Another Successful And Perhaps Last Primer Session

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.