Couple Questions/Need Recommendations

M

mitch_04

Learnin'
Well, I'm pretty much settled in to my new shop and getting some work done. I could use a little help on a few things.

My shop is 35x50x14 with a hanging propane heater. I keep my shop at 40 degrees when I'm gone, then bump it to 50 when I work. I have a different area I keep at 45 degrees at all times with all my paint in it to prevent freezing should something happen. I'm trying to keep costs down, so rather than heat the entire shop to 65 degrees for a few days (I'm only in there every other night for a couple hours and 4-6 hours on the weekends) I want to get a heat lamp. Currently I'm only priming small sections at a time, so I would put the lamp on a quarter, let it heat, spray, keep lamp on it for a day or two. I keep my shop at 40 degrees when I'm gone, then bump it to 50 when I work. I have a different area I keep at 45 degrees at all times with all my paint in it to prevent freezing should something happen.

Question 1 - What heat lamp do you all prefer or recommend?

Next, the lighting is not adequate for body and paint work. I do plan on renovating the shop to include better insulation and much more lighting, but that's down the road and I need to be able to do some work until then. I am going to build a rolling light rack, I got the idea from Mitch Henderson as he does it when color sanding and seems like a great idea.

Question 2 - What temperature of bulbs do you like for bodywork and colorsanding?

Lastly, when I go to do my filler/poly fill, I would like to keep my shop temp down.

Question 3 - Aside from longer dry times, anything catalyzed should still cure correctly at lower temps, correct?
 
mitch_04 said:
Question 3 - Aside from longer dry times, anything catalyzed should still cure correctly at lower temps, correct?
Click to expand...

Epoxy basically becomes inert at around 60 degrees. Urethanes will still slowly cure at 50 degrees or so. Solvent trapping can be an issue at low temps. If you are using filler on a cold panel (bare steel) you can run into issues of the catalyst reaction in the filler(heat) causing the cold metal to sweat. Use a lamp, try to keep temps at least 55-60 when you are working, if you are spraying epoxy you need to keep temps at 70+ for 24 hours minimum. Keep your supplies elsewhere to keep them relatively warm when you use them.
 
Thanks for the replies. That lamp is a bit out of my price point at this time. I've considered using halogen lamps until the panel is warm, then turning them off to spray, wait till the room is clear, then turning them back on for curing. Or, purchasing an infrared one at around the $200 price point. Not sure yet, I just know I can't afford to run my shop for a couple days @70 degrees. I just don't put in enough time to cover that expense.

Does anyone have a certain temperature bulb they find works best for paint inspection/spraying?
 
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