The warm space consists of a metal shelving unit, enclosed with plastic sheeting (such as Visqueen) that is held in place with small magnets. The heat source is a small electric space heater positioned under the bottom shelf.

The shelving unit, poly sheeting, and magnets are available from Harbor Freight (links below). The space heater was purchased from Home Depot, but any similar unit will work.

Your parts will spend their entire time inside the Warm Space after each step of the Spectra Chrome process. Keeping your parts inside of this controlled environment is a critical part of your Spectra Chrome operation for many reasons:

• Dust, debris, and overspray protection: Moving freshly coated parts into the warm space immediately after spraying shields them from dust, debris, and airborne overspray while you work on other pieces.
• Safe storage: Keeping parts in an enclosed space discourages unnecessary touching and handling, which could leave fingerprints or oils on raw basecoat and silver layers.
• Protected air-drying environment: Basecoated parts can be left in the warm space to air-dry overnight; allowing the paint solvents to flash out and dissipate.
• Convenient bake-drying environment: The space heater can be turned on to bake-dry parts in colder environments.
• Humidity control: Excessive humidity in your shop can cause light spotting in the “raw” silver layer after it is applied. Turning the space heater on low (80-120 degrees F) keeps the humidity below 50% and protects the “raw” silver deposit until topcoat is applied.
• Warming water for metal spray: Spectra Chrome’s water-based silvering chemistry works more efficiently when warm water is used. Placing gallon jugs of Zero-TDS water inside the warm space is a convenient way to warm the water before mixing your chemistry.