was wondering now that cold weather is just around the corner for most of us, how do you do your painting when its cold? where do you paint at? how do you keep your paints at the right temp.?[?]
Right now I have two models more or less sprayed and ready for detailing. I try to do the spraying when its warm out and I can leave the window open, since I don’t have a spray booth. Paints should be stored in at least room temp. Since I will be doing brush work, painting in an enclosed room won’t be a big deal this winter.
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
hello tigerman, i to do not have a spray booth . but i also dont do enough painting ahead of time to last me all winter, so most of the time im stuck with stinking up the basement, although i do try to spray next to the window.
Hi Dave. I wish I had a solution, but I don’t. I have built many kits in the old days, just breathing in those delicious fumes, without a thought about it harming me. Now, I use a respirator and spray only Acrylics. They don’t smell as bad, but I’m sure they are just as bad to inhale in quantity. At the pace I finish models any more, these may last me into next year. [V]
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
yea , it seems kind of backwards dont it. when the weather is bad and you cant go outside very often , it would be the best time to work on our models, but you have to use more caution on what you do as far as painting and things like that.i have a respirater but still am stuck with the ole lady gripping about the smell. oh well.
you can make a simple spray booth with a cheap box fan and some air conditioner filters.
Although it has its moments. It really isn’t a worry for us. We worry more about humidity than cold. My garage has an area set up for aibrushing and you can use an impromptu spray booth using a cardboard box, a light, a fan placed at the end of the box with it pointed to pull the air out of the box and with the air conditioner filters behind it. (between the subject and the box fan) For $12 ($10 & change for the fan, less than a $1 for the filters, boxes can be had for free) you have a spray booth. When the filters get too much paint on them, throw them away and for .95 buy new ones.
Paint works best at room temp. When I llived in CT I would keep the paints in their storage box in the house and move the colors to the basement (where it was considerably colder) when I was ready for the spray session. Never sprayed long enough for it to become an issue.
Mike
hi renarts, thats what i try to do is quick little paint sessions, a coat here and a coat there. nothing like i do in the warmer months.thanks for the tips on the spray booth, i’ll have to give that a try.
Mike I like your cheapo spray booth solution. Wasn’t there an article somewhat recently, maybe a year or so ago in FSM on this very topic? Maybe I ought to dig it up. Just curious, are acrylics just as unhealthy as enamels?
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
- For the most part, acrylics are “relatively” less toxic than enamels; however, toxicity is not only based on ingredients, but on the frequency, duration, and concentrations of the paints and thinners you are using, as well as other variables, including the amount and type of ventilation, and whether you are wearing a respirator, etc. Other variables may include airbrush operating pressures, which controls the amount of paint atomized at any given time.
- The “cheapo” idea of a cardboard box and box fan for a spray booth is just plain dangerous from a fire standpoint, and if the air is being recirculated back into the room, the entire purpose of the booth is defeated. The topic of spray booths has been explored fairly extensively in the painting and airbrushing forums. I would encourage a search in that section, and check to see if any information there is applicable to your situation. If not, come back here and ask your questions. There are a lot of folks here with good ideas on keeping your health. If you need any additional recommendations, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me personally.
Gip Winecoff
HEY,
I have a closed in porch in the front of my house and when i need to spray something, i do it out there. Also, i wear those painters masks and i can do it in the house, as long as i leave the room for about fifteen minutes with the window open. Hop this helps.
Randy
dubix88,
If you are having to leave the room, it sounds as if your respirator may not be functioning properly. In addition, if paint vapor concentrations are such that you have to vacate the room for any length of time at all, you may need some additional help ventilation-wise. Consider getting a good window fan to help dilute the vapors, or to help draw them out. Also consider the idea of a spray booth (not the one mentioned in the above posts). Lastly, ensure your respirator is operating correctly. The respirator you should have is a rubber/silicone half-mask with the organic vapor cartridges and paint prefilters. They’re about $20 at most of the big hardware chains. If this is the device you have, and you can smell or taste the paint, or if breathing is slightly more difficult than normal while wearing the mask, the cartridges and prefilters need to be replaced.
Gip Winecoff
Great advice Gip, thanks.
“it is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
I can paint year round. I have a room set up with a paint booth vented to the outside. I have also installed a vent fan which I can turn on if needed. The room is always just the right tempature year round. I also have a respirator with replaceable fiber filters and a charcoal canaster. It is an old one but it works great.
Thanks for the advice Gip. SInce I spray mostly with acrylics and in such small amounts, I’ve never had problems with it. I had this set up in my modeling area for years and never had an issue with it. Also had it up against a window so the air moved outside.
Ah well, drunks, fools and Irishmen, right?
Mike
Alas, with the turning of leaves comes the end of modelling. I wouldn’t airbrush even acrylics when it’s too cold to open a window. And my windows are incompatible for ducting out fumes with a proper spraybooth. In the winter months I’ll be doing nothing but painting miniatures by brush with acrylics. And with a fan going.
I shudder to think of the damage I’ve done to myself in my younger years by airbrushing in the basement with only a dust mask.
DJ
Your right DJ, the damage has probably been done. Not to scare you, because I have done it also, but I read this story somewhere last year where this perfectly healthy 40+ old guy suddenly developed all these terrible symptoms that stumped the doctors and subsequently died. They finally concluded, that he being a proficient model builder, combining all the unprotected airbrushing in accordance with all the glue fumes, fried his body. Pretty scary stuff. Just a reminder to be cautious in our hobby.
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
Lucky for we get several nice warm days in the winter most years. Don’t think I could live somewhere that come winter it’s indoors till spring.
Hey tigerman
You wouldn’t happen to remember what those symptoms were, would ya?
I don’t feel so good.
I usually put my cans in warm water,before using them, but in the good ole south Louisiana, we do not really have a winter, it gets cold but it not long. Usually a good time to work on figures.
Yes Merlin it seems farfetched, but I wish I could remember where I read that story to back up my last post. I work at a newspaper and it either was a story that they ran or I’m thinking an obituary. Just not sure. I swear I did read it.
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee