trying to make a car body paint owen..in scale..:)

well well well..

I am so nut I would like to build by myself a small owen to "cook" the cars paint after applying glossy varnish.
Thinking of it after I asked and looked around how real body paints shops work, and I've noted usually all their secret..is coming JUST from the owen they use,and from the catalization of the colors (mostly trasparent gloss clear,cause many of the ones I saw works staring from flat paint, keeping a lot less dust when applied by airbrush).
Unfortunately several Dupont 2 components gloss does not arrive any longer to europe..suspect for new ecologic laws.
Used theme in the past...worked great.
question to all body painters here inside: what gloss do u use to finish all your works?

To do this small owen, I would like to use a pc power unit (think it comes from and old pentium1 or 386 serie..) and use it with the 8 pc propeller fans I found around, to recreate teh internal airflow with warm air.
The question now is... what cables shall I use as switch on/off for such power unit?.
I just know the group of 4 wires coming outside power units shall be yellow=5v, black is ground, and red should be 12v, correct?
I connected it to electric in the wall, but of course it misses signal to startup.

I add some pics of the power unit, would be nice to make another external switch,coming from an old light.

the heating inside the wood box will be done with reptilarium lights, working always at 30-35C degrees (the cars I bake are nearly all plastic, resin or die cast ones).
Planning also to make a turntable inside it..to obtain a perfect cookie..:)

The difference between heat working gloss, and ordinary acrylics dry in air is simply impressive btw.
I also noted too many body painters, works as shit...usually the ones fixing everyday car..and they are all too expensive.
 

Attachments

  • DSCF0001.jpg
    DSCF0001.jpg
    38.3 KB · Views: 190
  • DSCF0003.jpg
    DSCF0003.jpg
    35.3 KB · Views: 160
Paolo, I too wondered what on earth an "Owen" is! Your English is far from perfect, but it is fantastic compared to my Italian. Within the context, your meaning is conveyed quite well. I have not seen any model size ovens such as you are wanting, but others on the Forum may know of them.
I wonder if you could adapt a microwave oven? Use the turntable, but remove the microwave works and replace with a simple heating element of suitable wattage inside the top of the oven?
 
Paolo, a freind of mine is a car painter and he also dose a lot of model work, he also uses an oven to bake the paint and its a very simple setup , admiditly ive only seen it once but it was just an old microwave oven with a Halogeon bulb mounted inside for heating element, a 55w flood light bulb, long skinny one about,100mm long.
hope that helps
cheers John
 

JimmyMac

Lifetime Supporter
Paolo,
PC fans move quite a bit of air (and suck dust).

The reptile bulbs sound great, but a standard 40W tungsten filament light bulb will generate enough heat and air movement over the curing time you probably require. These bulbs can get hot so you must design for adequate ventilation for safety.

Whichever bulb you choose, position them at the bottom, under a raised table in your "oven" to let the warm air rise over your model and out through vents in the top.
This air convection should be enough to eliminate the fan idea.

If you have a thermostat on those reptile bulbs -even better. And if you want to rotate the table buy a low rpm 6-12V motor from a model shop.

I use a similar method to core epoxy or polyurethane coated fishing tackle.
 
Last edited:
sorry all guys....yes the "oWen" is in fact an OVEN..LOL..sorry all again.
:D yep..my english is far from perfection, u are right.
For me is anyway lovely when u correct me, cause is always a way to learn more and improve:)

Nepp Dalton, microwave ovens doesnt work cause they increase too much temperature in a too short time,more..some plastics have inside some airbubbles, and the body of the models become as a donut.
Add to this..I often work with photo etched metal parts and /or diecast bodies,and a microwave probably will explode with metals inside.
I need something much more delicate.

With a nut friend we discover the power unit is burned inside.It also had anyway a very very low powerage of 110W, so now..we retry with a better and newer ATX 230w unit, and it works perfectly (when I trash pc I always try to save what I can...cause there is always a modellistic use for everything..including wires inside, they are perfect for engines in scale..:)
I just will use yellow and red cables (of course the black ground too..).
just have to think if it is better a high or low speed for fans.
Think now I can use nearly all ones I have, also if in this project think will be enough use 4 ones.(is just a starting experiment...:)
Pictures will follow...for now I am cutting some more wood...

For dust I will use that tissue they use in cook hoods,seems perfect and will be also easy to change when too dirt.

Heat will come from library small lightpoints, conneted to a settable power switch(and temperature inside will be marked by an acquarium indicator.
All this will work at very low heat, cause almost all my models are plastic or resin ones.

Thinking now where I can find some adhesive aluminium foils for the internal part of the oven...

Next nut project will be...a waterwall side where I can paint with airbrush..surely some will laugh, but all body painters probably know what I mean...
Will be cool to have something similar to the picture down here, also if this is fashion stuff..for about 5000 dollars...and comes a little pricey :)

Dont think I will test it with my "pleasure"model of the moment, cause I have nearly finished a unique conversion for the F430 GT2.
If interested I will post some few pics of the conversion in progress (is NOT a gt40..so didnt dare..:))
I will be finsihed as le mans 2007 Neway-Joemacari AF corse redbull (For Dave Morton:dont u have any picture of it David?..was car. no.78).
Ferrari already wrote me in the way to move their lawers...but I dont care so much for now.
 

Attachments

  • Lame%20(8).JPG
    Lame%20(8).JPG
    27.7 KB · Views: 170
Last edited:
hi paolo, we paint cars, is our job, but we allso paint bikes, modell-cars, airplanes, engines,............
we worked with all colours from standox,....for the cars we use the new waterbased technik, but i also had the old acrylic paint and all clearcoats, we had a big paintbox and we can heat it to 120 degree, normaly drytemp is 70 degree on objekt, and the temp during the paintjob is around 23 degree, i made myselfe a little box to dry laminated parts, and a little box to made airbrush,........
if you need infos write me, look at my site www.just.vienna.at
TEAM JUST
 
Hmmm, how about a Hasbro Easy Bake Oven?

You could probably take it apart to create a larger "cooking"
space -- maybe add a carousel if it doesn't have one, and
some sort of thermostat to adjust the temp.

Ian
 
Thank U Ernst:) will be lovely to visit u in Vienna...my bla bla talk can be deadly, u know..:D
Ian, u are right...Easy Bake was nearly perfect. Had a similar one some years ago (won by mom with point collections).
It simply disappeard and was destroyed little by little, probably mine was not so good in quality.
I never understood the real temperature there inside, and also the air vent was not the best.

In those days I am quite busy with models. Alfa Romeo guys are really in hurry (centennal is next year...they still dunno if they will have a new place or not.With the crisis everything comes complicated).
Actually I am finishing the smallest italian tank ever seen..the CV.33,big as a Willys Jeep and considered a tank (a Tiger tank had a track link wider than all the cv.33..)

A true italian coffin...it is incredible think we wanted such tanks as winning forces in America. I try imagine such little in Nevada desert..or deep inside California, or in front of fuel pumps in Texas..real MEGA LOL.... (and I read Mussolini was a teacher at school before politics....omg.. o_O)
CV-33 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Back
Top