For years and years, I’ve heard that warming cans of spray paint in a container of warm (But not hot) water will help the paint flow better and give better coverage when spray can painting. But I’ve been very hesitant to do this over the years for fear of having an accident since the cans do say they’re flammable.
So for those who have warmed their cans of spray paint, what luck have you had?
Pros and Cons?
Tips and tricks?
And would warming smaller bottles of Tamiya, Vallejo, etc. paint help them too?
Warming spray paint cans improves atomization, resulting in a finer, smoother, and more consistent spray pattern. The warmth increases the pressure inside the can and lowers the paint’s viscosity (thickness), allowing it to exit the nozzle in a much finer mist.
So I don’t think it would matter for paint in the jars,has more to do with the propellant
I’ve done it ( very rarely because I prefer my airbrush instead of spray cans ) and, it does help the paint “flow” better.
This has to be done VERY CAREFULLY however and, you have to monitor the whole process. What I’ve done is take a small pot, fill it with an inch or two of water and place it on the stove. Set the temp to HIGH and watch the water. Once you see some tiny bubbles start to form on the bottom of the pot, remove it from the stove and add the can. As the can heats up it will start to swell (expand), this is the time you remove the can and use it.
Give it a shot and see what you think. You may or, may not think it’s worth the trouble.
I often do this. I do a lot of base coats / priming using the big cans of Tremclad or similar. I store them in my basement, in my tool storage area. Although it is inside, it’s cooler in the basement and it isn’t in a directly heated room, thus the paint cans are usually below 19C when I want to use them.
I’ve never put them in a pot of boiling water, just usually a tall Tupperware container with hot water from the tap. Let the can soak for a while, maybe replace the water once. Otherwise in the winter, I have set the cans on the heat register when the furnace has kicked in, that usually heats it up enough to help.
I find that the heat helps to a certain degree, but it’s way more important to make sure you’ve shaken the can enough, especially if it’s been sitting for some time.
I do it, too. Put water from our instant hot water dispenser in a bowl and set the can in it. After a bit, I’ll shake the can to mix the hot and cold paint and replace the water. Usually two ‘doses’ of water does it.
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Ive played around with Tamiya spray cans quite a bit. I didnt own an airbrush for my first couple years, so it was always rattle cans.
To be honest, ive sprayed models outside in 20 degrees F with a cold can and got a great finish. Tamiya spray cans are just great.
Ive also dunked the cans in hot water from the tap in a tupperware and let them sit for 5 minutes before painting. I got very nice results, but i get great results from tamiya cans always. Now I just hold the can tight in my hand for a minute until the metal isn’t cold.
The biggest factor I’ve found, especially living right by the ocean, is humidity. Again I’ve sprayed in 20 degrees and everything was fine, but sprayed luke warm cans in humidity or too close or too far and got less than perfect results. The results honestly were still good, just not as good.
If you want to give it a safe try, put warm tap water in a bowl and dip the can in there. Dont put it on the stove… But id look more at humidity the day you paint than anything
I’ve been doing it for several years, bowl of hot water and let it sit awhile, shake the can a bit and set it back in the bowl for a bit. It helps a lot.
Good point about the humidity, recently while air brushing i had some issues ive only had once or twice. I started reading and one of the issues i found was infact the humidity, that day it was 90 pecent and 40 degrees in my garage, i warmed up the garage to get the humidity down, increased my air pressure a touch and accually measured out a 1:1 paint/thinner and it made all the difference in the world.
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