Installing a paint booth the hard way....

[OldCarGuy]

The easy way would let someone else do it!

I purchased the “economy” series paint booth from Merchant 1 Marketing in Greensboro North Carolina. Buddy Turner was extremely helpful have their factory alter their standard design to accommodate my needs. The ordering experience was quick and simple. And was delivered on time as promised. With a fair price that included shipping

http://www.paint-spray-booths.com/index.html

This is the picture of the paint booth assembled....

First things first. I had to reorganize some things to make room for my newest toy. I relocate my 1910 rolling chassis and body that I put on wheels along with my 1914 Cadillac into another garage. I parked the crosswise in front of the four four-post lifts. Somewhat of a tight fit. But will do for the winter season...

I put my upholstery sewing machine on the second floor of my 30' by 50' workshop. Along with cabinets and boxes of nuts, bolts, and hardware... That I purchased with the antique car restorations shop I purchase several years back..

The booth arrived securely packaged in a crate that was 48” wide by 7' tall and 10' long. Along with lights, motor, fan and filter supports dropped shipped from their suppliers...

Loaded on my LoadTrail Tilt Bed Trailer.. unloading and placing in one of my garages..

To prevent a catastrophe, do NOT cut vertical straps. And open the end clearly marked on the outside of the crate. This is what the booth looks like inside..

The first step is to read the instructions,, twice over. That are rather easy to understand. Then start by laying out all the pieces, like's together, making sure nothing was left out. Most all the parts were conveniently labeled with a magic marker. That corresponded to the stock list. In my case everything checked out with nothing was missing.. This helps understand where every part belongs in assembly process.. Being a one-man-band, my old scissors lift surely came in handy..

I first assembled the filter plenum box assembled.

Then bolted the fan on top

Side and front view showing the 24” diameter exhaust duct coming out the top of the fan. Connected to an elbow and through the garage wall.. Merchant 1 Marketing designed the filter plenum box one filter height lower. To accommodate the exhaust stack to fit under the 13' 10” ceiling height. There has to be at least 24” of straight pipe after the fan. So it will operate efficiently... Otherwise the full standard height plenum would work...

Cutting the hole in the garage with a Sawzall wasn't too bad.

Two of the eight large side panels installed...

This is all the progress I made with two long full days on the project. Though the first day was reorganization of the tools, equipment and cars to make room for the paint booth. Along with setting out the steel panels and reading the directions,, twice... .. I figured it wasn't too bad for an old man working alone... Maybe another three days to finish up the assembly. And a fourth to install the motor and light fixtures and wired everything up... Then again,, maybe longer.... I'll keep this thread updated with my progress...


.

 

[mobetta]

nice work, that's a sweet addition to your awesome complex....

 

[2500avalanche]

Nice work, keep it posted with updates!

 

[MalibuLX3]

Awesome, I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[Pug}{maN]

o ya ! thats sweet ! can i come use it ? lol

 

[David79z28]

Looks great so far!!

NICE TOY COLLECTION!!!!

 

[Nighttrain]

Are you going to lose light from those windows? May want to remove those mini-blinds before its too late to reach them. Thanks for posting. This is an item on my must have list.

 

[slickgt1]

Question, maybe a dumb one, but why not just assemble it outside, and slap a quick garage, structure of sorts around it?

Looks great so far though.

 

[ebfabman]

I know its a small paint booth but if you paint a full bodied car in it you'll find it needs lights in the lower panels. You'll know what I mean when you start spraying, or after you spray one then take it out in the sunshine. Especially if you are spraying base clear where the base is a light metallic color.

 

[venom50svt]

Wow you are packed with stuff.. well I should talk, I have the same sewing machine in my shop plus cars..
Is the motor on your booth a 3 phase or do you have a kicker to compensate.

If I had room I would get one, so until that time I will continue to use plastic to make a room for painting....

 

[shopnut]

If I'm not mistaken, it seems like you're starting to get serious about this old car restoration thing

Its always an inspiration to see you accomplish these major tasks by yourself. Some people just enjoy working alone, but I wouldn't know ANYTHING about that .

Keep up the great work OCG. You have a complex to be proud of.

 

[bchee]

I offered to help you.......

 

[OldCarGuy]

Are you going to lose light from those windows? May want to remove those mini-blinds before its too late to reach them. Thanks for posting. This is an item on my must have list.

I have the booth just far enough away from the walls so I can get behind to replace the light bulbs. And or the blinds. There's more than enough lights in the garage ceiling to give me more than 100 candlepower of illumination at working height.

Question, maybe a dumb one, but why not just assemble it outside, and slap a quick garage, structure of sorts around it?

Looks great so far though.

I'd need to get a permit. Surely the city bureaucracy will frown on me having a paint booth..

Wow you are packed with stuff.. well I should talk, I have the same sewing machine in my shop plus cars..
Is the motor on your booth a 3 phase or do you have a kicker to compensate.

If I had room I would get one, so until that time I will continue to use plastic to make a room for painting....

Yep,, I got tired of the plastic thing too. That's why I made the purchase..

Actually a single phase 240 Volt motor was shipped with the order. But I'm exchanging it for a three phase. And will add a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) so I can regulate the fan motor's RPM's. conversely the amount of air movement in the booth..

.

 

[OldCarGuy]

I know its a small paint booth but if you paint a full bodied car in it you'll find it needs lights in the lower panels. You'll know what I mean when you start spraying, or after you spray one then take it out in the sunshine. Especially if you are spraying base clear where the base is a light metallic color.

Nice call. That's what good about the garage board's. Having another set of eyes critiquing a project. I would have expected the booth's manufacturer to place the lights in the best possible positions. I had two more light fixtures added to the ceiling because I wanted better and more even lighting. Though I never questioned having them lower in the sidewalls.

Here's my choices. I can leave the sidewall lights where they are. Or I could switch the two sidewall panels. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 10” off the floor. Or I could put the 5” spacer on the floor rather than the top. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 15” off the floor. So the light will be coming from 15” to 40” off the floor... What's your opinion on the direction I should take?


.

 

[CARS]

Actually a single phase 240 Volt motor was shipped with the order. But I'm exchanging it for a three phase. And will add a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) so I can regulate the fan motor's RPM's. conversely the amount of air movement in the booth..

What is sickening is that I paid $150.00 extra for a single phase motor THEN I find out about VFD's.... just pisses me off. I could have almost paid for the VFD with the "upgrade"

Here's my choices. I can leave the sidewall lights where they are. Or I could switch the two sidewall panels. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 10” off the floor. Or I could put the 5” spacer on the floor rather than the top. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 15” off the floor. So the light will be coming from 15” to 40” off the floor... What's your opinion on the direction I should take?

My vote is the 5" panel on the floor, then the lamp panel, then the solid panel.

 

[CARS]

Mine





I ordered additional length, height, and lights. BUT, I designed the booth and addition at the same time. You're retro fitting. Even if it's smaller than you would like, you are going to love it!!

 

[StingRay]

I know its a small paint booth but if you paint a full bodied car in it you'll find it needs lights in the lower panels. You'll know what I mean when you start spraying, or after you spray one then take it out in the sunshine. Especially if you are spraying base clear where the base is a light metallic color.

ebfabman's knowledge and experience are legendary on the 67-72chevytruck board. He's a true craftsman and a professional. His advice is golden.

 

[m.james]

Awesome. I wish I had the room for something like this.

 

[swharris]

Congrats! I am very jealous. Even though I'm going to build a shop from the ground up I just don't have the footprint on my lot for one. Though I would love to have one I just can not justify building a bigger building for a rarely used luxury like that. I'll have to settle for renting when I need one....sigh.

 

[CARS]

I noticed something with your drawing that may/may not be an issue. If you are having this booth electrically inspected, your door is too close to the lights.

I had my booth wired by an electrician and when it came time for the electrical inspection I was failed because I moved one of my light panels closer to the walk-in door. Code requires the light (which is not sealed on the outside of the booth) to be 3' away from a door opening.

I believe this was National fire code for booths, not a local code.

I was able to appease the inspector by building a sealed box over my light. (guess which fixture gets it's lens cleaned and bulbs replaced???)

Are you installing the door switches? God I hate those stupid things. You should be able to shut the fan off before you open the door. You still get a wave of outside air rushing in before the fan winds down

 

[OldCarGuy]

I noticed something with your drawing that may/may not be an issue. If you are having this booth electrically inspected, your door is too close to the lights.

I had my booth wired by an electrician and when it came time for the electrical inspection I was failed because I moved one of my light panels closer to the walk-in door. Code requires the light (which is not sealed on the outside of the booth) to be 3' away from a door opening.

I believe this was National fire code for booths, not a local code.

I was able to appease the inspector by building a sealed box over my light. (guess which fixture gets it's lens cleaned and bulbs replaced???)

Are you installing the door switches? God I hate those stupid things. You should be able to shut the fan off before you open the door. You still get a wave of outside air rushing in before the fan winds down

First off this paint booth is located at my home and for my personal use only. Plus I do not run any kind of business from home. And I do not plan on having it inspected.. Though I'd imagine the local inspectors would have no idea of specific paint booth codes.. However I do not want to outright do anything that would be unsafe. I have to wonder,, if a light being a foot closer to a door than the three feet you mentioned, is really that unsafe?

I'm doing the wiring myself. And understand that no electrical devices should be mounted inside the booth itself, for good reason. Even though it'd be nice to turn the fan off before opening the door. Or being able to plug in a device of some kind when I'm using the booth for prepping and actually not painting..

I do not plan on installing a door switch. But I may come up with some kind of remote. To allow the fan to wind down. So I won't receive that big gush of air when opening the door...

You have a really nice setup. Got to love the white paint inside. Is that the peal off? Looks as if you can handle a big rig in there.

 

[ebfabman]

OCG, I need all the light I can get when I spray so my booths had lights in each panel on the sides. My last booth had 45 degree panels on top of the sides that tied in to the top panels. These 45's had lights in them so no lights were needed for the top panels. You may find that the light directly overhead may cast some reflection on the horizontal surfaces which may make it a little hard to see the spray pattern. Yours being an economy booth I think putting the 5 inch spacer on the bottom and switching the side panels so the light is on the bottom is maybe a good idea if you're going to have light in only one of the side panels. Avoiding any dark spots and shadows is best if possible. Good lighting will help you see the spray pattern so you can get a good overlap and even coverage. This is especially true when spraying clear. The side with the walk through door will need the spacer shortened and added back on top of the door so you won't have to step over a threshold. Imagine tripping going into the paint booth with a freshly mixed container of paint (ask me how I know about this..lol ) sorry if you already thought about this but I though I'd better mention it.

 

[1320stang]

Nice call. That's what good about the garage board's. Having another set of eyes critiquing a project. I would have expected the booth's manufacturer to place the lights in the best possible positions. I had two more light fixtures added to the ceiling because I wanted better and more even lighting. Though I never questioned having them lower in the sidewalls.

Here's my choices. I can leave the sidewall lights where they are. Or I could switch the two sidewall panels. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 10” off the floor. Or I could put the 5” spacer on the floor rather than the top. Making the bottom edge of the light fixtures 15” off the floor. So the light will be coming from 15” to 40” off the floor... What's your opinion on the direction I should take?


.

I'm not a painter, nor do I have a booth, but I'd consider just adding another set of lights on the lower panel. Use the upper as a template then get some extruded aluminum angle to pop rivet onto the wall and hold the lights in place.

I'm curious as to why the lights are mounted in that manner. As I'm told by the electrical engineers at work, light doesn't cast too much past the ends of the tubes, most of the light is in the length of the tubes, so those lights whould be verticle, not horizontal. I'd consider putting 4 two bulb fixtures vertically in the lower panel evenly spaced along the wall down both sides.

 

[CARS]

First off this paint booth is located at my home and for my personal use only. Plus I do not run any kind of business from home. And I do not plan on having it inspected.. Though I'd imagine the local inspectors would have no idea of specific paint booth codes.. However I do not want to outright do anything that would be unsafe. I have to wonder,, if a light being a foot closer to a door than the three feet you mentioned, is really that unsafe?

I figured from reading your other posts that you are qualified to do the electrical but that doesn't mean that you don't want the sticker on your box.

You would be surprised how many body shops have been properly inspected by your inspector. Unless your area is big enough to have separate residential and commercial inspectors. Around here we have one inspector for a 5 county area.

I think the concern for the electrical fire codes are the absolute worse case scenario. Door switches shut off the fan so in case you have a fire ready to flashover, the booths fan doesn't help the "situation". 1' or 20', I don't think it matters but hey, I didn't write the stupid rules. (I wont say anything.

I'm doing the wiring myself. And understand that no electrical devices should be mounted inside the booth itself, for good reason. Even though it'd be nice to turn the fan off before opening the door. Or being able to plug in a device of some kind when I'm using the booth for prepping and actually not painting..

I do not plan on installing a door switch. But I may come up with some kind of remote. To allow the fan to wind down. So I won't receive that big gush of air when opening the door...

I was thinking of a remote keypad for the VFD. You could even just slow it down after you finished spraying. Once the overspray has cleared hit the brake! Well, shut it down. But some VFD's have brakes too. About the only thing they wont do is help you with the paint job!!

You have a really nice setup. Got to love the white paint inside. Is that the peal off? Looks as if you can handle a big rig in there.

I actually just painted it last year. Was sporting the galvanized coating for a few years. They wanted a couple grand for powder coating that is just going to get overspray on it if you don't spend a fortune on a removable coating. My option, wait till the lumber yard had a paint sale and bought 5 gal. of semi-gloss white. Rolled it on in an evening.

I ordered the extra length for painting when the cars are tore down, but the height was because I spent 15 years in a collision shop. The Super Duty and Heavy Duty Pick-ups are just too tall to paint the roof properly. I can do a UPS truck if I need to. Biggest item was a day cab Pete with the stacks removed.

 

[scott37300]

Couldn't you use something like this, http://cgi.ebay.com/842-Crouse-Hind...165?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588c293e1d for an explosion proof switch to use on the inside of the paint booth to turn the fan off before opening the door?

 

[creativecars]

My first booth was similar but older with only 45degree lights in the upper corners. I took a plasma and cutout for glass and lights to be placed on the outside of the booth about 6" off the floor and up 4'. I put three 4' double tube lights on each side. I would go for the lights as low as possible. It looks like your lighting will be ok from the waist up, its the low areas that will need extra help. It is easier to see when standing up than when standing on your head.

You do want to be able to shut down the fan before opening a door, a little patience here will go along way.

 

[CamarosRus]

What can be said for painting a (70 Camaro project) while on a rotissieri that could be rolled up a little on either side to help SEE the lower rocker areas........

Looking for professional moonlighter in Western WA for resto quality work..............

 

[JCQuick]

Mine





I ordered additional length, height, and lights. BUT, I designed the booth and addition at the same time. You're retro fitting. Even if it's smaller than you would like, you are going to love it!!

Thats an interesting design. Not a cross flow or a down flow kind of a cross between the two.

 

[CARS]

Yep. It's called a Semi-down Draft.

 

[CARS]

Yep. It's called a Semi-down Draft.

I should explain more.

I plan on adding a furnace to it. I didn't want a down draft pit because I like the in-floor heat keeping everything nice and toasty over night. So door filters were out + the pit was out = semi down draft booth.

It has double intake filters, so it works pretty good too

 

[JCQuick]

Yep. It's called a Semi-down Draft.

ah yes its been since I was in that biz but I remember it now. Are you going to use propane type heat or infrared?

Very nice looking booth by the way. It's kind of a pet peeve of mine when I see nasty dirty booths.

I was lucky when I stumbled into the collision industry. the owner started small worked his way up to over 20 employees. we did 100+ cars a month and on the side he started a body shop equipment business. i don't consider myself an expert but I do have knowledge
BTW the corprate buy outs and Insurance companys made me change my profession about 7 years ago

 

[mad57]

If you are looking to paint the inside i did my buddys pro booth with rustoleum professional series white... rolled it on and boy did it look great made the diffrence in how bright it was after awhile we just got used to the dark ding from the over spray ect, all painted and scraped the glass man what a diffrence, i would also look into booth coat after you paint it spray it on and just hose it off after your done with paint job saves the walls if you get a dead spot and it sticks, keep the pics coming great job.

 

[hobie1dog]

I assembled one like this several years ago. Other than having to draw in cold air in the winter, it worked great.

 

[sberry]

Even though it'd be nice to turn the fan off before opening the door

Run a rod thru the wall to switch.

 

[OldCarGuy]

This weekend's progress on assembling my new paint booth. I put up the rest of the side walls. Including the main drive-in door and man door frames. Then installed the eight ceiling panels along with the four 2'X4' ceiling light fixtures. I first sealed the 1/4” plate glass that the fixtures rest on.. I ran short pigtail cords from each light fixture. And will run some EMT conduit to receptacles and switch by the door.

The two five foot wide main access doors swing open through the garage's eight foot high overhead door. I had the two booth doors shortened from their standard height to 94” tall to clear the opening... All the doors have yet to be installed.

Night view looking in the booth from outside. As you can see an eight foot high ladder just fits under the ceiling of the booth. My trusting old scissors lift is off to the left. It sure made assembly doable by a single person...

Now I need to install the four light fixtures in the side walls. Hang the two drive in doors, along with the man door. Lag the booth to the floor. Mount the 2 HP three phase motor on the exhaust fan. Run EMT conduit for the light fixtures, switches, and the exhaust fan's VFD. and wiring for same.. Install the manometer draft gauge. Finish caulking all the seams. And lastly install all the filters and I'm good to go... Maybe in another weeks' time. I don't do this full time...

I decided to put the sidewall light fixtures in the top panels as recommended by the manufacturer. And if I need more light, I'd add more fixtures to the bottom panels. I'll try to incorporate Sberrie's comment of passing a small rod through the sidewall to switch the exhaust fan motor off..


.

 

[mad57]

Looking really good.

 

[rwhite692]

Is the hydraulic press for re-installing paint can lids?

 

[CARS]

Is the hydraulic press for re-installing paint can lids?

 

[e-tek]

Great booth OCG. Lots of good info here too. As an ex-painter and now hobbyist myself, I'd want lights all along the sides 10-14" off the floor and white walls. What a difference it'll make. Also, booth (or even masking) spray is great to put on. You don't have to wash it off after every paint job, but when you do, tres easy!

I'll be building a wash bay/prep area/booth next year, but it'll be a lean-to addition like ERODZ did.

Looking forward to seeing your first paint job (in the booth)!

 

[MP&C]

Run a rod thru the wall to switch.

Install the entry door up by the exhaust filters and it won't pull dust all across your newly painted car.