I don't know if this belongs here or in the detailing board, but here goes

I'm building an engine, block-up, and was going to paint said block and the heads with engine enamel. it says to apply it in 70-95*F weather, which i can do, but it says it needs to be cured by baking at 200*F for an hour. I don't have acess to a baking booth. it says on the can that the engine's inherent running heat will cure it, but this engine won't be running until february.

is that too long to wait? will it still cure right after that long?

Thanks for any help.

 

It'll cure up. Biggest issues are damage to the paint during installation, and greasy handprints all over it before it cures.

 

Maybe you could point a couple heat lamps at it. I doubt if that would get to 200 degrees but, it would speed up the curing process.

 

Any added heat you can give it will help. Got a few heaters in the house, or heat lamps? Pre-heat it a bit (nice toasty warm), spray it, warm it. Let it cure with added heat as long as you can.

 

Yeah I have a space heater in the garage that I was going to put right under it and aim it up, but if it'll still cure up after... what, like five months? that'll work just fine. After I paint it I will for sure leave the heater on it as long as I can, and I was planning to preheat it with that heater. I might have another one I can use too.

 

If your space heater uses kerosene or diesel, you probably wouldn't want to use it. It might leave an oily film that could cause problems. If it's natural gas or propane it should probably work.

 

Old school electric baby. The kind that you have to run on their own circuit or a fuse blows on the breaker box. They're actually pretty powerful.