Priming and weather

[necronomitron]

So I really started painting on a regular basis late fall of this year. I live in northern Indiana, about an hour from Lake Michigan, which can produce some really nasty winters for those who live near it. Is there anything I should be wary of when priming my models as it gets colder? I'm obviously not going to prime them when it's actually snowing, but will the colder temps effect the primer job?

[Destroyer123]

Keep your models warm and your primer warm(room temp). Prime them and bring them right back inside to dry. You may have to prime them one or two at a time but you shouldn't have any problems. Good Luck.

[manymoles]

Temperature will effect the primer in some way. As well as the air pressure but most don't live in such great height.

Just prime your models on a cardboard or similar (double sided tape is handy to fix them) so you can take them inside without touching. I assume you will prime them outside. Also the cans (if you using spray primer) should be hand warm bevor use and not frozen or really cold.

More annoying is windy weather for me. The spray tends get everywhere but not on the models.

So the best place to spray is a garage (without a care inside :D). I always spray in a storage room in our basement. After getting rid of the newspaper covering the floor I simply take the models with me.

[mathieu]

I always try to prime when it is cold outside. Low temperature decreases the risk that the solvent in the primer will dry out before reaching the model, avoiding the annoying dusting effect. In addition it makes the coat cure slower on the model, which is typically a good thing for the resilience of the polymer matrix.

On the flip side, it makes it a bit longer to spray the 2-3 light coats of primer required for a smooth, even base.

[manymoles]

I always try to prime when it is cold outside. Low temperature decreases the risk that the solvent in the primer will dry out before reaching the model, avoiding the annoying dusting effect.

Cold in case of cool is fine but to cold can effect the primer in an undesired way. It can become fragile and the bonding between metal and primer isn't strong enough.
That's way I'm used to spray in the basement: summer as winter same temperature and the air isn't to humid. The drying process inside a normal temperatured room give a good bonding.

[mathieu]

Cold in case of cool is fine but to cold can effect the primer in an undesired way. It can become fragile and the bonding between metal and primer isn't strong enough.
I've sprayed primer around freezing temperature (although I didn't let the can cool down and I store it indoor), and the only negative side effect I got was the slower drying process. Which I know allows the polymer to cure more fully for a more resilient result (and which have the adverse side effect of sticking too well to the metal when I try to strip it...).

Have you actually experienced the metal/primer bonding weakening effect? Could it be due to another effect than the low temperature? Or perhaps you were working at lower temperatures than I was? I'd be interested to figure out why our low temp spraying experiences resulted in such different outcomes.

[manymoles]

It may vary with the brands of primer, but once I get cracks on the surface of primed minis. Just to point out it was a plastic one, so it maybe was an issue with the material. As I wash all my minis before priming grease couldn't be an issue. I didn't make any science out of that problem. So metal may behave different.

On the other side I don't have any problems with drying of solvent as I spray. My black primer (I use GW in most cases) gives real smooth surfaces with out any rough (dust) feeling. For white dust which I use after black I have a special spray cap. A friend of mine used to graffiti art gave me that hint. He said most issues with spraying result in dirty caps or even wrong ones.