With some of the recent post on painting and decalling, I thought I might bring this post back up from the bottom of the pile:
As a custom painter/builder, I hate wasting time waiting for paint and decals to “air” dry and I thought some of you fellow modellers might feel the same way, so I thought I’d share an idea that I found in MR waaaaay back in the '70s
Anyway, there was a “How To” article on how to build a drying oven for drying painted models using a (new) gasoline can and I have found it a huge time saver for speeding up the decaling process as well, (it only takes about 5 mins for the decals to dry, so multiple applications of setting solution goes a lot quicker).
I made a quick couple of sketches: (click on image to enlarge)
Step 1: The top (the end with the handle and spout) becomes the bottom but the top must be removed first, I believe I used an old manual can opener, you could also use a metal blade in a jig or sabre saw.
Step 2: Cut a 3 1/2 or 4" opening near the (new) top (see sketch). For this I used a fibreglass cutoff disk in a motortool.
Step 3: Cut a piece of chicken wire hardware cloth about an inch wider all around than the can, then trim (see sketch) and fold over the edges so it will fit inside the can. I folded the front over the front edge of the opening to avoid damaging myself on the edge of the can. Run 4 sheetrock (or any self-tapping) screws just under the “shelf” to keep it in position.
Step 4: The base. The oven uses the convection principle, so it must be able to draw air through the bottom which is then heated by the lightbulb and pushed to the top and out the top opening.
Make the base slightly larger than the can and attach 4 blocks positioned at the corners of the can. I also used 2 more blocks to hold the can in position with a couple of sheetrock screws. Also, inside the blocks I glued