Roll-up clear vinyl curtain

[BetterDays]

Does anyone have experience with a clear vinyl roll-up curtain system to help keep some dust away from other areas of the shop?
I am thinking of getting something to place between my work area (3rd bay of garage) and my car to minimize dust, etc from landing on my car. I would prefer a roll up version so I don't need to walk around a curtain when not in use.

Thanks!

 

[FMB4]

Wife and I faced the same situation with our 3 car. We ended up getting a 'made to fit' cover for her 2020 Nissan 370 (was about $60 on eB*y). She has only washed said car 3-4 times since Jan of 2020 (I kid you not). That, and cheap 'car duster', has worked out very well. Said cover takes less than 5 minutes to install or remove. Her car looks very close to what it looked like when she drove it off the Nissan lot in Jan of 2020.

 

[cvairwerks]

Look up strip curtain walls....Using 12" wide strips with a couple inch overlap and you just walk thru the wall where ever you are.

 

[BetterDays]

Look up strip curtain walls....Using 12" wide strips with a couple inch overlap and you just walk thru the wall where ever you are.

I saw those, but don't want anything in my way when not in use. As it would be between my bench and my car, I don't want my wife to fight vinyl whenever we decide to take my car instead of her car.

 

[BetterDays]

For clarification, this is not just dust, but more sawdust when working in the third bay. My car is a few feet (person width) from my mobile bench and will get covered in dust / contaminants when working over in that bay. I also know if I move my car out, my wife's car will then be in the next line of sight for dirt.

 

[619DioFan]

I once turned my garage into a ghetto paint booth by hanging clear painters plastic from the trusses. that said ,you could get some thick clear painters plastic and attach it to a long piece of pvc at the ceiling with a second piece of pvc at the bottom and make a pulley set up to pull it to the ceiling when not in use. probably cost very little.

 

[BetterDays]

I once turned my garage into a ghetto paint booth by hanging clear painters plastic from the trusses. that said ,you could get some thick clear painters plastic and attach it to a long piece of pvc at the ceiling with a second piece of pvc at the bottom and make a pulley set up to pull it to the ceiling when not in use. probably cost very little.

I like that idea. Will need to investigate how to make a decent pulley set up to get it out of sight and secure (no loud crash with my car in the middle of night )

 

[mc1984ss]

I was very happy to come across this thread because I have started the exact same project and have the exact same question as the original poster. I bought enough uni strut to span my shop and have rollers from mcmaster carr that roll in the track. I unfortunately will probably end up using a cheap tarp for know but would love to get some clear type of curtain. Lots of wood working and grinding are done in the shop and want to keep one part semi clean. Needs to be about 30'x10'

 

[mc1984ss]

hers a link to mcmaster for the trolleys, amazon has less expensive ones. unfortunately strut has gone way up in price also

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Bucko]

What about a roll of 10mil clear plastic and a tarp grommet kit and make your own. Wouldnt be very expensive and could make several folds at the top before adding any grommets to reinforce it.

 

[LeonardY]

I would consider better dust control on your tools. I've got a cyclone collector for the big tools. A smaller one with the shop vac for smaller tools. Also have an overhead filter. Try to eliminate the dust or at least reduce it.

That said. You might want to consider something like this.

Industrial Roll Up Curtains | Vinyl Roll Up Curtain Systems

Industrial roll up curtains for flexible space separation and protection. Choose crank or pull-style vinyl curtain systems for your facility.

www.steelguardsafety.com

 

[BetterDays]

I would consider better dust control on your tools. I've got a cyclone collector for the big tools. A smaller one with the shop vac for smaller tools. Also have an overhead filter. Try to eliminate the dust or at least reduce it.

I wish I had the room. I am working with a space that is probably 10*15 (will need to measure). See the bench on the right? Add another 2' to it and that is my work area. Within that space, I am storing a lot of my tools, including tools and lawn equipment on the wall to the left.

I have the shop vac / dust collector that will help (I was building my contraption at the time, inspired by the pic below) but wanting something else that can drop from the ceiling to protect the rest of the garage and my car

 

[LeonardY]

I get it.
The overhead dust filter does make a huge difference. Especially when sanding.
My dust collector on wheels but it takes up a 3 foot square. I have shoved into the corner and have to drag it out each time. Not convenient.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I watch a guy on YouTube named Blake Weber. He's a woodworker who does his work in a very tight one car garage, and he's come up with some pretty nifty dust collection methods for his power tools. It's worth a look. https://www.youtube.com/c/BlakeWeber

 

[Rbcsci]

I buy .5 mil clear plastic like you would use to mask a car during paint. I curtain off a portion of my garage when I’m going to grind or paint or cut. It’s crazy cheap so I can use it for a few days or weeks and then just throw it away. I prefer it over some more substantial reusable materials because they inevitably become coated in the dust that I’m trying to prevent from spreading and I don’t want to store dirty sheets of plastic.

 

[Just_Steve]

Put up some 6 mil polly with a zipwall door.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ZipWall-Self-Adhesive-2-Pack-Heavy-Duty-Zipper-Kit/1000007904

 

[BetterDays]

I am thinking through this a little more. I was originally thinking cheap plastic drop cloths; then wanted something more permanent. After brainstorming with my wife, we might want a more mobile solution. Why? What happens when I move my car out to get some more space and her car stays in the garage? Her car now needs protected and in a different space.
.
.
More to come as we think through it

 

[mikegt4]

Farmtek might give you some ideas for a roll up curtain, used a lot in the poultry industry.

Home - FarmTek - Hydroponic Fodder Systems, Farming & Growing Supplies, Hoop Barns, Poultry & Livestock Equipment, High Tunnels, Greenhouses & More

FarmTek offers the best customer service and most economical prices on products for the agricultural industry. Product offerings include farm supplies, aquaponic, poultry supplies, agriculture products, animal housing, home improvement, commercial high tunnels and hoop houses, fodder growing...

www.farmtek.com

 

[Voi]

I wish I had the room. I am working with a space that is probably 10*15 (will need to measure). See the bench on the right? Add another 2' to it and that is my work area. Within that space, I am storing a lot of my tools, including tools and lawn equipment on the wall to the left.

I have the shop vac / dust collector that will help (I was building my contraption at the time, inspired by the pic below) but wanting something else that can drop from the ceiling to protect the rest of the garage and my car

This is how I built my dust collector and extractor combo. The Dewalt extract had the casters replaced with long bolts sealed with rubber washers. The clear tray is a polycarbonate food storage box I found at a local restaurant supply house. Then the Dust Deputy, of course.

The junction between the clear box and the plywood lid is lined with a strip of 1" wide weather stripping and then held tight to that with the clamps. Honestly the DC pulls the box up tight to the weather stripping with suction so I'm not even sure the clamps are needed.

I had this up in the air on a kayak hoist but I didn't have it balanced very well so for now it sits on the top of a pallet rack type shelf and I have a boom arm that allows me to move it around to my miter saw or follow the patch of my track saw.

The Dewalt extractor turns on automatically with the tool but before I got it I had a similar setup with a shop vac. I had a power strip screwed to the bottom of the plywood carriage and before I started a cut I would just reach up and flick the switch on the power strip and it would turn on both the tool and the vac.

I'm not convinced I'm getting better collection at my track saw but dumping sawdust is so much easier now. I just slide the tray out and dump it in a trash can outside. Evidently these food trays also come in semi translucent polypropylene. I think if I were doing it again I would have used one of those.

Having the DC hose coming down from overhead is really nice. Especially with the track saw.



I just wrote all this and then it dawned on my you had the bucket setup with extractor lid. So obviously the low profile food tray would offer you no advantage. But you could build a side by side setup and put it up on a shelf or something.

 

[Chip03q9]

I once turned my garage into a ghetto paint booth by hanging clear painters plastic from the trusses. that said ,you could get some thick clear painters plastic and attach it to a long piece of pvc at the ceiling with a second piece of pvc at the bottom and make a pulley set up to pull it to the ceiling when not in use. probably cost very little.

 

[BetterDays]

This is how I built my dust collector and extractor combo. The Dewalt extract had the casters replaced with long bolts sealed with rubber washers. The clear tray is a polycarbonate food storage box I found at a local restaurant supply house. Then the Dust Deputy, of course.

The junction between the clear box and the plywood lid is lined with a strip of 1" wide weather stripping and then held tight to that with the clamps. Honestly the DC pulls the box up tight to the weather stripping with suction so I'm not even sure the clamps are needed.

I had this up in the air on a kayak hoist but I didn't have it balanced very well so for now it sits on the top of a pallet rack type shelf and I have a boom arm that allows me to move it around to my miter saw or follow the patch of my track saw.

The Dewalt extractor turns on automatically with the tool but before I got it I had a similar setup with a shop vac. I had a power strip screwed to the bottom of the plywood carriage and before I started a cut I would just reach up and flick the switch on the power strip and it would turn on both the tool and the vac.

I'm not convinced I'm getting better collection at my track saw but dumping sawdust is so much easier now. I just slide the tray out and dump it in a trash can outside. Evidently these food trays also come in semi translucent polypropylene. I think if I were doing it again I would have used one of those.

Having the DC hose coming down from overhead is really nice. Especially with the track saw.



I just wrote all this and then it dawned on my you had the bucket setup with extractor lid. So obviously the low profile food tray would offer you no advantage. But you could build a side by side setup and put it up on a shelf or something.

I appreciate the feedback. The box actually gives me an idea to make a downdraft dust box with a port into the Shop-Vac dust collector. Depending on the tool being used, I may be able to split the dust collector between the sanding box and the tool and try to minimize even more dust.

 

[Chip03q9]

Yes I was thinking about that same thing for wash bay will be doing a lift on other side of my 36×36 still in process of finishing up inside everything very expensive now metal for ceiling $$$$$$$$

 

[Voi]

I appreciate the feedback. The box actually gives me an idea to make a downdraft dust box with a port into the Shop-Vac dust collector. Depending on the tool being used, I may be able to split the dust collector between the sanding box and the tool and try to minimize even more dust.

I hope you either update this thread or start another one. I'm still tweaking my setup and always looking for ideas. No downdraft table yet but I'm in the tire kicking stage.

Here is a picture with my contraption on the kayak hoist.



I didn't care for my rigging so for now it's moved to the other side of the shop and I threw together a boom arm with some scrap plywood seen in the picture below. It follows the path of my track saw and also swings over to the miter saw not seen in photo below.



The boom arm is incredibly useful. I lucked into some sort of hinged arm from a dental office being remodeled but I think there would be a lot of ways to build one with any decent hinge. I will likely build this longer as my shop progresses. I'm also in need of some sort of divider so this thread is of use to me.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

What about something real basic like this, with a pvc pipe at the bottom and heavy visqueen in place of the bamboo. You could probably buy a couple of these blinds to get the ropes and pulleys.

 

[evildky]

I made my own years back using .6 mil clear plastic and DOM tubing. my garage is 20" wide and I had a piece of DOM tubing which was longer, so I cut it to length and cut a couple of 2x4's wiht a V notch mounted horizontally on either wall. I taped the plastic to the tubing and manually roll it up. Used it a few times, haven't touched it in years. works well, not a perfect seal on the side walls but kept the overspray off the other half of my garage.

 

[Poolshark314]

I saw those, but don't want anything in my way when not in use. As it would be between my bench and my car, I don't want my wife to fight vinyl whenever we decide to take my car instead of her car.

I've seen those strip curtain walls that are also on a track so you can move it to one side when not in use

 

[scooby074]

Ive made temporary walls out of 2x4 for the bottom "sill" and heavy poly vapour barrier. Roll them up on themselves to store at the ceiling.. They are totally half assed.

If I was doing it right, Id go with vertical strip curtain walls. Ive had them at work and they work quite well. Not hard to walk through as you fear. Even if it became a problem, you could pull a section of curtain back with ties to make a clear pathway for your wife to walk through.

One shop I worked in had a heavy vinyl type curtain that slid left to right on a ceiling mounted chanel that was clear from the waist up. It was nice and could be pulled back for storage. It seperated the metal fab side from the paint side of the shop. Not sure who the manufacturer was.

 

[rayra]

For clarification, this is not just dust, but more sawdust when working in the third bay. My car is a few feet (person width) from my mobile bench and will get covered in dust / contaminants when working over in that bay. I also know if I move my car out, my wife's car will then be in the next line of sight for dirt.

same problem / issue here and I'm considering a lightweight fabric curtain wall running in a ceiling track, similar to a curtain in a hospital treatment area.
ripstopbytheroll.com has all sorts of suitable lightweight fabrics and even their 'No See Um' mesh screen would probably work for sawdust.
When I'm not busy turning $$ into sawdust, I can just collapse the curtain.

 

[racecougar]

Here is my solution: I strung a cable across my shop and hung two large tarps from it using shower curtain rings. The tarps are zip-tied together to create one 30+ foot long curtain with a pass through flap in the middle. I use a simple pole with a hook to deploy the curtain. I have a second cable strung through the grommets that I utilize to retract the curtain.

I don't have a photo of it deployed on this computer, but you can see it stowed here:

 

[PoorUB]

I don't know how much money you are willing to spend, but there are large outdoor roll up shades that may work.
If nothing else, you could whip up your own roll up with a piece of EMT with a blue, (or what ever color!), tarp gluded to it, a couple eye screws and each end, a pulley and rope to wind it up. Glue another EMT at the bottom for weight.

 

[Slednut]

Here is my solution: I strung a cable across my shop and hung two large tarps from it using shower curtain rings. The tarps are zip-tied together to create one 30+ foot long curtain with a pass through flap in the middle. I use a simple pole with a hook to deploy the curtain. I have a second cable strung through the grommets that I utilize to retract the curtain.

I don't have a photo of it deployed on this computer, but you can see it stowed here:

I did the almost the same thing, used a tarp but I did doubled up on the eyelets. This also makes it easier to heat or cool the shop part of the building.