Inexpensive Paint Storage

[kdubaz]

Hey all, first time post here. I can give you my background if you want, but I'm a custom car guy and I love the site. I'm working on plans right now for a new garage, and this place is helping a LOT.

Anyways, I have a ton of paint, and I need a firesafe cabinet to put it all. Any suggestions on an affordable cabinet? I mean I really have a LOT of paint, and keeping it on standard shelves ain't cutting it.

 

[Major Ramifications]

I ran into this dilemma at work some time ago. The safety department was making our department get a fire cabinet in our test shop for all the flammables, and I was in charge of procuring equipment for our shop. I would much rather spend the company's money on some new tools & machinery, so I did some serious shopping for an inexpensive fire cabinet. ("Hey, I saved you all this money on a fire cabinet, so can we get a new vertical mill?") Apparently, shops don't ever sell these cabinets used, they must keep them around forever. I couldn't find a used one, I couldn't find a cheap one, so I ended up biting the bullet and ordering one from Grainger. We eventually inhereted an older mill from another department.
If you find a cheap one, post it here. I would like to have one in my garage.

 

[ConstructionBoss]

Check out
http://www.hippoindustries.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Paint-Yellow
They have the Eagle cabinets that grainger carries for quite a bit cheaper, and they have a warehouse here in PHX.

 

[weimer]

Here is what alot of the guys around here do.
Find an old NON-working Refridgerator, drill a small hole in the top to run a wire through. On the inside mount a single light fixture, and use a 40 watt bulb. Make sure that you put an external switch on it so you can shut the light off during the warm months.
The fridge is airtight and will keep your paint from freezing in the winter(with the heat from the bulb) and will seal tightly to keep out sparks,etc and keep fumes in.
But if you are looking to buy a "fireproof" cabinet made specifically for this, then you may want to look here at US Plastics
I have bought things from them in the past and they are really great to deal with, and they are only about 40mins away.
Later,
WEIMER

 

[kdubaz]

Well thanks folks. Those things aren't cheap, that's for sure. Guess I'll hunt around and see what I can find. Thanks!

 

[jvo]

I don't know if it is legal for a commercial shop or not, but I found a cabinet a few months back at our local industrial supply warehouse. I was an electrical cabinet in its previous life, except it was a far heavier version. Made out of 12 gauge metal, with a huge chrome handle on the front and very positive latching system to hold the door tightly closed. It had a whole bunch of round and square holes in it, which I promptly made patches for and welded in. Heavy enough material that there was no warping problem. This thing was really heavy. Two of us couldn't life it, had to just slide it off the back of the pickup truck. I put four heavy castors on the bottom of it so I could roll it around. Dimensions are about 39 inches wide, 80 inches or so tall, and about 19 inches deep. I still need to sand and paint it, but it holds all of my flammables in my home operation. I have seen commercial paint cabinets, and I feel mine is superior to any I have seen. It cost me $150.00 for the initial purchase, but that's only a fraction of what you'd have to pay for a commercial one around here. (We priced one at work last year) All I did was weld some metal shelves into it. I'd like to have it blasted and powder coated, but I almost need a cherry picker to move it.

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

I use the old non working fridge trick