Going in for paint next month and the weather is not looking so good in my area. Tempeture is ranging from average 45* (high)/ 30* (low) according to local forecast.

Now my painter is using a booth but air drying (no baking). Is it too cold to get a nice job? I know it's not the best time of the year but I'm trying to finish some body work and paint it before rust season comes. Plus I'm paying him good money to pull out a nice job.

I have no experience painting/bodywork under this climate, any advices would be appreciated.

 

It all depends on the hardener and reducers that you use. You can get a very fast reducer and a low temp hardener for colder temps. Check with the manufacture of the paint that you have and see what your options are.

 

wow if its that cold you are going to get some serious die back, hazing and dulling of the clear, you really need to have the car at least in the 60's for a good 12 to 20 hours for the curing process to do its thing, get a space heater for a day or something
if you want to see some of my work go here i have been painting for 15 years in a colder climate
http://www.myspace.com/customridesvt

 

The painter should know what to use. If the booth is not heated it should be sucking in shop air and then going outside. Thats sounds odd to have non-heated booth air circulation coming from the outside, in that type of climate/area. Colder environments should use cold temp reducers that flash accordingly. Faster hardeners should also be used depending on the situation. That sound pretty cold might want to think about waiting or adding heated air.

 

Let's say somehow he got the job done right.
Would it be harder for me to maintain the paint since the tempeture's dropping like crazy?
I certainly don't want to have a fresh look for a month and be back to no shine all hazed paint for the money I'm paying.

For a good painter, how long should he offer me a warranty?
I know it depends on quality of paint using but that didn't work out too well last time.

Long story short, the guys did a whole color change on my car, sprayed with PPG, offered a lifetime guarantee against cracking, chipping, and other damage due to paint quality. It cracked and chipped in 2 years so I asked them if they could fix it, they didn't want to deal with it and acted like females.

So now I'm dealing with a different shop, saw more than 10 jobs they pulled (including my friend's and family's cars) with DuPont and all I can say is they do flawless work. However, the owner's only offering a one year guarantee/warranty against any defects on paint. Does this sound shady? I mean Maaco is terrible in my area and they have the same warranty.

Tips and inputs are more than welcome

 

well i can't speak for everyone, but i mean most good shops with a name and pride for themselves stand behing there work, i do not even talk about warranties on paint usaully with my customers, its just unspoken, if there is an error in paint or my own work i strand behind it no questions asked, if someone comes and says look at this spot on my car the paints coming off and there is a huge scuff and dent from them hitting something,lol believe me you guys this shi%# happens,lol then i tell them whats what,lol but most shops who care about there name and their work stand behind it
oh and paint shouldn't "crack" there is something wrong if it does, too much hhardner was used or something to that effect, and as long as the paints enitial cure process is allowed for dry time your finish will hold up, i have a shop in new england and believe me it gets cold as hell, i have and down draft booth but not a bake booth, i air dry my paint jobs and these cars are out in sub zero weather a day or to later and they are all holding up beautifully so just make sure the car gets the proper cure time in a good temp like i said even 60 degrees will work but if you have to get some heat lamps and move them around the car from panel to panel to a few hours after you spray to help the cure, think about it its basically the same idea as a bake room you applying heat to the panels fpoor a period of time, just make sure you are not too close to the panel! see you on the flip side

 

So when curing paint (heat dry) as you mentioned,
this should be done in indoors right?
How long would this drying/curing procedure would take?
I know it can be air dried in a night or two on a nice summer day but since this is my first attempt working under cold climate, I'd like to make sure I know my downfalls before it happens.

Any other tips on working under this climate would be much appreciated

 

it all depends on paint used, they all vary as far as cure times, but i mean i would put a heat lamp to each panel for a few hours, door, qtr, fender, moving the lamp from place to place every hour or so if you are going to be around, you just have to use common sense and judgement i guess, you don't want it so close that i blisters the paint you know, you just want to heat it so it like it was sitting in the sun you know, you car gets raging hot in the sun, i mean you want it warm but not to the point of damage,lol hope that helps oh and yes done indoors before you put it outside, i'm talking once the paint is dust free and tact off, the new clears i use from dupont are dust and tack free air dry within an hour in 65 degree weather, i put heat to help cure within an hour and i have fenders and hoods i have painted in the morning put out in the sun to air bake and been buffing 4 hours later, not recommending you try that! i've been painting for years, but just an example

 

OK, I'm sure we can come up with four heaters so we don't have to move them around as much.
I believe my painter will be using DuPont chroma premiere products. This is my first experience with DuPont as I've only tried Sikkens and PPG in the past. Both were really good products, but in the wrong hands even the best paint cannot pull their best shine. My painter claims he's been using DuPont all 10 years of his painting career so I'm hoping everything goes smooth.

Should we be wetsanding (after the paint cures) indoors?
or is it ok to do whatever after the paint cures?
I'm really paranoid about this as this is my final attempt to keep a fresh painted car and I'm trying to get the best out of it.
Thank you for you advice.

 

well i sure wouldn't want to be freezing my *** off out doors wetsanding,lol sorry just kidding,lol i don't even wet sand most the time, i used to but i dry sand and buff, i guess i've been doing it so long i'm not worried of burning through anymore, you should sand at least a day or 2 after painting, its easier to buff than waiting, but either way it will work. i spray dupont, all i spray have my own mixing bank from the company, its great stuff, good quality, but prep and proper use are everything, cure times and temp included

 

Haha I see where you coming from.
I asked about indoors because the shop has limited space.
I was shocked when I walked in two days ago to see more then 5 cars jammed up getting worked on under this climate
Guess I'm not the only crazy one here.

As long as wetsanding outdoors (after the paint has been cured) under 40* doesn't do any harm I'm trying to freeze my *** off and do it outside As much as I love my car, I respect my painter and his shop and would hate to be the reason for other customer's cars to be pushed back.

I appreciate you taking time for the good info

 

everthing is based off of 70 degrees(thats metal temp)then the reducer are used to move this time up or down