Drying Paint Faster

otpowell

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Would a blow dryer work or a heat gun? The heat gun I was thinking about buying has a minimum temp of 750 degrees and is used for paint removal.. Not sure if that's too hot? It's 20 bucks, should I just buy a cheap blow dryer instead?
 
Would a blow dryer work or a heat gun? The heat gun I was thinking about buying has a minimum temp of 750 degrees and is used for paint removal.. Not sure if that's too hot? It's 20 bucks, should I just buy a cheap blow dryer instead?






For airbrushing A blow dryer has always worked fine for me. I have seen some use heat guns but if you already have a blow dryer around the house just snatch that up and make sure the ol'lady has an extra!! Haaa!!
 
I know.. I was using my wife's and tired of taking it back and forth from the bathroom.. Sooner or later she will complain probably. I just bought a $20 heat gun from Home Depot.. I bought the heat gun because it has other uses like you know conforming plastic and paint removal.. I hope it doesn't melt my artwork but I'll be careful.. I'll just do it like 12 inches away from the canvas maybe
 
Does a heat gun work to cure URO's? It doesn't does it because it doesn't dry the same as water based paints, right?
 
Does a heat gun work to cure URO's? It doesn't does it because it doesn't dry the same as water based paints, right?






Right. Urethanes have different reducers to control how fast your paint dries. Water base you use heat to speed up the evaporation time of water!
 
Does a heat gun work to cure URO's? It doesn't does it because it doesn't dry the same as water based paints, right?

Heat can be used to dry uro's (we often "bake" a finish in the booth to get it out the door faster). Having said that, it's important to know that baking the finish doesn't fully cure it. Using heat hardens the paint from the outside in. The layers beneath can remain soft though. It actually takes about 30 days for uro's to cure completely (the chemicals gasing off is why you can smell the new paint for an extended period of time).
 
That is good info to know. I have never had to use heat when airbrushing with urethanes. I have noticed that smell for a day or two after I clear coat though! Thanks for the info Wicked!
 
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I use a heat gun rather than stealing the wifes dryer because I did get in trouble for that LOL..But pretty much as wicked said. Bare in mind though if your going to use it to dry out uros. Still give it time to flash off normally as per the instructions. You don't want to dry it to fast with a heat gun, once the its flashed off (Normally about 20 minutes) then by all means dry it further with the gun to assist some curing, otherwise you could create a seal too quickly and as the thinners try to evaporate off you may capture them under the skin of the paint and create an issue..Its rare that I do actually use a heat gun as I have got too close a cple of times and overheated the paint and bubbled it so be wary. If anything I use it to warm up the panel a bit on a really cold day (When I know I shldnt really be painting) so the uro isn't going onto cold metal. Really the airflow of an airbrush is generally sufficient to dry your paint, if you go on a bit wet..GL
 
Anyone else use a heat gun to cure water borne? Ehow.com says something about scraping the excess paint off. That doesn't sound right, if you lay the paint on right you shouldn't have excess paint. Anyone herd of this?



*In case of lumping, cure the uneven area of the coating with the heat gun. Curing refers to melting excess paint. Heat causes airbrush paints to cross-link; thus, creating a permanent, smooth film. Remove the melted paint through a paint scraper and dry the leveled coating.*



ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360448055.844559.jpg
 
Of course I'm new and sometimes lay my my paint on too thick. Mostly from low light and visibility problems. I have a natural light lamp pointed straight at my easel now.. Just don't think the scraping part would be easy and might ruin something.
 
I use all Createx and Auto Air recommends heat to help it cure. Createx is the same way. Wicked it says it isn't necessary. All made by the same company. I would say it depends on the paint manufacture and what they call for.
 
Anyone else use a heat gun to cure water borne?

Yer mainly T-Shirt work because you do have to pump it in a bit. I've also had to use it once or twice with Etac (The FX I think) as it does retain that bit of moisture a bit longer than some paints, haven't needed to do so on any other paint types.

That quote from Ehow reads a bit weird m8, trying to level of airbrush work? Shldn't really need to LOL If their putting it on that heavy I think they have an issue, but maybe I'm reading it wrong :)
 
Anyone else use a heat gun to cure water borne?

In the early years of waterbased technology, heat was necessary for curing the paint. However, the technology has progressed a lot from that point and most tech sheets now say applying heat is no longer required, only air flow. I still use a heat gun to speed up flash times if I'm covering a larger area, or if I plan to mask over the waterbased/waterborne finish. Early on, heat also helped with cross linking (prevents your work from being pulled up with masking techniques). I'm not a chemist and don't know if heat still helps in this area, but it gives me piece of mind...

If you do use a heat gun follow RebelAir's advice. Don't get too close and keep the gun moving. A heat gun, even on its lowest setting, gets very hot and will easily ruin your hard work.
 
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