folks. I have at least Twelve colors for Brick Red and Brick Yellow. I have at least two you might be puzzled about.Aged ,burn’t Brick and Industrial Aged Brick. Did you know the bricks used on Buildings in steel Mills used to turn Black ,Blackish and very dark Burnt Black red! So for some folks who cannot handle modeling buildings, I help them out.They are members of the Club and Museum after all.
