Using a heat gun in preparation for painting

[altec]

If you need paint to dry really really fast. Get what your painting warm with a heat gun then spray the paint. Do this on all the coats and you well be done in no time at all.

[ZeD]

Using a heatgun is great for stripping paint too. Dunno if its a good idea to use it for faster drying time though.

[Bum]

A warmer surface will help your dry time a bit but be careful if you use it after the first coat. Like ZeD said, they are used to strip paint. Also avoid using it to dry the paint directly (like a fan). It could work but you can VERY easily blister wet paint with the heat these put out.

[ZeD]

now that I think about it it will also cause bubbles and runs. It cant be easy to get a uniform dry using a heatgun

[jonopaul01]

I suppose this is why they say you need to follow the advice at your own risk. If anyone tries this and finds that it causes problems then write in and tell us. Of course if it works then also write and tell us.

[fishies]

A heat gun would dry paint well, with a large enough diffuser. As long as you aren't holding the gun right up to the paint, on low power (if possible), making passes, like with a spray can will aid in your drying. Paint quality is a factor here.

Remember the big name auto makers (high end) all bake the paint onto the cars.

[jonopaul01]

I thought that auto companies used electrolysis to apply paint to their cars. Or is that crome? Anyway, I suppose if you did not hold it right up to the paint it would help. But is it really that necassary to speed up the paint drying that little bit, especially when you consider the fact that you might ruin your paint, which will need to be redone and will in the end waste far more time than it would have gained?
I would love to see if this does actually work for anyone.

[Frakk]

considering physics and chemistry, all reactions occur much faster when heated due to the faster motion of the molecules. try to disolve sugar in cold water. it takes a long long time. disolving it in your hot tea takes about 3 seconds, and some of the sugar will be disolved before it can hit the bottom of your cup. same thing with evaporation(drying). a good example when it rains in the morning on a hot day. in the shadows you will still see the wet sidewalk and road, but on the hot sunny part it is completely dry. heat will speed up drying significantly, but getting greedy will ruing the paintjob.

[siege]

if you want to try this, maybe try heating it from the other side of the panel if its not painted...just to get it warm all over...just a thought - never tried this or would have any reason to. Now if I was using auto paint and could heat the room, that'd be a different story.

edit: or hell, try pointing a couple heatlamps at it

[Crimson Sky]

Any light warming would help speed the (to the touch)drying process really. The curing takes place over time, and nothing beats patience--its agonizing i know but its worth it.