That time I fought with the paint booth guy about temperature and lost

I used to think you could spray basecoat a little cold as long as you let it flash off longer. Had this older painter named Hank tell me I was wrong last winter when I was fighting with some silver metallic. I told him my way worked fine for years. Then I had a hood come out with some tiger striping that would not buff out. Had to strip it and start over. Hank said I should keep the booth at 70 minimum from the moment I start mixing to the last coat. I figured he was just being stubborn but I tried it his way on the next silver car. Came out perfect first try, no striping at all. Has anyone else had a specific temp that works best for metallics or is it more about the reducer you pick?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_hart5d agoMost Upvoted

That temp trick matters because cold paint messes with the metallic flake orientation, not just drying time. Have you checked if your reducer selection varies by brand or did you switch to a specific one Hank recommended?

allen.amy4d ago

Respectfully, I see it a bit different. The temp affects the solvent release rate which can mess with flake orientation just as much as the paint temp alone. If your reducer is too fast for the panel temp, you'll get mottled flake no matter how warm the paint is.