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Shipping Container as Paint Booth

subvoodoo

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Joined
Aug 13, 2019
Messages
1
Location
Fort Valley Georgia
Hello just registered with Garage Journal today, I have read some forums on shipping containers and wanted some guidance please. I'm about to have my first house built, so instead of a small garage I'm building a 40x32 steel building with an additional 40x20 covered area in the back. I own 2- 20' containers which will give me 16x20 area to paint in (I will weld and remove inner walls with support up top) I do 90% of my own automotive work now, but with a nice garage and car lift I would be able to do whatever I wanted. This paint booth will be for wood working as well. Truth being told I have never painted a whole car....lol. I would like to do that someday. I know that there are regulations and I intend to follow them. I would like to know if it is doable as I have the containers on my property. AND I have not paid my deposit on the building so deciding on adding the addition 10x10 door for the paint booth. Thanks for your suggestions.....
 

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rustyjames

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Dec 28, 2008
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1,077
Location
central nj
Hello just registered with Garage Journal today, I have read some forums on shipping containers and wanted some guidance please. I'm about to have my first house built, so instead of a small garage I'm building a 40x32 steel building with an additional 40x20 covered area in the back. I own 2- 20' containers which will give me 16x20 area to paint in (I will weld and remove inner walls with support up top) I do 90% of my own automotive work now, but with a nice garage and car lift I would be able to do whatever I wanted. This paint booth will be for wood working as well. Truth being told I have never painted a whole car....lol. I would like to do that someday. I know that there are regulations and I intend to follow them. I would like to know if it is doable as I have the containers on my property. AND I have not paid my deposit on the building so deciding on adding the addition 10x10 door for the paint booth. Thanks for your suggestions.....

Welcome. Sounds like a good plan to me, I often that of something like that too. Same for sand blasting.
 

txvwnut

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Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
7,662
Location
Bedford, Texas
20 foot is going to be short for a booth for spraying cars. You’ll want about 25 feet in length minimum for cars about a 30 footer for trucks.
 

onlyn8v

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Joined
Nov 27, 2010
Messages
85
Location
Terryville NY
Depending on where in GA you are, you may have an issue trying to control humidity in a metal structure. Humidity in a paint booth is a major concern, but steps can be taken to mitigate it.
 

sberry

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Jun 18, 2005
Messages
35,747
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Brethren, Michigan
That's what I was going to add, 20 is short for cars. I am not where I have links but read up on booth fundamentals. REALLY having a fundamental understanding of basic booth design is the key to making a booth work and clear. It's almost second nature after a bit to tune draw for air movement.
 

Roundhouse

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Joined
Dec 20, 2017
Messages
507
Build a real booth
Sell the containers or just use em for storage

If you’re in an areas that allows welded together containers then there’s Probabaly not any regulations on paint booth emissions either

Most booths are inside another building for humidity control
And are airtight for dust control with a downdraft fan and a grate in the floor for overspray control

I’ve seen used booths for sale , most are modular and come apart for transport

I know a place in Gainesville that has a booth that they built to paint 40 foot containers in

It’s the largest paint booth I’ve ever seen
They rent it on the weekends to body shops that repair and paint 18 wheelers and busses
 
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ekimneirbo

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Nov 21, 2018
Messages
132
Location
Kentucky
I agree about selling the containers and building your own booth. Cutting out the inner walls and patching and supporting the ceiling are going to be major problems..then you have length and humidity and air flow to deal with. Its easier to build from scratch than to deal with those issues.
Co-incidentally I just happen to have built my own paint shop recently.....

I built a 16 x32 because I could span the ceiling with 16' 2x6s. Then I put a ridge board up top and cut some 2x6s for rafters. I put a single vertical 2x6 upright bolted to the ceiling joist and glued and screwed to the roof truss. I simply made some small plywood rectangles and gluded and screwed them to the vertical brace and the rafter. I've done that on a previous small building and it held a 17" snow load.
In the ceiling I built several 2'x4' boxes with plywood on top of them to hold flourescent lights. You can find used f-lights cheaply. Put some of the new LED bulbs for use with F-light starters in place of the original bulbs. Pretty cheap and lots of light. On the top side of the boxes I put 2x4 plywood and then sealed each of them with spray foam cans.
I also put an opening in the ceiling for a downdraft air intake.
The walls were built with 2x6s so I would have room to make boxes for f-lights in the walls. These must be sealed to prevent outside air from entering and bringing dirt or insulation into the booth. On the front of the building I built an extended area that houses an air compressor and a breathing air pump. The 2x6 walls are covered with metal outside, then I sprayed an air barrier of foam on them before finishing the inside of yhe booth. It took 2 tanks closed foam off ebay ($600 ea). Then I put 6" fiberglass batts in the wall and drywalled overthem, again sealing around the openings with silicone caulking. At the back of the booth I installed two small drums thru the walls.
This allows me to put the drum lids on and keep cold air out, or remove the lids and draw air out of the building.
At the front of the building where I have the double front overhang housing the compressor, I built an air intake into the ceiling. Drawing air upward tends to carry less dust and bugs. There is a filter and then it enters a plywood duct I built and flows to the opening in the ceiling inside the building where it passes through another filter before being pulled downward into the booth.
I use it for storing large and easily moved wheeled items. That way if I want to paint, I can quickly remove stuff and have a nice space for painting. When I use it I plan to use some of those clips (stainless ones) like you put on open bags of potato chips to hold
sheets of plastic dropcloth in front of the lights and keep any overspray off them.
You have to be concerned about the paint fumes exploding if they get a spark from the lights, so proceed at your own risk. Maybe use water based paints.
 

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sberry

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Several ways to do it. One of the main reasons for separating a room in cooler climes is the ability to produce heat in the one part. Can turn up the wood stove and furnace. I can stage a whole tractor pretty easy. Could be a foot or 2 wider but isn't bad. Super convenient and downdraft, pulls warm air from ceiling.
 

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firebirdparts

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Jun 8, 2016
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Kingsport, TN
It's overkill, really. Structurally, it really makes no sense to convert two containers into a 16 foot wide container. I'm sure you could do it somehow.

You could just paint a car outside on a nice day. If you want better than that, you start thinking about how to build a mostly airtight room that you can keep clean and then providing the ventilation is done a pretty standard and well understood way. You need lots of light to be able to paint. You can have those features in your building either temporarily or permanently. If you want better than that, you can buy a paint booth. They're not all that expensive.
 

sberry

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Jun 18, 2005
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Brethren, Michigan
A booth is just a room. They really take a dedicated space. I love my convertible. I use the space for other 99.5% of the time. I went thru a couple years I painted a lot and caught up, I can go a long time now between jobs and glad I didn't build one in the way. I was so tempted and almost did but this works wayyyyyyy better and when the vent is right no real over spray and a guy could cover a little if needed.
 

OldracerJones

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Jan 20, 2012
Messages
334
Location
Chico, Texas
It's doable, I would put the containers side by side and cut the interior wall, plenty of room that way. Ventilation and filtering is easy, just cut and frame the hole for box fans and filters on the inlet and outlet ports. I made a live fire training facility out of containers. It's hard work but it's surprising how much room they have.
 
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