[Bluepen]

OK, I'm getting ready to paint my '46 Chevy Panel, like in the next couple of weeks I hope. I know I have to watch the temp. because I live in TX and it's pretty hot here still. But I also have an advantage because we change shifts at 6:30 am and I'm home by 7:00. I figure I can do my painting early in the morning when the temp's are still down around low 70's at 7:30 am to about 85/87 by 10, 10:30 am. If I watch the humidity I think I can get away with it. I've talked to some of the body shop guys around here and thats what they do, at least the ones without AC in the booths. I've got a limited amount of time to get this done so should I do it or not??

Thanks
David

[BondoKing]

Try and stay inside your temp range with your reducer, however dont go outside of it on the plus side living in TX... You dont want to trap solvents and have that issue... I would not use anything less than a medium temp.. If it were me I would use a hot reducer simply because you never ever know what might happen once you begin... your gun could clog, you may have to re clean something, you may find a flaw you now wish to fix.. etc..... Now the day has began and the temp is increasing and you are running out of time to get the job done... With a slower reducer you could still spray it and allow for the appropiate flash times... If it is cooler then wait allot longer, if its in the temp range then follow the tech sheet since you are new at this.... As a rule always go hotter, not colder, you can wait longer for flash times, but you cant make it cooler and that could be a bad day trying to spray with too cool of a reducer... trust me You dont want to know how most of us have found that one out

BK

[shine]

i'm doing a 57 ht right now. i start at 5 0clock or so this time of year. i use the slowest reducer available. i have found that splitting a car in half during the summer works well. i'll clear the doors and front end in the morning. tomorrow i'll do the roof and rear. lot easier to control. it's tuff getting around a large car in this kind of heat. by 10 it's 90+ in the booth.

[kenseth17]

If it is with basecoat clearcoat, you can spray base late in the evening since you don't have to worry quite as much about bugs that like to come out at night because of the fast drying time, and be set up to just apply the clear in the morning. Check you time window on your base, most are 24 hrs to clear, If it is getting to too hot, you can wait till the following morning to spray another coat of base or your clear as long as you are within the time window of when you sprayed the last coat of base. Make sure your gun is working properly and is all set up, then just spray your clear the next day. Or you could just use a slower reducer or a retarder to slow down drying times. It was hitting in the upper 80's I think in the garage on the last car I painted and was using a second slowest reducer dt 885 and all came out okay. Unfortunately the kid who owned it got in an accident and wrecked it three weeks after getting it back. Hood, fenders, bumper, radiator all gone. Both airbags blown, which cracked the windshield.Probably going to be totalled by insurance. And I don't want to even know how many hours I had into the hood getting it to fit right, what a bummer.

[beemdubya]

Im not sure i would leave it out in the sun after u clear if u plan on it.. do to my shop getting to small i left a bumper that i painted at 6pm here outside over night.. well the next day at about 11am when i got there it was really dull in the spots thats faced the sun.. i dont really know why it did that.. never asked but it did. the parts that were inside were fine.. weird.. painting in the morning is the best IMOP less bugs.. at night time here in new jersey if u do an overall without a booth you get a good 5 bugs stuck on there in the morning.

[Bee4Me]

kenseth17 is on it. Base at night,clear in the early A.M. Or, Clear at 2:00 A.M.

Setting a freshly cleared whatever out in the sun is asking for trouble. The clear "skin's" over and dosen't gas out properly. Leave it indoor's and let it do it's thing naturally.

You can use a retarder if need be just in case. I'm not a big fan of them but they do help with the temp's being up close or in the 100's.