Baked-on paint finish? Scott?

[amecks]

Scott once mentioned using an oven to give a baked on paint finish.  I used the search function but did not find any topics.

Has anyone ever done this and what difference did it make?  What temperature and for how long?  (Recipe?) 

I will be painting a motorcycle part I made.  Primer, thin coat of black enamel, and a finish coat of clear gloss polyurethane (Oil base) enamel.  I want to harden it after painting all three coats. 

Maybe I should just leave it out in the sun til Saturday.  It has to be on the bike Sunday - it's going to a bike meet.

Thanks.
 Al.

[Chillylulu]

Outside?

Wind will blow stuff into it.  The best finish I ever made took the most time.

Your best fast finish may be to paint your first layer of paint and sand in between coats with 600 or finer grit wet/dry sand paper. Put your part in a box (metal or substantial wood, not cardboard ) with a light bulb, watch it close as the temperature can get real hot.  We made a box out of wood and wired a temperature switch inline with the power. We lined it with refractory material to keep heat in, but even aluminum foil would be good.

Works good for small parts here, but it is also very arid here. A clear coat won't make up for any sloppy paint work, that us why it us best to paint several thin coats and sand in between.

(If you haven't done it, it seems crazy to sand a new layer of paint. It works wonders with the quality of your finish)

Chilly

By the way, we built a box for baking the paint even though I gave a 25"×50"× 13" electronically controlled kiln. It worked well.

[amecks]

Chilly, Thanks for the advice and ideas.  I cannot sand between coats - sorry - I had the patience for that when I was younger.  Here's the thing - this cycle is an unrestored barn find.  A lot of the paint is original.  If I make something too shiny and nice, it won't look like it belongs.

I have the painted item in the garage sitting under a couple 100 watt lamps (but not too close).  I'll leave it out for a while and then go shut the lamps off.  Seems to generate a pretty good amount of heat.

So the piece I made was a parcel rack for the rear.  The polyurethane is to make it somewhat durable to having things strapped to it.  It came out really nice - not too "perfect".

Thanks.
Al

[Lostmind]

I think " Earl Schieb" used to use bulbs for his baked on enamel finish. " Any car , any color , $29.95"

[Chillylulu]

Al,

I hope you have great weather and a good time at the meet!

Chilly

[lauver]

Gang,

I've always had good luck baking rattle can enamel in my kitchen oven.  I put the air dried part in the oven, set the temp to 200 deg's for 2 hours, then turn the heat off and leave the part in the oven overnight.  The oven stays hot/warm for a long time.

Paint always dries and hardens nicely and is ready for handling and assembly.

Works for me...  I've done a few tool chests this way but had to take out all but one of oven racks to fit the chest in.

[amecks]

AH! A recipe!  Gotta write that down and try that next time. Thanks Lauver.
Is this something you have to do when your wife's not home?  I may not be able to do it if it makes the house smell like a paint shop!

[lauver]

al,

Yes, this is always done when the wife is gone.  And it does leave a bit of the new paint smell in the house for a day or so.  But, I'm lucky; my wife and kids are used to my refurb projects and seem to tolerate the short term paint smells.

[scottg]

Pretty much just like Gary stated.
You can cool it off for an hour, and then bake it again to 250 or 275 for another hour.

 And yeah
"There's a sale at Macy's! There's a double feature at the Emporium.
There's a book signing at Barnes n Noble of your favorite romance novelist. The garden club has the best roses this year. Free male strippers down at the Paradise........

  Something will work to get you some privacy.
     yours Scott

[turnnut]

best way to not upset the spouse; put a used stove in the shop, some of you have a refrigerator
in the shop, why not a stove ?

build a cabinet around it with peg board to hang more tools to hide the stove.

[rusty]

>" Earl Schieb"
LOL..painted everything that wasn't masked, trim, mirrors windshield, rust, holes, ...

[Diesel]

Almost any high heat paint you buy at a auto parts store especially for headers exhaust etc.. Will have a recipe for baking it in the oven and also recommends this for the best finish

[Lewill2]

Earl Schieb paint jobs, When I was a kid a friends father did the body work and masking on a 57 Ford station wagon, drove it to Earl's local place and had it painted. The guy asked if he wanted the spare tire rim painted? Yea sure, so they threw it in the back of the car and sprayed it. Yep center hole and five lug holes were painted on the mat in the back of the car for the rest of the time they owned the car.

[Chillylulu]

best way to not upset the spouse; put a used stove in the shop, some of you have a refrigerator
in the shop, why not a stove ?

build a cabinet around it with peg board to hang more tools to hide the stove.

220v power..... I need my son to add more power out there already.