I remember reading about baking the finish of models, but cannot remember exactly where I saw it. Someone also showed a photo of their homemade paint oven, using a cardboard box, aluminum foil, and a light. I made one for myself this morning, and was wondering if anyone who has a similar setup could give me a basic guide to temps and time in the oven. IIRC, someone ssaid NO MORE than 150 degrees for about an hour. Does this sound right? TIA!
Make sure there are holes in the bottom to let cool air in and hots at the top to let the hot air escape. A low wattage light bulb is sufficient. Experiment with different watt bulbs until you find one that will hit the ideal temp you want…no more than 120 degrees TOPS! Also place a heat shield between the bulb and the model.
I do my drying on top of the lamp above my workbench. If I need a larger ‘oven’ I particon off the area of the shelf above the light to ‘hold’ the heat in. Works great.
The aluminum mitre box works as a heat sink in which I place small parts to ‘bake’. Draping a cover over the front of the shelf and lamp helps hold more heat. This area tends to be a bit more dust free since it is high above the ‘work zone’.
Thanks for the quick reply Gerald! RIght now, I have a 60W bulb in the “oven” and my temps with the holes in the bottom and top are between 115 and 125 degrees. I left the flaps on the box so that I can open them like dampers to regulate the heat. I also used on of those remote sensor digital thermometers with the sensor mounted in the middle of the box. Thanks you for the temp I need, how long do you bake your finishes for?
Depends on the paint, but I generally give it about an hour.
Make sure the paint is completely dry to touch before you put it to bake.
Frank,
That was probably my drying booth that you are referring to.
I have a 100 watt bulb and no holes in the box anywhere as I see no need for them.
The box’s internal dimensions are 20" long x 15" deep x 13" tall
I put an old black T-shirt hanging down over the opening of the box and the temperature usually gets around 112-116 degrees. I leave the part in there for about 45 minutes to an hour and it is thoroughly dried. I use Tamiya acrylics exclusively.
Thanks guys for the help! [tup]
Mike- Yep, that’s exactly the one I used as a reference! Great idea, looks like it will work a treat!
BTW, I have been playing around with my new Badger 200-3, and I love it! Turn the needle in tight enough and I can do the smallest mottle, and open her up and she’s ready for clearcoats!
Bake time varies from model to model and paint to paint. I also let my putty work cure in the oven as well. I do find that MM enamels tend to stay sticky even after baking a while. So I just leave them set overnight with the oven off. Next morning they are hard cured.