This morning the outside temps slowly crept up
into the 50’s and while waiting for the sun to heat things up a bit more, a
couple of additional small parts were deburred and added to the small pile
ready for primer. A storm front was at the state line and rolling our way so
there was little time left for waiting for the temps to get higher, so around
noon the Akzo primer was sprayed on the parts prepared the last couple of days.
Inside the shop the temperature was holding at around 62 so it was barely warm
enough for the Akzo primer … but a propane heater would ensure the shop temps
stayed warm.
The spray gun was broken down, cleaned and set
up for the JetFlex paint in the hopes that Mother Nature would cooperate for another
hour. No such luck. The DOG Aviation paint department finished reassembling the
spray gun and was just about to check the local weather radar to determine
where the storm front was when it began to rain. No need to check radar, the monsoons
were here.
Mike was kind enough to bring his propane heater
over and it was fired up to keep the shop warm while the paint cures.
Unfortunately, it rained off and on the rest of the day so the Jet Flex was not
sprayed. Even though the daytime temps will be low, the parts can still be top-coated
with JetFlex and brought into the warm shop to cure.
The outside temperatures are in the low 40’s and
the propane heater was set on low with only a single burner lit and the shop temperatures
are holding in the low 70’s. A box fan
was set to low to keep the heat from the heater from going straight up to the
roof. The fan was hung from the garage door opener with a bungee cord and has
cardboard strips on the backside to reduce airflow so the parts don’t swing
around in the breeze yet offers enough airflow to distribute the warm air around the shop. Planning
to let the heater run all night and will possibly try to get a coat of JetFlex
onto the few remaining parts that will be visible in the cockpit … if the
forecasted high winds are not an issue in the morning.
Photo taken through the not so clean shop window
… the box fan is hanging from a bungee cord and set to low with cardboard
blocking most of the airflow. Mile’s propane heater is sitting on the bench in
the middle of the shop. Painted parts hanging everywhere like bats in a rookery.