Author Topic: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet  (Read 4367 times)

Offline Appstro

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Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« on: January 15, 2014, 02:15:06 PM »
OK so Sunday I built my drying cabinet out of wood. Its light proof and looks great. I am ready to coat the clean screens with emulsion and stick them in the cabinet, but since the cabinet has no fan or dehumidifier yet, will I have problems with the screens drying overnight? The cabinet only holds 9 screens so it will probably be pretty humid in there for a little while… Will my screens turn out OK?


Offline mk162

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2014, 02:17:07 PM »
there is only one way to find out, but my guess is no...also where are you located?  if the air is dry you have a better chance.

Offline Appstro

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2014, 02:19:05 PM »
San Diego

Offline Colin

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2014, 02:19:10 PM »
Pick up a very small fan and a pellet dehumidifier (It's better than nothing).  It will at the very least be good to have in there and speed things up.

But, I am betting your screens will take a while to evaporate/dry sufficiently since they are in a small enclosed space.
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Offline Denis Kolar

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2014, 02:19:44 PM »
Put the "fart fan" on the top and a few holes on the bottom with a some kind of filter on them.
That will make the air move through

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-70-CFM-Ceiling-Wall-Exhaust-Fan-671/202905936#

Offline Denis Kolar

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2014, 02:20:30 PM »
I coat mine in the evening and they are ready next afternoon

Offline Appstro

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2014, 02:26:48 PM »
Thats a great idea! I was planning to use a computer fan with a filter. I havent quite figured out how to set it up so that the fan is pulling out air and the box stays filtered and dry yet. I didnt leave enough space inside for anything but the screens, really.

I dont mind waiting a day or two for drying as long as the quality of the screens will not be effected. For now anyway…Do you think they will turn out OK?
« Last Edit: January 15, 2014, 02:29:23 PM by Appstro »

Offline Gilligan

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2014, 02:49:27 PM »
If you use an exhaust fan for a bathroom that shouldn't take up much space... no more than a screen's worth.

I will eventually have to plumb my dehumidifier into my cabinet because it takes up MANY screens worth of space. :(

Offline Grumpy Ole Artist

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2014, 02:49:49 PM »
In my home-made drying cabinet, I have a dehumidifier on the floor and a box fan at the top. While cleaning fan a few weeks back, I tried coating without it in the cabinet...everything except for my coarsest mesh (61) came out fine...the 61's had emulsion drips (think blunt stalactites) dried into the underside of the emulsion, unuseable. Give it a try with one or two of all mesh ranges and see what happens. My guess is, without dehumidification or moving air, you are going to have trouble.
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Offline starchild

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2014, 02:51:17 PM »
A computer fan will not be sufficient to move that much moisture and you would want the fan mounted at the bottom and the exhaut at the top..



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Offline tpitman

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2014, 02:52:56 PM »
Put the "fart fan" on the top and a few holes on the bottom with a some kind of filter on them.
That will make the air move through

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Broan-70-CFM-Ceiling-Wall-Exhaust-Fan-671/202905936#


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Offline Gilligan

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2014, 02:54:01 PM »
To avoid said stalactites, I'd suggest a fan outside the cabinet to "skin" them over and then putting them in the cabinet.

This is what I did before I built my cabinet.

Not elegant, but it worked.

Offline Sbrem

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2014, 02:57:10 PM »
Yep, you need air movement to evaporate solvents in the emulsion, or anything else for that matter. We have screen dryer, but before I did, I simply used racks and a fan in a light safe (yellow tubes on fluorescent lights) area. Then, we store dried screens in a dehumidified cabinet. Not a big deal at this time of year in Massachusetts, but during the summer, when it's super muggy, it's a necessity.

Steve

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Offline starchild

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2014, 03:01:51 PM »
A good read is "factors affecting the rate of evaporation"

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporation

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Offline Croft

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Re: Coating screens and putting them in a cabinet
« Reply #14 on: January 15, 2014, 03:12:15 PM »
small fan is what we use , usually coat after everyones gone then leave door open on cabinet with fan blowing over the screens through the night. There always ready in the morning . The fan we use is just a small 8" one set on low.  If i don't have the fan on they don't well and drips occur.