Force drying paint

[Jeff]

Is it bad to use a heat gun to either heat up an item before painting, or use the heat gun to force dry the paint?

Jeff

:rocket:

[loanrangie]

Heat gun would be pretty harsh , no problem warming metal parts up before painting but i would use a smaller heater or even a hairdryer.

[sheerluck]

Depends on what sort of paint you are using, but you don't want the part you are painting to be too warm, or it will flash off too quickly.

And for using any kind of forced hot air device onto fresh paint - there would be a risk of blowing dust or other particles onto or into your new, fresh surface. You're better off with a radiant heat source about 60cm from the surface.

[uninformed]

as they say depends entirely on the type of paint. For example most spray paints have a min and max temp to work at and still achieve a good bond and cure.

I recently painted some parts with heat proof spray paint (only the 300c stuff, not the higher exhaust etc stuff) For some reason over a day later it was still not fully cured. I figured since it was heat proof and that the higher rated stuff actually uses heat to get its final hardening, I would apply a little heat with a heat gun to finish it off. All it did was make it more tacky...

[Homestar]

Our oven can be set as low as 30 degrees for plate warming. I've found it ideal for warming small items in the winter before I spray them. I also pop the spray can in warm water for 10 minutes as well to warm the paint through.:)

[jon3950]

Also, applying heat to the paint surface can cause it to skin, preventing the solvents from evaporating from inside the coating. If this happens it won't cure properly.

Uniform heat (within the paints limitations), like an oven, is good. Localised heat, like a heat gun, is bad.

Cheers,
Jon