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so i want to undercoat my minis but here un Germany its only around 10 degrees outside and pretty rainy. so can i still apray then and if yes how far should i hold the can away frm my minis and if no can i do it inside if i open all the windows
thanks!

I wouldn't advise it (either outside or inside).
If you do, hold the can the same distance as usual (which I think is 20-30cm away). See the can's instructions for this.
Do you have an empty garage? If so, you could try putting in a gas heater to warm it up a bit & spray in there (but with the door open). I'd also where a proper mask made for this type of chemical (ask at a DIY store).
Note that the spray particles get everywhere so the gas heater & garage will get a fine layer of spray on them.
Obviously DON'T spray towards the gas heater.

Different sprays can be more or less temperamental.
Grab some spare sprue and have a try. I remember the old chaos black spray fro GW being pretty amazing in nearly all weathers.

 Necronomic wrote:
so i want to undercoat my minis but here un Germany its only around 10 degrees outside and pretty rainy. so can i still apray then and if yes how far should i hold the can away frm my minis and if no can i do it inside if i open all the windows
thanks!

Just for our american friends, this is most likely 10°C, so it's actually not that cold.
But as Alex said, try on a sprue. This is the fastest and most reliable way to know for sure.

Ofc you can. spray distance is the same. you just cant let it dry outside. thay have to be taken inside to room temp right after you are finished spraying.

I have sprayed both gw undercoat and regular layer tamiya ps in as low as +5*c whit a rattlecan that was preheated a little bit(placed it on the panel heater for 10 mins) and on models that held room temp.


Do NOT spray indoors in your house. the particles gets EVERYWHERE!
Spray in your garage or a toolshed, aka a place where it dont matter that the walls and floor has the same colour as the minis.

Don't spray inside your house unless you have a spray booth with exhaust exiting the building. It's just not good for you.

With regards to spray primer, if it's wet and cold outside, keep the can inside to ensure it's warm before you use it. The moisture in the air will make it slightly harder for the spray to adhere to the surface. I would hold the can at a normal distance - about 12 inches away - to avoid paint pooling in the crevaces. If that proves to be a problem, you can go closer.

<edit> No spray when raining: humidity too high and get furry paint (~80% and higher humidity is bad news). Above 0 deg C is no problem at all.

Suggestions for below 0degC

1) Only prime in cold weather (no clear coats, they have not gone well). If it is one of those wet "packing snow" days, I would avoid spraying then: the humidity will play heck with the spray and may go furry.
2) Keep the parts and can inside. Both need to be warm to assist with paint drying time or pooling will result.
3) Get your spray area setup outside and ready.
4) Do the usual shake the can well and invert and spray to clear the nozzle before and after.
5) Perform the spray like normal but it is HIGHLY critical you do a very light spray: the primer does not dry fast in cold and may tend to pool and run. I find I have to hold the can a bit further back than normal (luckily the paint going "furry" is far less in cold.)
6) You need to take the parts inside again to dry in normal temperature, you may need some sealable tote if the family is sensitive to the solvent flashing off. I mainly do this to minimize any pooling that may happen.
7) Repeat spraying as needed, giving time for the parts to dry and can to warm-up.

I find this works great, still gets a bit of stink into the house but beats the alternative of spraying in the house.

Check the can

it has instructions on how and when to use it

it might be different between different brands.

IIRC i think humidity is one of the bigger factors

But one thing that might help you is to put the can into hot water for like 3 minutes. wipe down the can and shake it shake it and shake it some more.

you have to hear the small rattle.

I've not had huge problems spraying when it's cold. I tend to spray from a bit further away when it's quite cold.

I've even sprayed stuff in the rain (outside but under cover) and haven't had any real problems with it, but I'm sure it'd depend on the specific paint so don't come crying to me if it doesn't work, always test it on something you don't care about first.

Spraying when hot I've had more problems, especially hot and humid. For the same humidity % hot air holds more moisture than cold air, so maybe that's the problem.

Humidity and cold aren't really an issue...IF...you take a couple precautions.

1. Store both the paint and the model in the same temperature and humidity, ideally indoors.

2. When spraying, go outside, spray quickly and bring the model and can back indoors immediately.

3. It's a good idea to let the model dry near a window with a fan lightly blowing OUTSIDE. This keeps the smell and the VOCs down inside your living space.

This has served me well in the terrible winters of Cleveland and the hellacious summers of Florida.

Heh,
I just finished undecoating some minis in +1 celsius in the garage. I had forgotten my rattle can in the garage anyways so I the paint was cold as outside. Minis were brought from inside. I shaked approx. 1 minute.

Gave the first coat, walked the dog for ~40 min and turned the minis and gave the second primer coat.

If you like I can post pictures and give some feedback on the result in 30min, when it's supposed to be touch dry and I can bring my babies inside for inspection.

In the past I've been undercoating in like -15 celsius, but always with indoors temp paint and minis with like ~5min drying time inside before bringing them back in. My wife doesn't appreciate drying paint smell :( (tying your minis with a wire on a ski rod from the base and turning the mini while painting helps you cover all the places in one go.

Also there's lot of differences with paints, there's many products here in Finland that say they are smooth etc, but there's only like one which is super slick and smooth (a finnish label). Once tried a expensive 15€ can of car paint spray to paint my dark angels, but man it was thick, hard to get fully covered and had to paint some GW paint on it afterwards.

Anyways, if this question is still relevant, I can if thread readers want post some pics and comments on the outcome in the next hour.

 Necronomic wrote:
so i want to undercoat my minis but here un Germany its only around 10 degrees outside and pretty rainy. so can i still apray then and if yes how far should i hold the can away frm my minis and if no can i do it inside if i open all the windows
thanks!

i would advise against doing it outside if i where you id keep the spray can in your house room temperature. Then take your minis to your garage spray them real fast take your minis inside because below freezing my effect the undercoat. javascript:emoticon('');