: Ideally you want it pretty warm to glass if you're hoping for a
: clear finish. If you're going to paint it, doesn't matter as
: much. 80 degrees is pretty much a good starting temperature for
: a clear finish. With the current (this weekend) Chicago temps
: this shouldn't be a big problem, middle of next week it might
: though.

: Bill H.

My workshop usually stays well above freezing in Winter even without heat as it is well insulated and has weather-tight doors. I use a small propane heater; despite its small size it puts out a lot of heat and takes only 15 minutes max to make my smallish workshop comfortable even in really cold weather. Then I keep it warm with a fan heater.

The propane heater will set off the smoke alarm if it is dusty so when not in use I cover it with a piece of ply. I use the warm-up time to clean up from the previous day. As well as the smoke alarm I have a propane gas detector in the workshop.

I clean the shop and leave the fan heater on overnight before painting. I also leave a filter fan running on low. The filter fan is just a regular box fan hanging upside-down from the ceiling, so I can reach the switch. It has a 20 x 20 furnace filter taped to it and sucks out virtually all the airborne dust. The fan and heater get turned off before I start painting and the shop will stay warm enough overnight for the paint to dry.

Even though I have a dust control system I find that dust builds up under the bench, on light fixtures and in corners; I open the doors and blast out the entire shop with a leaf blower. Not on washing day though!