Brilliant Idea for spray booth/clean room

[Karnage]

You may have seen in my intro thread That room is at a premium in my home shop. I was on an airbrush forum the other day and one of the guys came up with the most brilliant idea for making the most of his space.

 

[eborcim]

Wonder how many newbs in his shop try to go through the end piece door before its in place?

How many hinges are on the end piece?

 

[Karnage]

Hahaha, I would airbrush a tunnel with a train coming through behind the door!

two I think, but the base is supported on rollers.

 

[Lhorn]

[QUOTEHahaha, I would airbrush a tunnel with a trail coming through behind the door!][/QUOTE]

Just like the Roadrunner.

That's a fantastic idea. When taken down, you are losing only about 4 inches in the width of your shop. Only inconveneince is, if you are like most of us, you'd stack a bunch of stuff against the wall, so you'd spend and hour moving all of it when you need to set up the booth.

 

[Karnage]

True but, for me, I spend 12-18 months restoring a car and then probably spend a week painting, so even having to move things would be worthwhile for an extra 3.5m X 7m of shop space.

 

[NUTTSGT]

DAMN, that is one of the best ideas I have seen in a long time.

 

[Jack Olsen]

For me, that falls into the 'kinda brilliant' category -- because it suggests a better way to do it. Instead of rendering all of that valuable wall space useless for benches or cabinets, I'd try to get those big flats to come down from the ceiling, instead of out from the walls.

Ceiling space is pretty disposable.

But I guess if that's where your car is going to get parked normally, it works.

Another thought: maybe corrugated plastic walls instead of those theater-style flats? Plastic would be lighter and maybe easier to clean.

 

[ranchero7]

Are there rollers in the steel tracks at the top?

 

[e-tek]

It's a damn good idea - for the right shop.
I still prefer curtains (plastic or woven fabric) on a rod. They practically disappear, taking up about 6"x6" of space, pull out in less time and don't take up wall space as mentioned above.

 

[Karnage]

Yes rollers in the track. I have had a look for something similar and this is what I have found. http://elraco.com.au/index.php?cPath=773_777

While you loose some wall space having benches/cabinets to collect dust etc inside would be less then ideal. You could of course build a bench on casters that could roll out with the wall. Plastic could possibly work. When I build mine, it will be solid like this one but with my wall lights recessed and covered with perspex for safety and so the wall can be washed down.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Are there rollers in the steel tracks at the top?

yep, they look like it, something made for barn doors, I'm sure you could find at TSC.

 

[1320stang]

Heck hang cabinets on the long wall and put a bench on wheels on the front of it and roll the whole thing out. Put a floor shelf on the bottom for the stuff you put under the bench, you could even put electrical on the wall if it was attached to the back wall with some SJO cable.

 

[A_Pmech]

It's a damn good idea - for the right shop.
I still prefer curtains (plastic or woven fabric) on a rod. They practically disappear, taking up about 6"x6" of space, pull out in less time and don't take up wall space as mentioned above.

E-tek, are there any curtains designed specifically for body shop use?

I've been looking for something that would seal to the top rail. Most of what I've found simply hangs on hooks, leaving a space of 2" to 6" between the top of the curtain and the bottom of the rail.

 

[ddawg16]

It is a great idea.....

But I think E-Tek also has a good idea.....

I think you can put the ideas into two catagories....

If you only paint once a year...say your own project car....go plastic curtin...

But if you are doing say one paint job every other month...then the above walls is an outstanding way to do it...

 

[Falcon67]

That's a neat idea. He's pulling air from somewhere, wonder where that duct runs in the back.

Classic Auto Restorer had an article last year showing how to build a full size paint booth from plastic pipe and plastic drop clothes, complete with pressurized air intake. It could all be broken down into a bundle and stored in the attic.

 

[bmwpower]

Someone makes the "curtains" and rods that e-tek speaks of. I will see if I can find them....

I like the idea, but it wouldn't work in my place.

 

[redneckprofessor]

For me, that falls into the 'kinda brilliant' category -- because it suggests a better way to do it. Instead of rendering all of that valuable wall space useless for benches or cabinets, I'd try to get those big flats to come down from the ceiling, instead of out from the walls.

Ceiling space is pretty disposable.

But I guess if that's where your car is going to get parked normally, it works.

Another thought: maybe corrugated plastic walls instead of those theater-style flats? Plastic would be lighter and maybe easier to clean.

That is the "brilliant idea" I had, similar to what that guy did but what you said: a booth in the corner, with the front and the side swinging down from the ceiling, rather than out from the walls. The wall would be heavy, so you would have to reinforce it-- otherwise it would flex too much and perhaps break on you as you swung it down.

Come to think of it, though, there would be give and take. Swinging down from the ceiling would save space for the walls, but you would have to have clear space for it to swing down, which means moving stuff either way.

Guess it comes down to which is cheaper and easier. I think this guy's way is both. I would only add lights to the walls and ceiling, though, to make a good paint and body work booth.

 

[akdiesel]

The track and wheels are Unistrut and they make types of roller systems as well to hang from the ceiling or I beams. They can hold up to 600# on each roller if you get the correct one.

I like the curtain idea as well but you would have to configure a sweep system to drag on the floor as well as the ceiling to keep the fumes/dust from getting out or in.

 

[gte718p]

That's a neat idea. He's pulling air from somewhere, wonder where that duct runs in the back.

Classic Auto Restorer had an article last year showing how to build a full size paint booth from plastic pipe and plastic drop clothes, complete with pressurized air intake. It could all be broken down into a bundle and stored in the attic.

add a squire cage blower, a couple of air filters, and some duct tap and you have yourself a great paint booth. My solar car team used on in college to do all our composite work. It was a huge 6 meter by 3 meter car and we needed to control dirt and fumes during the layup proccess.

Interestingly enough the guy who taught use how to make the booth was the schools clean room tech. We actually certified our boot as a level three clean room. I forget the actual measure but it's something like less then .001 ppm of dirt in a cubic foot of air. It's the same procedure they use when they have to break confinement on the clean rooms to move a large piece of equipment in or out.

 

[eborcim]

Heck, just make the walls rise out of the floor, that wouldn't be complicated...at all.

In all seriousness a temporary room for occasional painting is a great idea no matter what your design.

 

[bobabuee]

awsome idea,could make it out of alumium 2x4's studs and attach 4 or 6 mil.
sheeting ,it would be very light weight and sturdy too hang it from celing too.

 

[Jononon]

Someone makes the "curtains" and rods that e-tek speaks of. I will see if I can find them....

http://www.goffscurtainwalls.com/

They're available as a ready built 'limited finishing station' from Colmet (amongst others):

http://www.colmetsb.com/products_automotive_9.cfm

 

[rieferman]

There's another brand I couldn't find, but what about these dust curtain types of products? I eventually will be finishing furniture and was thinking this could be a fast way to section off an area. But maybe it wouldn't be air tight enough for auto finishing (I don't know about auto finishing, but it sounds like dust containment is critical)

http://www.curtain-wall.com/curtain-wall-products/speedywall.html


edit: but I have to say, that guy did a nice job on that transformer-style wall!

 

[mr48chev]

That is one of the slickest shop ideas that I have seen in a long time and the great part is that all of the pieces are readily available at the local lumber supply anywhere in the country.

 

[Eazy716]

I've been planning on doing something similar to this for about a year. I have a couple different plans drawn up, one using a wooden wall similar to this except it would be multiple piece on casters, that slide out of the wall. The other was basically the same type of setup as the curtain walls linked earlier.

Now I may be motivated to get to work on it this weekend.

Love this guys idea, but my shop is a bit smaller so the feasability of something like he has is probably not reasonable.

 

[Weedwaka]

That Colmet spray booth looks slick. I am not crazy about the 2x4 wall booth. Looks dark and would be hard to balance correctly.

 

[rustedgoat]

Looks similar to air walls used by hotels. The center point of the top of the panel has a pivoting bracket that goes into a track mounted on the ceiling. Then then ends of the panel interlock into each other. I thought about all kind of designs similar to some mentioned but I will most likely go low tech. A 2x4's mounted to the ceiling, one that can be bolted to the floor and plastic sheat stapled when needed. I just don't do enough painting to dedicate any space for it.

 

[gte718p]

Here is a picture of the one I was talked about earlier, folds into nothing

 

[rsanter]

that is an awsome design. some real thinking out of the box

a guy I knew was adding onto the end his garage to make a 1 stall parking spot for his show car(shelby). when he built it he built it as a paint booth / detailing room with a filtered ventaltion system and lights in the walls.
when he want to paint the shelby comes out and parks in the main garage and the rest of the time it sits in a clean room so working in the garage dosent get it dirty

another friend made a paint booth with plastic sheeting and 2x2 rails.
the sheets attach to the ceiling and enxtend to the floor. at the bottom they are attached to a 2x2 to weigh them down.
when not in use you roll the 2x2 so you are rolling the plastic around it untill it reaches the ceiling and is held up with a chain and a couple of hooks.
he uses it fairly regularly for sanding or painting so he can keep the rest of the garage clean. he uses it for cars and woodworking

bob

 

[PCO6]

That would be perfect for when my mother-in-law visits! I'd want to put it some where else though other than in the garage because that's where I go for peace and quiet when she comes.

 

[boiler7904]

I'd think it would be pretty easy to build a panel system that folds and stacks into a corner similar to what Modernfold makes commercially:

Modernfold Single Panel System

Allows for a solid system without losing an entire wall for cabinets and benches.

 

[Benw455]

I will have to copy that design.

 

[Dmar836]

Great idea. Except I can't keep stuff off a wall big enough for a booth!
Dave
KC