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The coldest I've primed until now was in -5C (23F). I just tried to prime something in -25C (-13F) and it uh, didn't go so well (note - it wasn't windy either). The primer went all runny and wouldn't cover at all... What's the absolute low limit for outdoor priming in your experience?

I'm guessing that this will happen irrespective of which primer I try - this attempt was with Duplicolor. I also have Krylon and GW black handy as well. Anyone have better success?

I have never tried below 5C so cant offer any interesting stories, but I too am very curious what the low limit is for priming. Did your -5C turn out alright?

GW starts going running around freezing in my experience.

Hence why I prime in the early Fall and make sure I have a hundred or so models queued to last me the winter.

Keep the can inside, make sure it's nice and warm.

Keep your models inside, make sure they are nice and warm.

Load the models up on a tray you don't mind getting spray on.

Shake and shake and shake.

Take the models on their tray and your primer outside.

Be quick, and prime everything. Leave the models outside for about 10 minutes, bring the primer back in.

After 10 minutes, bring the models back in. It's safe to wait to 15-20 minutes if you really want to. Once I get going, I want to prime more models so I just wait till most of the stink is gone.

If it's raining, do not do this. The primer won't stick right.

I've done this in weather down to 15 F.

use the can outside, but store it in the house.

Outside, the paint seperates, sometimes the condensation gels the paint, and it sprays out chunks.

Frozen paint= the suck

forget about detail, forget about even coats.

I could show you what happens to plastic AND metal.

it isn't pretty.

legoburner wrote:I have never tried below 5C so cant offer any interesting stories, but I too am very curious what the low limit is for priming. Did your -5C turn out alright?

It was a little runnier than usual, but I managed to get it to cover at -5C (assuming no wind).

There is a direct correlation between temperature and ambient humidity - the colder it gets, the less moisture can be retained by the air. Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I'm think that is what is causing the problem - as Grot6 seems to have hit it on the head - the paint is warmer than the air, so the frozen water vapor in the air probably condenses around the spray, adding liquid volume to it, which causes the spray to go all runny. Any colder, (i.e. with wind-chill and such, the vapor will probably condense around the paint and then immediately freeze, splattering your model with frozen chunks...

When I did spray, I was concerned that the overly dry air would cause the spray to dry out before it hit the model - resulting in a fuzzy mini, so I sprayed closer than the usual distance as well (less travel = less chance to freeze/dry), - which may have added to the runniness.

I'll try again when it gets to around -10C and see if that offers any improvement.

I have had no issues priming at 0C.

Stelek wrote:Keep the can inside, make sure it's nice and warm.

Keep your models inside, make sure they are nice and warm.

Load the models up on a tray you don't mind getting spray on.

Shake and shake and shake.

Take the models on their tray and your primer outside.

Be quick, and prime everything. Leave the models outside for about 10 minutes, bring the primer back in.

After 10 minutes, bring the models back in. It's safe to wait to 15-20 minutes if you really want to. Once I get going, I want to prime more models so I just wait till most of the stink is gone.

If it's raining, do not do this. The primer won't stick right.

I've done this in weather down to 15 F.

This is quite close to the perfect advice.
My only change would be, right after priming, bring the models in, DO NOT leave them in the cold.
if the primer freezes before it dries, you are looking for all kinds of trouble (just like the runny primer)

Doesn't anyone have a basement?

I just prime in my basement.

Sure, I have to leave the door closed for the rest of the day, while the heating/cooling system filters the air... and I have to overcompensate with protective materials to guard from overspray... but I don't generally have any problems that aren't caused by over-curious cats.


I COVER my 4.5' x 8.5' gaming table with 2 layers of newspaper, lay my stuff DIRECTLY in the middle of the table & spray from about 12" to 18" away. I never have a problem.


Don't get me wrong. I know not everyone has a basement. I'm just surprised that nobody has mentioned the possibility yet (for those who have one).


Eric

I have an oil furnace and an open cellar. If I were to do more than a trivial amount of priming in my basement I could be in the center of a fireball as the fumes combusted

If you have seperate, mostly air tight rooms, in the cellar you could get away with it, but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise

I set some cardboard shields up around my stove, turn the vent fan on high, and go to town.

Good advice from Stelek, that's about what I try to do for cold weather priming time.

And I actually primed some movement bases last week, Armory black and about 25 out I'd guess. The bases came out looking great (particularly for Armory), but my hand was covered in running paint. I thought maybe the can was clogging or something, but I guess the cold was just making it run

- Salvage

I usually fire mine off in the basement, but I have a little work station there, as well as an exhaust fan at the top of the stairs. My wife still complains about the furnace spreading the smell through the house, but pointing out it is cheaper than alcohol quiets her pretty well.

One thing I might add to Stelek's advice is to keep a large cardboard box to put the tray in for spraying. Take the box and tray outside, and you will have a pocket of warmer air for a few minutes while you spray.

Another thing I have thought about is using my shed with a space heater to prime (if the "cheaper than alcohol" line stops placating my wife) but then if you don't have a basement, you might not have a shed either. Apartment life is a pain like that.

Wehrkind wrote:Another thing I have thought about is using my shed with a space heater to prime (if the "cheaper than alcohol" line stops placating my wife) but then if you don't have a basement, you might not have a shed either. Apartment life is a pain like that.

I imagine you would have to be pretty careful with the exact heating options as the buildup of fumes might cause combustion in some circumstances - maybe leaving the shed door open would be alright though!

I have a pretty big shed, but now that you mention it, leaving either the door or the... well big doors open probably would be smart. Smarter than I usually am when it comes to safety. What I should do is build a hood exhaust like one uses in a chem lab. Make a good sized box, install a kitchen exhaust hood over it with a vent to the outside. Maybe put a lazy susan or two in the box so I can spin the minis to get both sides... hmmmmm. That might make a nice project. Right up there with installing a urinal in the corner so I don't have to run up to the house when I need to take a leak in the middle of a leather working project!

Ventilation for me is figured out by the tissue test. If, after priming, I blow my nose and boltgun metal comes out, I should have been somewhere with more ventilation or stood upwind of the spray

*L* Yea, I am definitely putting out some well shaded snot after a priming session!