Painting a car, help?

[Average_Jerk]

So Im probably painting my E30 this winter. Ive done lots of small projects, so the actual painting process im not too concerned about. but heres the thing. i dont have a heated garage to use. all i have are cold non heated garages. how will the cold winter temps of CT effect the paint process? should i really look for a heated garage to use? or maybe wait until it warms up a little? Id **** to spend all that time and have the cold temps fuck me.

[Oxer]

You would deffinately be better off in a heated environment..

A cold one will result in the paint taking ages to go "off" and the risk of getting shit in the paint and runs are much higher.

You could also get cloudyness in the paint, which no one wants.

[aar0n.]

^
Yup. I had my front bumper resprayed a few weeks ago by a guy in his garage (long story, he sprayed it in the spring and it was fine but started chipping from lack of flex primer). He sprayed it on a cold and foggy day and it honestly looks like it was done with a brush and has tons of runs, overspray, bubbles, grit, dirt, etc. Gotta bring it back to get redone AGAIN and I keep putting it off

What I'm trying to say is the painting environment makes a HUGE difference and you definitely want a dust-free and warm place to spray

[Average_Jerk]

honestly, these are the answers i was expecting. most of my painting has been done in the summer months where its warm regardless of where you are lol. time to figure out a temperature solution

[Oxer]

Yeah Ive painted 2pac on a sunny day out in the open... Amazing finish to say the least! haha

[EnforcerFX]

If you paint in the winter your gonna need to do it in a isolated space with a heater that uses about 10,000 BTUs at least. Buddy of mine who did some painting for me recommended this. And he use to own 3 body shops.

[BADwayz]

I try to do most of my painting at around 70 degrees, at even 60 degrees I can notice a change in the finish of certain paints. Its better to wait or you may have to do twice the work to fix it in the future.

[epbimmer]

In order to paint in lower temps you would need to adjust your secondary chemicals. Use lower temp reducers and faster acting catalists for your clear. That is why you should never purchase all your paint supplies at once. Buy your base coat and clear coat first and then wait to a day or two before to buy reducers and catalyst(hardener). They make them in many differing temps to suit the weather.

[J954sho]

You have gotten very good advice from everyone and epbimmer has touch on a base that no one else has talked about. As a career technician, I can tell u the temp reducers play a big part in flash times in your materials.Second...The temp is always an issue too..especially in the very cold winter months..I have a 60,000 BTU torpedo heater that I use in my side shop to heat the place up and is more than adequate for what I need,I haven't seen anyone ask about for exhaust situation,so I will.What means are u using to exhaust your paint fumes out while painting? And, I will also add that the exhaust situation helps because it circulates air around in your paint area which is good for the clearing process.Most of the time u can find someone that is willing to rent their booth,this might be something for u to think about,but in the meantime...the better set-up you are, the better the results of a finish u will get.. Painting cars can be a very delicate procedure depending on the finish u are trying to achieve. Good Luck!!!