How cold is TOO cold...

[jotter]

to airbrush in. I live in the Northeast and it's pretty cold here this time of year. Should I wait till Spring?

[Fishwelding]

Good thread idea as many of us live in colder climes and must airbrush (non-acrylics, at least) outside. The other day I airbrushed in the upper 30s-lower 40s Fahrenheit. These were Testors MM gloss enamels, sprayed at 12-15 psi, and all turned out excellent.

[vanilla gorilla]

I've actually had better results in the cold, as long as the paint itself is warmed enough to maintane it's appropriate consistency. I think the bigger concern with painting and temps is the humidity levels. Cold and dry is fine, warm and wet is no good. VG

[mois]

I never had problems airbrushing during cold winters here in Switzerland. You should pay attention to your model not being outside for to long. If it cools down to much and you spray on it, the wet paint might crack up and leave ugly patterns, if you bring it back to your warm bench to dry. This happened to me once with enamels, since then I always try to be as quick as possible or let the the paint dry in a colder place than on my workbench. It's all about the temperature difference, because the paint expands when it gets warmer (like all substances do).

Hope this helps,

Daniel

[Triarius]

Most paints won't cure below 40°F. There can also be problems with solvent evaporation rates, especially with acrylics, although some enamels can be affected.

The important thing is to keep both the paint and the model above 40-45°. Don't leave it out there! As soon as the solvent has flashed off, get it inside.

Another trick is to paint the model, then put it in a sheltered area in bright sun until the surface is tacky, at which point the solvent is mostly gone and you can bring it inside. Using a light bulb in a box is another work-around on a cloudy day.

[MattC]

I don't know if it applies to airbrushing, but certainly with hand brushing, I have found (due to a lack of proper heating) that in anything below about 10 degrees C, enamels don't go off properly, they go touch dry, but lift when repainting, even after a few days, and more especially metallic colours seem to struggle in colder temperatures.

Mind you, I am right by the sea (within 100 metres) and so its probably pretty humid around here, which won't help..

[phantom]

In my old house I used to airbrush outside year round. Live in Southern Ontario, which gets rather cold and white round winter time.

Never once had a problem other then fingers freezing to the airbrush.