Garage paint booth-reducing external over spray?

[Burn1]

DIY garage painters out there:
In the planning stages of building free standing wood constructed spray booth within attached home garage space.

My primary question is regarding paint over spray outside the booth and down the driveway, parked neighbor cars, etc.

Regarding automotive finishes, how much of the over spray will be caught by cheap furnace filters(fiberglass) mounted before an explosion proof fan. Any thoughts regarding a secondary capture method? More furnace filters??

One crazy idea might be trying a cheap water based "mister" system- post exhaust fan ducted outdoors(exhaust filter, duct work, blast proof fan, duct work/mister system/atmosphere).

Idea: Purchase one of those water misting kits they sell in drier climate hardware stores which I've seen in a Las Vegas Home Depot before. Normally they are used for outdoor personal "cooling" effect on a deck or patio. Basically, construct a ring with misters pointing inward after the explosion proof exhaust fan's duct work. My guess/theory is that residual airborne paint would hit the fine water vapor/mist and drop out of suspension faster than just letting the paint overspray vent/travel thru the air.

Would like some ideas regarding reducing airborne paint over spray outside the booth and surrounding area. Renting a professional spray booth is not an option nor is spending a ton on purchasing a real automotive spray booth system.

 

[SPDMETL]

Camped out for the answer...

 

[Falcon67]

Use HVLP equipment, #1. Cheap furnace filters won't capture much. If you shoot with a conventional gun make sure anything you don't want panted is far away. The better filters will stop more and if you use HVLP equipment there should be very little overspray. I would not try for an exhaust fan on a home made booth - better to pressurize the space and filter the venting air.

 

[HotrodHR]

I'm an avid auto-resto hobbyist with my main interest being painting...

I have painted many vehicles in make shift booths and if you're shooting 2K primers, basecoat / clearcoat systems or single stage with catalyst (hardener) your overspray can be minimized with furnace type filters or better yet filter material sold through auto paint jobbers.

You'll need airflow across the vehicle to help with drying and keeping overspray inside the booth from settling on fresh paint, so you will need filters on inlet and outlet. Easiest setup is a couple of box fans pulling the air through your "booth" put the exhaust side filter between the booth and fan at near floor level. Your inlet filters should be opposite up high on the wall... reduces dust and dirt as it pulls air down and out.

The other option is to create an over pressure system pushing air in and exhausting (pulling) out... the challenge here is getting it to "balance" which is more trouble than it's worth for most of us. If you just pull the air through and you don't get the flow need (you can tell when you plastic is sucking in like crazy) just add more filters openings on the intake side...

BTW, when we start talking about waterborne products that's another story all together...

As far as down stream overspray on the neighbor vehicles, if you have filters you should not have a problem, unless of course they park right next to your exhaust filters...

HVLP guns will also help with overspray... but they are not all created equal. Some are air hogs and require more pressure at the gun. I have several Sata's that work well but the best gun for reducing overspray and a great finish is made by Iwata. I have a Iwata LPH400LV (gravity fed) that only requires 16 to 18psi at the gun to shoot... this is measured at the inlet of the gun, not to be confused with cap (nozzle) pressure.

Good luck, read you product data sheets, remember your flash times and paint windows, and have fun

Don't forget to use a respirator...

 

[HotrodHR]

One more thing... dust nibs and trash can be fixed, just remember:

"Cutting and buffing separates the men from the boys."


Now about that cutting and buffing... well that's a another story entirely!

 

[Burn1]

Yes, will be using HVLP. Iso's so will be using fresh air system and protective gear for sure.

Will try the air filters on the intake(up high) and draw thru with variable speed exhaust system(down low). Will put an extra filter section on the intake(plugged) in case I need more intake volume.

Great tips everyone. Thank you.

 

[dennis111]

I found that the universal plastic type filter material found at places like Lowes does a decent job of collecting paint and I use them for both the input and the output air.

Input:

Output at a doorway:

Note the encapsulated box fans. Blue material on the outside of the fans too.

After a spray:

This was with a conventional gun. An HVLP, of course, would be a better choice.

Not perfect, but it did prevent overspray from getting into the neighbor's beloved garden.

 

[Zeke]

FWIW, I think filters on the exhaust side are nice for the neighbors and the environment, but most atomized paint doesn't get far airborne until it becomes less likely to stick to anything. For efficiency, I'd put the water mist system behind the ex fan and wait and see if you really need a filter. Once that ex filter gets clogged, your whole system will suffer. Filters don't take the aromatic solvents out of the air anyway.

Not the kind you want to use. Modern day paint booths have more like a scrubber at the exhaust.

 

[notnemore]

You might look at the Carcoon Workstation. It works great. In the picture you will see a car painted white and bumpers black with them both in at the same time. no overspray from bumpers on the car. great product. Their website is carcoonworkstation.com

 

[sberry]

Hotrod did a good job, again, here is the read. http://finishingacademy.com/training/aero/aero_mod3/aero_mod3_intro.html

 

[Weedwaka]

You might look at the Carcoon Workstation. It works great. In the picture you will see a car painted white and bumpers black with them both in at the same time. no overspray from bumpers on the car. great product. Their website is carcoonworkstation.com

This looks brilliant . I want one.

 

[sberry]

Great if you want to make payments and for,,,,,,,, someone that doesn't know how to make a paint booth.
This is like giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish, once you understand how to do this it becomes second nature.

 

[htchevyii]

I knew a guy who did show quality paint in his garage. He had an exhaust fan the was directed down into a pan of water.

 

[ADSR]

The best setup i've seen was a poly booth with drain tile pipe facing up, all the way around the car and then connected to a big **** box with a squirrel cage fan in it. He called it the DIY DownDraft booth.

It worked awesome!