written by Alexandros Aslamazis
In most of the countries in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is in the middle and temperatures reached the peak. Unfortunately, not all of us are on holidays, so business in body shops continues, despite the “beach mood”. Below you will find seven short tips, which may help you to deal with problems caused by extreme weather conditions during the summer.
- Cool down your compressor.
As temperature rises, excessive water in the compressed air system inevitably occur. Thus, many sprayers face the problem of water blisters in their paint job. To minimize this problem, make sure that your compressor is placed in cool place, not under direct sun or closed place with poor air circulation. For more information on this issue, please check here an article I wrote some time ago about this subject.
- Choose cooler times of the day for color spraying.
Plan your prep jobs so that most of actual spraying will be done in the mornings or in the evenings, when temperatures go down.
- Mix your 2K coating materials using appropriate slow hardeners and thinners.
Using too fast hardeners and thinners may cause a lot of paint defects like swelling, loss of gloss, solvent boil, orange-peel effect, overspray, clouding, water spotting and moisture blisters. Most of the car refinishing materials brands have slow thinners and hardeners in their range, so check TDS of the products you use in order to choose the right mixture according to the outside weather conditions.
- Avoid using so-called express or fast primers and clearcoats even for spot repair jobs.
In many paint systems, you can find special products dedicated for spot repairs, which offer fast drying results. In normal conditions, these materials are very useful, however during the summer it is better to avoid using them, since many of the above-mentioned paint defects may appear.
- Pay attention to the humidity levels.
In certain climates, heat is accompanied by very high humidity, which may affect drying times and surface wetting during spraying process. For example, waterborne basecoats are very sensitive to humidity levels. In case of high humidity use, spray gun with HVLP technology. Air cap based on HVLP technology delivers higher airflow, which in turn helps to achieve drier application.
- Do not proceed with polishing or nib removal job on a hot surface.
Cool down the car surface to be polished or buffed. Polishing process raises the temperature of the surface, so hot already clearcoat will “burn down” in matter of seconds, causing loss of glass and matting.
- Do not skip using personal protection products like disposable masks, overalls and gloves.
It is true that working in high temperature conditions is not a pleasant task; however, potential occupational health problems outweigh by far any discomfort caused by wearing protection equipment. We recommend using disposable masks with air valve to keep wearer’s face cooler.
Happy painting everyone!
