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Hey everyone. So I just moved to Las Vegas and it's currently 103 outside. I had a quick question about priming in this heat. If I keep my paint and models inside where its cool, take them out for a quick spray and bring them right back inside, would I have any problems?

Thanks

If it's humid, definitely not. If it's just dry heat, give it a shot with a model you don't care about and see how it goes.

Just make sure you’re not spraying in direct sunlight. I used to spray primer stuff in Tucson, where the heat can easily get above 103F. I’ve found that if you’re in direct sunlight the primer can get grainy really easily.

Valete,

JohnS

I think it's the dry rather than the heat you're fighting. I may be mistaken, but I think the graininess comes when the paint dries partially before hitting the model. Maybe test it on some older or stripped models or some leftover sprue and mess with the time of day, heat/humidity, and distance to the model. Too close, and you'll get pools of liquid paint that kill the detail, too far (or too hot/dry) and you'll get the sandpaper texture that's impossible to wash and drybrush properly. That's my take, but there's definitely people on Dakka who grok paint science better than I.

I have no experience spraying in the extreme us temperatures, but when it's hot here you need to hold the can closer to the model than usual.

Keeping the spray paint cool wont have any effect. By nature, the contents of the can already decreases in temp as you spray (PV=T).

Your main concern should be minimizing the heat from the sun from drying out (more like roasting) the solvent medium. As there doesn't seem to be a way to reduce the convection, and conduction being negligible, you should decrease the total amount to radiant heat - go find a shaded area and try couple tests there.

I live in south Texas. I am a new painter/hobbyist. This was a concern of mine. I have primed early morning and or late afternoon with high quality (Citadel, Army Painter, Tamiya or Vallejo) sprays minus issues. I did some tests and figured out that I can hold the spray closer to the model and remove the issue pointed out earlier (drying prior to hit the surface and leaving flakes/specs).

Likewise, I tried a cheap dark brown from Rustoleum ... yeah ... massive issue with specs and running.

Again, only been doing this a few months. Live in an area with same temps with higher humidity level. Found a decent work around and determined the quality of the paint does matter.

I mostly spray in the summer, bit of a bummer when it comes to running out of things to paint in winter but, meh.

We're at the coast so don't have super low humidity and don't get over 40 C often but I tend to do it in 35+ days. I prefer them.

I let the models get a bit warm and then lightly dust from 20-30cm away. Multiple coats. I haven't had much problem with graininess or with running.

My findings is the quality of the spray will have a much bigger impact than the high temp. That being said I'm currently using Rustoeleum Flat White primer.