Just hit 1000 hours on my new infrared paint curing system

I got the unit about eight months ago for a big job on a classic Mustang that needed a full respray. I was a bit worried about the cost, but the promise of faster dry times in my cold shop sold me. I've been tracking the hours out of habit, and when the counter rolled over this morning, I did the math. That's over 125 full work days of curing time saved compared to my old heat lamps and fans. The real shock was seeing how much less dust and trash gets stuck in the clear now, maybe a 70% drop in my rework rate. It's not a magic box, you still have to prep right, but it's made my booth way more predictable. Anyone else run one of these for a while and notice a change in your final polish time?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_miller1mo ago

My buddy in the next town over runs a similar system and had the opposite dust issue. He said the air movement from the unit actually stirred up more floor debris unless he did a crazy wet down first. I wonder if your shop layout or the specific unit model makes that big of a difference. His final polish time went up because he was chasing more nibs, not less.

kais671mo ago

Man, that's awesome. My experience was more like @jessica_miller's buddy at first, total dust storm. Turns out my unit was pointed right at a dry corner I never sweep. Felt like an idiot when I figured it out. Moved it, now my polish time is way better, maybe cuts an hour off a full detail.