Painting in cold weather

WAIT

I paint all year round in and out of my garage (unheated) using all of the paint spray brands including Rustoleum. I live in the Buffalo NY area so you know what conditions I deal with, right now it is about 8 degrees. I really do not have any big problem painting in this cold temperatures, just takes a bit longer to dry depending on the actual paint be used, Hammered, textured etc. I often do bring parts inside to dry faster if I'm on a tight schedule. I find that warmer/hot weather is tougher to paint mainly due to humidity.  My 2 cents.

jim r from bridgeboss.com

Leave the cans of paint and parts inside at least over night before you spray. Dry time will probably be slow, but if you take it all out in the garage and spray right away, the paint will still be warm enough to work just fine. If you are able to put a heater in the garage to bring the temp up, then that would certainly help.

Thanks guys.

Forecast for tomorrow is 24 (Chicago), so hopefully I can get about 30 in the garage.  I'll give it a shot and see how it goes.

Don

You can soak the paint in some really warm water for 20-30 minutes and then paint. The cold air will just slow the drying time way down. Move the piece inside if you can after it's painted, but soaking the can will have it ready to spray when you need to.

I agree with the warming of the paint. I do it often even if the temps are nice. It helps the paint spray finer. Depending on the size of the bridge, once painted you could make a home made drying booth. A cardboard box lined with aluminum foil and a lamp inside does wonders. It does not need to be hot, just warm.

Steve