Creative Places to Prime during Winter

At the rate I'm going, I think I'm going to be in a position to prime the bulk of my wing aft and leading edge ribs and skins in about a month or two, which will put me square in the middle of the cold season up here in New England. Though there's a possibility of an errant warm, nice day, the likelihood that I'll be able to line it up with a day I'm available seems fleeting.

I hate to wait until Spring, so I was wondering if anybody had come up with any unique ideas to rent a space (like in a body shop or something) to do priming work. The commercial hangar I work at won't allow painting anywhere (HAZMAT, ventilation, and disposal issues), and I don't have any space to build a negative pressure table or anything similar in my workspace...it's either outside in the elements or not at all. Any creative ideas for how I can keep the process moving when it gets chilly?

I ran into the same problem last winter (I?m in Southington, CT). I prepped my parts inside the house then ran outside and sprayed them on my snow covered driveway. The parts stayed warm enough long enough for the primer to dry quickly even in the cold. If I have any priming to do this winter I think I?m just going to drop the parts off at an industrial paint shop.

Prep it inside, load it on something like one of those wire closet shelves, run it outside, shoot the primer, and then immediately take it back inside. A huge portion of the VOC's are from the overspray/mist. Maybe you put a small fan in the shop window to exhaust excess fumes, but it isn't a big deal, IMO.

Mlidzct said:

If I have any priming to do this winter I think I?m just going to drop the parts off at an industrial paint shop.

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This is probably a dumb question, but how does one find an "industrial paint shop" (particularly since you're in my neighborhood/Hartford region)? I think I started this thread in part because I figured a place existed where you could drop off a pile of parts and ask that they be primed, but don't know where in the Googleverse or Yellow Pages to find such a place.

Strikefinder said:

This is probably a dumb question, but how does one find an "industrial paint shop" (particularly since you're in my neighborhood/Hartford region)? I think I started this thread in part because I figured a place existed where you could drop off a pile of parts and ask that they be primed, but don't know where in the Googleverse or Yellow Pages to find such a place.

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I am in manufacturing and there are a shops right here in Aerospace Alley that specialize in painting aircraft parts. I have used a couple in the area but I will PM you the one I would use for RV parts. It would be most cost effective to get as many parts ready for primer as possible because it would most likely be a minimum lot charge.

Appreciate it. My expectation would be to get all the ribs, spars, and other pieces ready to go and drop the whole thing off, provided it fits in the budget to do any of it in the first place.

paint shop

I prepped all my parts and brought them to a standard car paint shop, and got them to spray akzo on them, then a nice top coat of RAL 7035 to match the powder coated parts. Took a bit of planning, but turned out real nice.

I too have painted things quickly outside and then brought it inside to finish curing. I put the parts in their own room to minimize the fumes. Doing it a few times is probably ok but I don't think I would want to make a living doing it.

I picked up a tarp garage from Harbor Freight for about $179. Put it up in my side yard. The ?garage? is 10?x17?. A small space heater gets the inside temp up to manageable temps. No ventilation other than a box fan, so I always wear a filter mask. I have a 4x8 table with chicken wire on the surface for a paint table. I do all of my priming here. Keeps the cold out, and I can work even when it?s raining here in Washington!

I?ve done the ?run it outside for a quick spray? here in Colorado numerous times with OK results. It certainly is less than ideal and it wouldn?t work for the really cold days, but it keeps things moving in a pinch.

I find that I fret about things like this and it always ends up that my job schedule and my standard snail?s pace slow progress on whatever I?m doing tend to limit me more than environmental concerns.

Spray outside

RWoodard said:

I?ve done the ?run it outside for a quick spray? here in Colorado numerous times with OK results. It certainly is less than ideal and it wouldn?t work for the really cold days, but it keeps things moving in a pinch.

I find that I fret about things like this and it always ends up that my job schedule and my standard snail?s pace slow progress on whatever I?m doing tend to limit me more than environmental concerns.

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Same here. Prep. Open the door. Run the parts outside. Close. Spray. Open. Run the parts back in. Close.
I also made a temp booth from shower curtains hanging from conduits. A bildge blower vents fumes out a dryer vent. Used it when it got really cold. There's a tip on my blog.