Expedient paint booth ideas wanted

[toyotadriver]

I have an 18x33 shop building currently. I want to be able to set up a paint booth inside the shop to paint different things (not cars at the moment but may paint farm equipment/tractors). It doesn't have to be capable of super professional results but I also want to protect my tools and stuff from overspray.

Been thinking of buying 4 blue tarps and then screwing some hooks into the upper roof rafters. Then, hang the tarps up on the hook to make the spray booth.

Then, thinking of buying a 20 inch box fan or two and taping a 20x20 HVAC filter to it. Then, running the fan when spraying to filter out the paint particles. Will also need some extra lights but I have those.

So, what are your ideas for an expedient paint booth? Or, your suggestions on mine.


I know that a properly designed/dedicated paint booth is the best way but it's not an option for me.

 

[chris ioakimedes]

One option is to build a box frame out of PVC, then cover it with lightweight visqueen. When your done with the job, you can throw the visqueen away and disassemble the frame for storage. You can also erect it outside.

 

[skyking]

One option is to build a box frame out of PVC, then cover it with lightweight visqueen. When your done with the job, you can throw the visqueen away and disassemble the frame for storage. You can also erect it outside.

That^^^^ Also take note of any thing that has a flame , like a water heater in the same room.Most paint and reducer is highly flamable and explosive.

 

[wnstwolf]

I have somewhat successfully painted 4 cars using the above method. The first pass of primer on Car 1 I realized I needed some modifications.
1) After you make a wonderful air tight bos with tape and palstic you will need a door. Frame one up cause any attempt to just cut the plastic will drive you nuts especially after going in and out 5 times
2) make a little framed opening for air hose entry. As you move around if you just poke it through the plastic it will in time tear it and make a mess
3) which should be 1 but took me a while to learn is that YOU NEED An EXHAUST. yup I was so excited with my new creation I started to spray and in a few minutes had a box full of paint fumes/over spray. Not very cool but I had on a resp. but quickly reaized even with small stuff the build up is quick. I found some Abatement units on Craigs list that companies use to keep spaces negative pressure when taking out asbestos and stuff. Had them cleaned and new filters installed with a cost of $150 for two units. 12" duct in and 12" duct out with a blower box and filter slots in the middle. Move 900cfm which all but sucked the plastic off my PVC frame. Added a variable speed selector to the unit and was able to trim it down to stay negative but not to the point where I was sucked out..
4) is lighting you need stuff on the inside of the booth. Shop lights are great but keep everything high with no cords to trip on.
Show us picks when your done..

 

[Falcon67]

Blow filtered air in - and not with a box fans. Once those see any negative pressure they will quit moving air. Too cheap and weak to work for that application. Use something more industrial - like a Lasko 3 speed floor fan or a squirrel cage blower. Tape up all the seams and shoot HVLP.

 

[MileHigh]

I wish I had pictures of it, but the guy that recently did my body work had eye hooks in the walls. When he wanted to paint he had premade cables that attached and which he dropped that painting plastic over and taped up. Had some kind of air/filtration unit with squirrel cages and home furnace filters mounted to them. Looked really slick for assembled paint booth.

 

[K13]

I am not sure how much actual threat there is with this but in almost every thread I see on homemade paint booths there are guys warning about using standard box fans to exhaust fumes as the motors are said to have the ability to ignite the fumes. I know fans in paint booths run only sealed motors so there is no access for fumes to reach the working parts of the motor.

 

[djd99]

That^^^^ Also take note of any thing that has a flame , like a water heater in the same room.Most paint and reducer is highly flamable and explosive.

I hate to discredit your warning but I've been a bodyman for 25years and spray everything from enamels to basecoat/clearcoat with my forced air furnace in the same room and my shop hasn't blown up yet in this 25 years.

I do however have a 36" fan blowing out the majority of the fumes before I kick the furnace on do cure my paint. So I don't believe it's as flammable as everyone want's you to believe, yes if you throw a match in the thinner can it'll probably explode. My furnace is natural gas and have never worried about an explosion.

 

[JDishong]

I've always liked the idea of installing a "drape track" in the ceiling; kind of like a doctors office when they pull the drapes around for privacy. So with the plastic drapes hanging from the ceiling you can install "pull-down rods" at the bottoms of the drapes so they don't flap around as you are pulling air. You should also tape some plastic down on the floor as anyone who has done paint work can attest, the over-spray goes everywhere so you don't want to mess up your floor (assuming you care)...and finally, hose down the floor and plastic drapes to keep dust to a minimum.

My current garage design plan does not have a window opposite the garage door to allow to pull air but I've been tempted to install one just for this reason.

 

[Piper]

I put up 2 new tarps that go floor to ceiling, front wall to back wall. My garage has a 10 x 10 door at the front and the back. I remove the windows from the front, installed 2 aluminum "U" tracks that allow simple cheap furnace filters to be installed. (that's the intake side). At the opposite door I have a 36" dia fan that moves a ton of air and I have some skin plywood that is 36" high by 10' wide (with a hole for the fan). I open the read door and place the fan and plywood in. I again have some disposable filters that cover the fan which I dispose of each time I spray. I do whole cars so they wouldn't clog that much if you're just doing parts. Anyway, the front back door arrangement means I have a cross draft booth that the air comes in at the top and out the bottom.. just the way you want it. It really works well. Sorry no pix, but I think you get the idea. Of any suggestion I'd make, you need a big fan that changes the volume of the booth frequently. A small 20" box fan isn't enough IMHO.

 

[badbascom]

I can tell you what not to do because I did it.
1. Dont use PVC, that **** flexes then falls down and just adds to the frustration.
2. Dont use clear plastic draped over a frame work, it will cost over a $100 in duct tape to get everything sealed and the only duct tape that works is the expensive 3M brand.

 

[GarageEnvy]

I'm pretty interested in this topic too. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done a booth with ZipWall. It's what I was leaning toward but can't make a recommendation since it's just a thought at this point.

 

[Piper]

The only thing I'll add to my previous post is that when the paint sticks to the walls, it then flakes off later which can be hell on the new painting you're doing. That's why it's so important to vent the fumes quick and fully. I've found that white tarps work best too as they reflect light well. I used blue for a couple of jobs and it was impossible to see the car properly.

 

[Kevin54]

When I painted my truck in my garage I had a furnace blower and some plywood set up under the garage door to seal everything from coming in. Make the plywood height the same as the height of the blower. Then where the door is open at the top, seal that off with some visqueen and tape. I then picked up a furnace filter that would fit in the window opening. It worked out to where the amount coming in was just about equal to what was going out. No overspray and no bugs

 

[May Pop]

I agree with djd99 100% on the furnace.
Ron

 

[UncleJoe]

This is what I use for simple spray jobs. I picked up 4 of these at HF on sale for about $( each.

Some plastic Sheets Pressed to the ceiling and I can have a paint room setup in 15 minutes. I run some box fans and I have not had any issues in the past, your mileage may vary. Currently my all my painting projects are cabinet work with water based paints.

One more thing to consider is to clean the floor well and then wet it down just before you spray. This helps with the dust.

 

[Kevin54]

This is what I use for simple spray jobs. I picked up 4 of these at HF on sale for about $( each.

Some plastic Sheets Pressed to the ceiling and I can have a paint room setup in 15 minutes. I run some box fans and I have not had any issues in the past, your mileage may vary. Currently my all my painting projects are cabinet work with water based paints.

One more thing to consider is to clean the floor well and then wet it down just before you spray. This helps with the dust.

How much is that? I may just have to pick up a few of those.

 

[Zeke]

I've been spray painting anything and everything from bicycles to cars, and I was gonna say "cabinets to caskets," but I've never done one of those. This, over a period of 50 years. Of course, for most of those years, no one cared about the exhaust.

I've used home made booths, painted in the middle of a huge room, and rented booths. Some booths allow more dirt in the paint than a big empty, still room. I've even painted equipment out in the dirt, wetting the ground to keep the dust contained. Usually did this at 7am in the summer because there is no wind and the overnight temps were in the range.

The idea for all painting environments is to remove the mist so it doesn't settle on the fresh paint and so you can see. So, if you are going to circulate fresh, clean air into the environment, you have to have a clean source. The idea of filtering or cleaning the exhaust is another environmental issue, one for the neighbors and one that can only really be properly done with a new professional booth.

I don't like a lot of air inside a temporary booth. Just enough to move the mist along. If things look fairly clear inside, I shut down any operating ventilation when I leave the booth. I might even start a coat before turning it back on. Filters have never really done much for me. They restrict the airflow. I like to introduce clean air from a nice still area that is very clean and cool. Wetting down everywhere helps, especially all around where the fresh air is coming from.

I mean if the outside is near where there is a source of dust, I can't paint. I won't try to filter already dirty, dusty air. Some always gets through.

So, if you're in a rural or semi-rural area, you can paint at home in your shop. If you live in the city, in a housing tract or similar, it's going to be dicey. Here in CA the fines for doing anything but spray painting your own house are severe. That probably includes refinishing furniture, which I have done a lot of.

Anyway, bottom line from a guy who has made plenty of temporary booths, what works best is having a slightly positive pressure inside and not restrictions going in or out. You can use a low flow, just enough, and things will come out nice.

If you have to filter either the incoming air or the exhaust, you probably aren't in the best of places to spray paint. Of course my way is not the only way to do it. YMMV.

 

[ManxRacer]

My post will likely draw a lot of criticism, but...

I live close to a guy who does a lot of custom hotrod painting. He paints outside under an overhang of his building. He paints about six coats, then uses a buffer to buff out the dust and imperfections. I've seen a lot of his work and the finishes look amazingly great. Haven't tried it myself, but it works for him. BTW, he has a paint booth in his shop that he doesn't use anymore.

 

[Zeke]

Manzracer, one of the guys I learned from in the 60's painted cars in the parking lot. He too buffed them with heavy compound and then polished them out. The jobs were definitely sellable, but not custom. They were building salvage cars before the concept of a salvage title came about.

 

[toyotadriver]

Thanks for the input. Keep it coming!!

Good ideas mentioned so far!!

 

[fdtrucks]

One thing to keep in mine is the National Rule by the EPA. Your only allowed to paint up to two vehicles per year at you home as a hobbyist. If you own a buisness you have to have equipment in place to capture any atomized solvents. Also, whoever is doing the painting has to have been through the EPA class, and certified to do the work. So if you have any neighbors that are dicks and complain, the fines are pretty high. Its been like this for a few years now, but the biggest ones getting hammered are the lot lizards going around doing spot repairs at dealerships.

One person also mentiones the paint flaking from the tarps and plastic used. Ive seen it first hand, it will happen. The plastic used at body shops have a coating that prevents that.

After you finish painting you want to do your best to get all the overspray out. And keep clean fresh air coming. Otherwise it will settle on your fresh paintwork and will bite you in the ****. Depending on the your hardner and reducer selection, youll have hazing from the solvents being trapped, or a fresh paintjob covered in overspray. Also if you cant see what your painting and your spraying a pearl or metallic, youll probablly stripe it.

Keep an eye out for bodyshops that are selling old prep stations, or non heated cross draft booths. I know of a shop that sold an old cross draft booth to a friend of mine for $500, he just had to take it down himself and haul it off.

 

[fdtrucks]

I really need to proof read, sometimes I forget my computer doesnt have the autospell like my phone..

 

[1steve]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131629&highlight=spray+booth

 

[1steve]

Check out post #6 link then go to post #12.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

Great thread op , I'd like to see more pics aswell, I like the box fan filter idea.

Ive always wanted to make a PVC booth, key would be to use cpvc scd 80 pipe to prevent sagging, but even then I'm not sure how long it would hold up after reading other posts

 

[mikeytint]

I have heard of portable blow up spray booths available. I don't know who makes them or where to get it though. My understanding is that it is like the kids bouncy rooms and inflated with fans and is fully enclosed.

 

[Wastedwagesracing]

I have heard of portable blow up spray booths available. I don't know who makes them or where to get it though. My understanding is that it is like the kids bouncy rooms and inflated with fans and is fully enclosed.

http://retractablepaintbooths.com/

 

[mikeytint]

That style looks petty kool, but that isn't the type i was referring to. These look like a kids bouncy house blowup you can just put it anywhere unfold it turn on the fans and it blows up to a full inclosure.

 

[Notwerk]

Lots of useful information at SecondChanceGarage, but this should be of particular interest to you:

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/720.cfm

 

[wnstwolf]

Notwerk, I hang out int he Jagforum and for the life of me could not remember which member had this in his garage. Bill Mckenna.. thanks at least I was not totally off

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

If it were me, and next summer it will be, I would use one of the 10x20 car canopies (or a 10x10 popup canopy if just doing small things.).

10x20 canopy with sides runs around $200.

10x10 popup canopy from Walmart with sides will be $150.

Lay down a tarp on the ground first, put your canopy on that, and you've got a clean room. Prepare ventilation accordingly. It's inexpensive if you plan to use it more than a couple of times, it's dust free, and portable. Trying to seal your garage from dust is nearly impossible. I'd much rather take it outdoors where I have space available.

 

[mothgrey]

Saw this on another forum I swiped the photos to show you. I thought this was cool.

 

[willymakeit]

I will add one item and that is the air you beathe. We used to take a shop vac, put a hepa filter in it and set it out side. Run a hose to the discharge side to a connection on top of a hard hat or hood. Instant fresh air, and positive air pressure. I still wore a respirator but that is me. With the right amount of hose the air velocity isnt bad.
Just remember that it has a intake side ,so keep it away from bathrooms or your exhaust system.
Had someone smoking a doobie outside this system one time and wondered why the painter was so happy, since he bitched about everything before.

 

[toyotadriver]

Some really neat ideas here and thanks to all who responded with info, pics, and ideas.

I have to paint a couple of doors this weekend. I'm going to try the fans/filter idea along with some blue tarps and some extra lights.

If I'm able (and if it doesn't look too stupid!) I'll try to take some pics.

 

[64dragnwagon]

I haven't tried it but I was thinking of getting one of those portable party type tarp/tent with the metal tube frame and then wrap the sides in clear plastic or a white tarp. Should be easy to assemble and dissasemble when done. I have always just hung clear plastic from the trusses and put a box fan in the window blowing out. Also as mentioned a good wet sanding and buffing will remove virtually all of the dust and dirt out of the paint on base/clear. Here is pic of the last car I painted this way. I would consider it a "near show quality" paint job.

 

[Falcon67]

My post will likely draw a lot of criticism, but...

I live close to a guy who does a lot of custom hotrod painting. He paints outside under an overhang of his building. He paints about six coats, then uses a buffer to buff out the dust and imperfections. I've seen a lot of his work and the finishes look amazingly great. Haven't tried it myself, but it works for him. BTW, he has a paint booth in his shop that he doesn't use anymore.

Painted in my open 20x16 shed with a dirt driveway. I did squirt the driveway with some water. This is west Texas - we export dirt. I filter to keep out the big chunks and Mesquite leaves.

 

[sberry]

Anyway, bottom line from a guy who has made plenty of temporary booths, what works best is having a slightly positive pressure inside and not restrictions going in or out. You can use a low flow, just enough, and things will come out nice.

A booth is not like a dust free room, you **** fumes out not blow them.

PAINT BOOTH PRESSURE LEVELS
Rich Thelen, PE

Not sure how to copy this page but this is the man, has a 5 page document with pictures describing paint booth setup.

 

[MP&C]

Saw this on another forum I swiped the photos to show you. I thought this was cool.

My only suggestion for the inside of this wall:

.....would be to add plywood to the inside as well, less nooks and crannies to hold dust and dirt only to be stirred up when air starts flowing in the booth...

 

[sberry]

http://finishingacademy.com/training/aero/aero_mod3/aero_mod3_intro.html