Finish logistics question

[Steve Middleton]

I've been reading about finishes for laser engraving. I understand the laser doesn't like dust or contaminants in the air and I've read that spraying gives a better finish than brushing. My problem is I have two buildings. The laser building is climate controlled and the woodworking space is not(central PA). I seems the 2nd space is the logical choice for finishing but temperatures will soon be a problem? I have a 12ft bench, 24" deep, and wonder if a small space heater or heat lamps would be of any help or not? Depending on the weather I could put a larger heater in long enough to spray then move a rack of several pieces the 25 ft to the heated building? Any input will be appreciated!

[Wayne Lomman]

Steve, in the ideal world we all have perfectly stable climate controlled workshops that cost nothing to keep that way. In reality of course we do the best we can with what we have. Heating just the area where you spray is inefficient as the air flow from your ventilation removes the heat rapidly so I do it differently.

What will work in your situation is to make storage space for racks in your warm building. Make this their permanent home. Load the products on them and they stay there keeping warm until you are ready to spray. You take the rack of warm products out to the other shed, spray them and return them to the warm shed to dry/cure as soon as you are finished. Provided they don't get rained or snowed on, they will be OK. They retain enough residual warmth to behave as if you never took them out of the warm because substrate temperature is still OK and that is the critical factor.

Doing it this way means you don't have to heat a spray booth or do anything other than normal ventilation for overspray.

This is how I have to operate my present paint shop all winter in Tasmania where it alternates rain, frost and snow and the system works. We have about 30 racks that when loaded weigh about 750kg each so we move them with a compact electric pallet truck. The warm room is insulated and the right size to fit all the loaded racks and it has a low ceiling to minimise the space to heat. This room is kept in the 18-23C range with a single electric heater. My entire shop is regularly audited by QA inspectors and the painting is never a cause for non-conformance. Cheers

[Steve Middleton]

Thanks Wayne I appreciate the input.

[Jim Becker]

Temperatures are indeed important with finishing, Steve...all finishing products have a temperature range that is ideal for their application and "cold" isn't generally one of them. Some products are more forgiving around that, such as shellac and solvent-based lacquer, but even then, best results are in a range that's typically above 65ºF. Many finishes prefer the 70ºs. Nature of the beast...