Temperatures

O

Outlaw

I was always under the impression if you had a vehicle stored in a paint booth for 12 hours before painting and the temperature in the booth is maintained at 70 degrees, the vehicle would also be 70 Degrees. Im not talking about pulling a vehicle from outside where its 48 degrees into a booth and painting or applying body filler fifteen minutes later.

It sounds like I need to invest in a non contact thermal temp gun just to be safe. Has anyone had issues with sheet metal in a paint booth or shop being that much different than the temperature in the same room as the vehicle?

I'm thinking its possible to have a room at 70 degrees but a vehicle well below that. Im not going to risk applying SPI Products if my booth is 70. I dont understand why, but I am thinking the temp of the vehicle could be quite a bit lower than that?
 
Most off the time my panel temperature is about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the booth. Buy a non contact thermal thermometer its a good investment
 
Dall, Thats good to know. If my shop is at 70 and my panel is at 60, I really have the potential of screwing up. Thanks!
 
Out of curiosity I just checked the temperatures in my garage with my Harbor Freight infrared gun. The three cars have been in the garage with the doors shut for more than 24 hours. The wall thermometer reads 84.6 degrees (F) measured six feet off the floor. The rocker panel on the PT Cruiser is 83.1 degrees and the roof is 87.9 degrees. The rocker panel on the Corvette is 84.6 and the decklid is 85.3. The 4.8 degree difference seems to be just from thermal layering. There may also be some metal conductivity effects as well.
 
Bob, the one that really surprises me is the vette. Im thinking fiberglass may be more consistent with room temps at all levels? 84 Degrees, where are you at? we are in the 60's here in Northwest Montana.
 
Where big differences can come into play is in cold weather. If the roof and walls are substantially colder than the vehicle, the vehicle will radiate heat out into those surfaces. The difference between measured air temperature and surface temperature can be over 10-15° in my cinder block shop in the winter.
 
I picked up a temp gun so I wont be guessing at it. I want a minimum of 70 degrees for spi epoxy primer and bed liner (if I remember the tech sheets correctly). I will double check before I shoot, but I think I want 24 hours for each. I have a heated shop so its no big deal. If I do want to use an electric heater after the room has been exhausted, I suppose I dont want the heater blowing directly on the metal, but more just warming the room to bring temp up (sheet metal to 70)?
 
Which temp reading should we be more concerned about, air temp or metal temp, or find a happy medium of both?
 
Metal temp & epoxy temp. Don't mix up epoxy that has been in a 50 degree room and spray it, it has to get up above 65 as well.
 
So if shop tempretures are not up to minimum of 70..can you place a small space heater inside cab of truck to warm sheet metal that has fresh epoxy on it (under side of cab floor is what is being painted)?
 
Well I hope you got it sprayed im just down the road and it is hot outside today . And the invitation is still open if you want to come to our shop and check out anything
 
I actually did. Got her in the paint room with heat to make i thru the night at 70 plus. I still have all the information on where your shop is. I just got side tracked with family issues and had to help my Mom and Dad out of some house maintainance before winter hits. I really appreciate that invitation and I will stop by for sure. Thanks!
 
Outlaw, it been getting cold here in SWVA the last few nights. I sprayed some epoxy the other day, and I have one of those twin 500 watt lights on a stand. I have been using that to keep my metal temps from dropping. Those things really put out some heat.
 
oh good idea, I have one of them I can use too. Thanks for reminding me.
 
Thanks Crash, at what point when drying epoxy is the heat too much? We know epoxy likes warm, minimum of 70...so whats the max?
 
Good to know, at one time when I was trying to get it all adjusted, it hit 109 but I backed it off to stay below 100. From then on it cured between 85-95. Thanks Crash
 
Thanks for the link crash. I thought those curing lamps were a lot more $. That might just be what I need to get me through the winter.
 
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