Quick Question on 'Baking Clear Coats'

[adrian29341]

Hey guys!

Just curious as to weather any of the automotive builders here have experimented with baking their clear coats??

I know some guys use food dehydrators, but I have always wondered if anyone has tried an actual oven or other
methods of hardening their clear coats.

Love to hear any opinions or experience with this as I'm going to experiment a bit with my current build.

Cheers!

[brandonk]

Food dehydrator here. Love it and will never go back. You don't want that temp going much north of 115F as the plastic can begin to warp or melt. An oven cannot go that low that I've seen and you might bake the smell into the oven and then your food.

[adrian29341]

What are your results and technique? Timing etc. Which dehydrator do you have?

[eaglecash867]

I recently used an Oster toaster oven to bake the parts of my recent Boss 351 Mustang build that were painted with Testors square bottle enamels and it worked really well. I set it for just under 150 degrees and left it empty at first, with just its little metal tray inside it. After about 20 minutes, I took the tray out with my bare hands to see if it was uncomfortably hot, and if it wasn't, in went the Mustang parts. I'm just going by an old-school rule of thumb there...if it's too hot for your bare skin, it will be too hot for your model.  I think I left the parts in it for a combined total of 12 hours, and it resulted in a hard, durable finish. It even had the striping decals on it already when I did that, and had no ill effects on those. Testors square bottle paints normally take several weeks, to not at all, to completely harden like that. So, I use it for all oil-based enamel curing now. The Oster is the only one I know of that allows you to get the temperature low enough to be safe for plastic. Here is what I have.  

www.amazon.com/Oster-Toaster-Slice-Black-TSSTTVVG01/dp/B00451B7TI/ref=sr_1_10?crid=17XBEAH75OPQ9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5-9qQH3dj3c7R3jW7hDyrS6fz__Qcjw7ELERidxUi0Oj5tp1vZVdUHveQKKbPLLTPjBf7NhASZJvMHptavI2cB9YjhViL2l0Rc6ufYd7KJqz8XNvJzpbJJvNBq5h85G-yNS4nQZMrabu3Nlol3yqyBwhCSzV-F4JGanMUlguChXrluRWVafn6TIABjZS5ibZj2ngSsd4WJmFcvqKqjxhYLI5Cm7b5mTt9fxZrUrHlNQ.jShK33Wf3mLICAhl-4nzCknwhR0xgijvNf0iovHwmuI&dib_tag=se&keywords=oster%2Btoaster%2Boven&qid=1720832796&sprefix=oster%2Btoaster%2Boven%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-10&th=1

[brandonk]

This is the one I have under a different brand name, but it's the same unit.

link

I place the painted parts in the unit and set the temp for 113F. The time depends on what it is. Flat paints that won't get worked beyond sealers, washes, etc. can get a couple of hours to a few hours at most. Cars with paints that need sanded, rubbed, buffed, cleared etc will get several hours, 6-8. No matter what they are always completely cured the next day and ready for any work you want to do and do it safely. I've seen parts warp at temps much higher so I don't risk it. This temp works perfect every time. It will take the curing process for the slowest paints down to a few hours. If you watch you can find this type of dehydrator on sale for less than $100. Trust me when I say it will be one of the best additions to you workbench ever.

[adrian29341]

Jul 13, 2024 12:20:25 GMT -5 brandonk said:

This is the one I have under a different brand name, but it's the same unit.

link

I place the painted parts in the unit and set the temp for 113F. The time depends on what it is. Flat paints that won't get worked beyond sealers, washes, etc. can get a couple of hours to a few hours at most. Cars with paints that need sanded, rubbed, buffed, cleared etc will get several hours, 6-8. No matter what they are always completely cured the next day and ready for any work you want to do and do it safely. I've seen parts warp at temps much higher so I don't risk it. This temp works perfect every time. It will take the curing process for the slowest paints down to a few hours. If you watch you can find this type of dehydrator on sale for less than $100. Trust me when I say it will be one of the best additions to you workbench ever.

Thank you so much!

Would this one work the same way?

[brandonk]

A dehydrator is simply a warmer that has temp select and a fan or two to move warm air through the unit and out a vent. This is the difference between this and a toaster oven, those usually only warm or heat. This moves the warm air through the unit giving you the controlled results. SO, yes this unit and many others will do the trick.

[adrian29341]

Awesome thank you so much!