How do you guys paint small stuff in your garage?

[rwilner]

Just finished my 3 bay garage, have a pile of projects lined up.

I park cars in all three bays...Actually bay 3 will be getting a 4 post so I can get all 4 cars inside during the winter months.

How do you guys spray paint stuff in the garage? I am terrified of getting paint all.over everything. I'm talking about if you refinish your bench top vise, or some small car brackets or things like this.

In spring I just throw down some cardboard and do it outside...But I'd love to be able to do this tuff in the winter as long as I can contain the overspray....

 

[JimRB]

I park the cars outside when painting. Make a mini spray booth with 24x24 filter and a box fan to encourage the overspray to not float around.

 

[brownbagg]

lay it on the work bench and paint, then turn it over. sometime i might hang by a wire

 

[rwilner]

I park the cars outside when painting. Make a mini spray booth with 24x24 filter and a box fan to encourage the overspray to not float around.

This is interesting.

Any pics of your setup?

I will of course commence googling.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I built a small and disposable spray booth. I got a free refrigerator carton from TRAIL appliances and added a range hood vent with double filters ahead of the range hood and attached the RH to the lower inside of the carton and vented the paint free fumes out of the shop through a closable port in a door.
The paint overspray is pulled down and the shop and contents are saved .
This inexpensive system works so well, I was able to spray a few IHC LB engines next to my motorcycle and there was no overspray.
The carton was free. I got the vent hood on Craigslist for $40. Other much less expensive 0vent hoods with single fans are about $10

 

[finn]

Think about a small powder coating kit like those sold by Eastwood. I've got a small Craftsman, which I understand is NLA. Very little overspray.

You do need a dedicated curing oven, though.

 

[rwilner]

I built a small and disposable spray booth. I got a free refrigerator carton from TRAIL appliances and added a range hood vent with double filters ahead of the range hood and attached the RH to the lower inside of the carton and vented the paint free fumes out of the shop through a closable port in a door.
The paint overspray is pulled down and the shop and contents are saved .
This inexpensive system works so well, I was able to spray a few IHC LB engines next to my motorcycle and there was no overspray.
The carton was free. I got the vent hood on Craigslist for $40. Other much less expensive 0vent hoods with single fans are about $10

I can't fully picture your setup but I love the idea of a range hood.

 

[btdobie]

I just paint things in a cardboard box with a piece of clear plastic draped over it. Reach under the plastic and spray while looking through the plastic. It keeps all the pain nicely contained, and it's perfect for jobs that don't require a pristine paint job.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I can't fully picture your setup but I love the idea of a range hood.

I hope this helps.
Picture 1 - front
picture 2 - back vent to outside
picture 3 - looking down inside the carton at the vent hood
This is a downdraft design.

 

[rwilner]

I just paint things in a cardboard box with a piece of clear plastic draped over it. Reach under the plastic and spray while looking through the plastic. It keeps all the pain nicely contained, and it's perfect for jobs that don't require a pristine paint job.

I hope this helps.
Picture 1 - front
picture 2 - back vent to outside
picture 3 - looking down inside the carton at the vent hood
This is a downdraft design.

I like this.

So you just put stuff on that grate, turn on the fan and fire away?

I think I might have to steal this idea.

Do you break it down to store it?

 

[Will S.]

I put this together about a year ago, for a painting project that involved spraying about 18 individual pieces of moulded dash surround from a freightliner, and the product was a 2 part elastomeric. I didn't want to do that with vehicles and boat in the building, so this is what I came up with.

Went to Lowes and bought 3 sticks of 1/2" EMT, and bent a 90* near the end of 2 of them. Connected them together with conduit connectors, and using 2 more connectors attached to one of the overhead door rails, hung this "curtain rod" on the inside of the door.

Using 1/4" nylon cord, I suspended the rod near where the 90 radius were, to a door rail a few feet higher. I bought a 10'x25' roll of heavy duty clear plastic paint tarp, and installed brass eyelets every foot, near the top, after folding down about the top 8". Did this for added strength.

Ace Hardware had packs of metal shower curtain rings for cheap. Bought 2 packs of 12. This allows the paint booth curtain to hang from the rod, right to the floor. Covered the back of the OHD with a thin disposable plastoc, and another on the floor.

Depending on the wind, or lack of, I would open the OHD about a foot or 18", and had a box fan exhausting out. That drew fresh air in from the back, and I got absolutely no overspray on anything in the building. This worked out so well for me, that I have put it back up on 2 other ocassions since that project. Only takes about 15 minutes to set up, or take down. Total cost was maybe $35.

 

[Youngfd]

I have no place to paint in my 24 by 60 shop without getting overspray on everything. In the summer I have a favorite tree near my shop that I hang all my parts from the limbs with mechanics wire. In the winter, I preheat my parts and also the paint. I have a 3 by 3 foot overhang on my passage door to my shop that has a hook in the top. I run out and spray the part and quickly get it back in the heated shop and hang them from my overhead door track rail to dry. If I fail to preheat the paint, I put the spray paint can in a bowl of HOT water for a few minutes to get it up to temp. I am ready for spring and summer so I can move back out to my painting tree!!

 

[isb cornbinder]

Yes, to the break it down for storing. When the cartoon gets dirty, I cut it up and recycle the cardboard.

 

[rwilner]

I put this together about a year ago, for a painting project that involved spraying about 18 individual pieces of moulded dash surround from a freightliner, and the product was a 2 part elastomeric. I didn't want to do that with vehicles and boat in the building, so this is what I came up with.

Went to Lowes and bought 3 sticks of 1/2" EMT, and bent a 90* near the end of 2 of them. Connected them together with conduit connectors, and using 2 more connectors attached to one of the overhead door rails, hung this "curtain rod" on the inside of the door.

Using 1/4" nylon cord, I suspended the rod near where the 90 radius were, to a door rail a few feet higher. I bought a 10'x25' roll of heavy duty clear plastic paint tarp, and installed brass eyelets every foot, near the top, after folding down about the top 8". Did this for added strength.

Ace Hardware had packs of metal shower curtain rings for cheap. Bought 2 packs of 12. This allows the paint booth curtain to hang from the rod, right to the floor. Covered the back of the OHD with a thin disposable plastoc, and another on the floor.

Depending on the wind, or lack of, I would open the OHD about a foot or 18", and had a box fan exhausting out. That drew fresh air in from the back, and I got absolutely no overspray on anything in the building. This worked out so well for me, that I have put it back up on 2 other ocassions since that project. Only takes about 15 minutes to set up, or take down. Total cost was maybe $35.

This is very cool!

Too elaborate for my use case but if I had a lot of stuff to paint, I might steal this.

 

[jsteih]

 

[astroracer]

You don't need a booth or a box or anything like that. In the summer, I spray small stuff outside just like you do. In the winter, I spray small stuff outside, just like I do in the summer.
Getting it prepped and keeping it warm is all you need to worry about. Taking it outside into the cold to spray it will have zero effect on how it turns out. You only have the part out there for a minute or two and it will not get cold in that short amount of time.
I HAVE a nice booth I built and I always just take it outside to spray it. It's easier...
Mark

 

[MarlynOC]

Small parts, I get a large box (refrig or stove) I attach a bathroom fan to side of it and a filter in front of fan. hose off back of fan out garage door. and spray.

 

[RVDan]

I've never actually painted anything but if I ever do have to paint some small stuff I'll probably do it in my sandblasting cabinet.

 

[Git]

I have a similar method to Will S

I use the back corner of my garage as my spray booth. I use 3/4" EMT and I have a couple of large eye bolts mounted that I can just slide the EMT into them. I purchased some extra tall shower curtains (clear) and hooks from Amazon. I also made a door with three fans in it, so I can just pop the door in place when I am spraying to exhaust the fumes

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Just joined today and thought I'd add my 2 cents to this thread.

A few years ago I refurbished an old boat trailer over a winter. Many rusty pieces to take apart, strip, prime and paint with many starts and stops as I sourced replacement nuts, bolts and washers.

I built a box from 4 pieces of salvaged 2" foam insulation. Gutter spike nails held it together. Clear plastic on the floor and over the top so the floor stayed clean and light could get in. Squirrel cage blower pulled air out of the top ducted it under a roll up door. A door that hinged on duct tape was the air intake. I wasn't concerned about a pretty finish, just functional.

Heated the whole place up before painting then shut the heater down. When ready to paint, I fired up the blower, put on a respirator and painted. Let the blower run a few minutes and shut it down. If it was really cold, I put an electric heater in the box while waiting the re-coat time. Once I was done for the day I would leave the heater on inside the box and close it up.

Refurb went well, and the booth came down in 10 minutes when I was finished. It would be easy to store in the rafters and set up in a flash.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I don't own one of these, but I've thought about getting one. They make two sizes. It seems like a used tent could be made to work, although the white color is an advantage for seeing what you're doing better.

 

[rwilner]

I dont have half those tools...

 

[rwilner]

I don't own one of these, but I've thought about getting one. They make two sizes. It seems like a used tent could be made to work, although the white color is an advantage for seeing what you're doing better.

Jack, I ran across this too. I think with a lazy Susan this is the solution for me.

Only downside is no built in provision for an exhaust.

 

[PDM]

In my older shop, I built a very large spray booth using pulleys and string that attached to wood slats I used to sandwich thick mil plastic that created roll down walls on both sides of an overhead garage door.

End panel I just rolled down smaller "doors" of plastic that allowed a bit of "airflow" in the large space (18 foot ceiling, 18 wide by around 24 feet long area big enough to paint most cars.

On the wall I had a large squirrel cage fan that I attached simple spray booth filters in, and wet down the concrete and with fan running could spray most car parts and even cars when needed. You'd have to re-wet the floor down and it would leave some overspray if the uneven concrete dried out.... - but it was old warehouse concrete that was used for truck traffic during the week.

don

 

[zoomzoomjeff]

I did something similar to Will S, but just stapled the plastic to the rafters, and had a GOOD respirator. Painted 4 rims that way with decent quality. Had to open the plastic up now and then to let it vent out, and also catch myself some fresh air. Even with a good respirator I was on the way to getting high.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I don't typically park cars in mine. Just my projects. Typically I have two or three motorcycles in there. I put covers on them.

 

[Mike.VA]

Yes, to the break it down for storing. When the cartoon gets dirty, I cut it up and recycle the cardboard.

You have such a simple, well thought out booth. Great job. I will have to steal that also.
Thanks.