baking spray painted enclosures

[Cucurbitam0schata]

Snagged a toaster oven for three bucks at a thrift store, so I'm trying out some toaster oven baking for a build. My first experiment was 200F for 60min, and the brass/gold paint held up really well and didn't fade next to my control. The goal is to make the final paint job more durable.

After a little research here and around the internet, looks like most folks who utilize this method bake their home spray paint jobs around 200-250 F degrees for 30-60 minutes.

General questions for the hive mind:

Is this technique just mystical internet lore? Or does it really work? Like anything, you can find heated (hyuk hyuk) debates on baking across different forums.
For the folks who are convinced, what temps/times work for you?
Has anyone baked an enclosure with a waterslide decal and a clear top coat*? I figure at 200F, you're not going to be melting the decal and would harden off the clear coat...

Pedal on, pedal people!

*Edit - always helps to read instructions... ? my waterslide instructions say: "speed up the process using a hair dryer or an oven at 200F for 20 min if possible". There ya go!

 

[BurntFingers]

For powder coating? With regular rattle can spray paint (enamel etc) you don't need an oven, just let it dry. It dries plenty hard.

Powder coating however needs a hot environment so the powder liquifys then sets.

 

[Gordo]

I got really good luck with speeding up dry times and making heavy coats of paint hard as a rock with a toaster oven, especially if the humidity is a factor. It gets rid of the stickiness.

 

[Chas Grant]

I bake my enclosures with no problems. I use a regular gas oven though. Works great and humidity is never an issue. I usually do mine at 275 for 30 mins, it super hard and much stronger than air drying. After water slide decals I coat it with clear lacquer then bake it at 200 for 15 mins, lacquer drys fast. Since doing this the paint has held up much better. Just let it cool completely if baking between coats.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Ha ha ha Chas, you must be single! My wife has let me bake motorcycle engine cylinders in her oven so I could press the sleeves in. But she is one in a million to put up with the likes of me.

But seriously folks... run the hood fan, open windows, etc. Otherwise: brain damage from noxious fumes.

 

[Gordo]

Stick a fork in it, it's done... My wife would have my head on a stick.

+1 on the ventilation. I left mine out on the patio or in the garage. The oven died a few years back, I should really look for another one.

 

[Cucurbitam0schata]

Great pointers, all - and a big YES to ventilation. I usually solder on my stove with the hood vent on, or when the weather's nice I'm outside, in the garage or a fan is blowing outtake through a window. The thrift store toaster is cooking outside in the garage.

...I want my rocking and rolling to be a long-term endeavor.

 

[Chas Grant]

Ha ha ha Chas, you must be single! My wife has let me bake motorcycle engine cylinders in her oven so I could press the sleeves in. But she is one in a million to put up with the likes of me.

But seriously folks... run the hood fan, open windows, etc. Otherwise: brain damage from noxious fumes.

Nope, I'm married! the wife is usually in the kitchen, floating about the ceiling when I bake enclosures.

 

[chongmagic]

Stick a fork in it, it's done... My wife would have my head on a stick.

+1 on the ventilation. I left mine out on the patio or in the garage. The oven died a few years back, I should really look for another one.

Yeah seriously those fumes are terrible for you. Cannot emphasize enough having proper ventilation.

 

[p_wats]

I used to have a separate little oven for this purpose before powder coated enclosures were so affordable/easy to get. In the end I didn't find it helped much, but it made for some interesting experimentation of different spray brands interacting in different way as heat was applied, etc.

These days I buy power coated boxes and spray/label over that and it's been much better. No oven. No fumes. More durable.

 

[alannguyen]

I bake my enclosures with my old toaster oven at 250 for 40-45 minutes with no problem so far. Haven't done it with a waterslide decal though. And yes, ventilation! I do it in the yard and place my fan nearby as well.

 

[Fizz]

Ha ha ha Chas, you must be single! My wife has let me bake motorcycle engine cylinders in her oven so I could press the sleeves in. But she is one in a million to put up with the likes of me.

But seriously folks... run the hood fan, open windows, etc. Otherwise: brain damage from noxious fumes.

Yeah, but did she let you freeze the bearings in her freezer?

 

[Alan W]

We had a drying cabinet in my shop, for lacquers. Kept the temp around 120F.

Just to speed things up. Some enamels do benefit from oven baking, but most solvent and waterborne spray finishes don’t gain any hardness or durability from baking. And, if it’s a thicker coat, baking can actually create problems—the surface can skin over thick enough so that the remaining solvent (or water) can have a hard time getting out.

I occasionally used to bring larger machined acrylic parts home to anneal in our oven; I rigged up a crazy convection system for it, and would keep the kitchen doors closed and windows open for the 12 to 16 hours it would take. My wife, an artist, is understanding of the occasion introduction of poisons (cyanide, in this case…) around the house.