[R-390] How to bake without a oven or grill?

[Barry Hauser]

Hi Ronnie & Gang:

I've used a old stainless steel box I found with a home brew aluminum top
and a 75 w heat lamp with good results. I dunno, but 250 degrees sounds kind
of high to me.  I thought 150-175 surface temp was more like it.  I'd also
recommend using a nylon detail brush, not the brass, along with some caustic
stripper or solvent to clean out the lettering.  I found that the brass
brush scratched the panel and tended to rounded the edges of the stampings,
which you want to keep as crisp as possible. (Wear goggles -- the stuff
flies around with the brush.)   Also, use Scotch-Brite or sandpaper -- don't
use steel wool on aluminum at any stage.  Tiny fragments dig into the
aluminum and mess up the paint job, no matter how hard you try to clean it
off.

You can make an oven out of an old small refrigerator, two-drawer file
cabinet, etc.  Line with heavy aluminum foil or spray the inside silver.
Then attach the flood lamp(s) to some kind of lid.  You can tell if it's
working if the panel becomes hot to the touch.  It should be at the bottom
of the "oven" on some pieces of wood or something as far away from the lamps
as practical to prevent hot-spotting.  You should be able to use those
inexpensive clamp-on lamps with the reflectors.  However, arrange the top so
the sockets and line cords are not inside.  (Oversized holes for the bases
of the lamp fixtures.)

Barry


> Hello
> Scotts good advice has me thinking. I was thinking about building a box
and
> lining it with tin fold and inserting some heat lamps to bake the parts
> after washing and baking the paint on the panels after painting. I do not
> have a oven that I can use hi or do I have a grill so I have to make
> something. Does anyone have any ideas for a poor beginner? I was thinking
of
> using a timer on the lamps but dont know if it will work or get hot
enough?
> Let me know if you can help.
> Thanks
> Ronnie
> KE4VPN
>
>
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