There's a pretty good chance that I'm getting a pole barn from work. It's bigger than what I need but I don't have to use all of the material in reassembling it so I could still build something pretty good sized at my place. My yard won't accommodate the whole barn in it's current form. I need to check on permits tomorrow still but I'm thinking of building a 20x20 and I don't even REALLY need it. I thought it would be cool to turn it into a paint booth and store a car in it when not painting. I've never painted a car and never built a paint booth. I was wondering what might be required to make it decent for actually painting. I know I'd need exhaust fans and good lighting but what about the walls of a steel paint barn. Do I need to line them with something. Is this whole thing going to be too dusty to really use? I'd appreciate any insight.
There is info out there on the web. Its been a long time since I've looked, but haven't given up on the dream: someday I'm going to build a paintbooth too. Safety is prime importance, when the air is full of solvents and paint particles, that is potentially explosive, so lighting and possible ignition sources must be addressed. There is a formula for proper air vol. exchange (don't know it !) Air must be filtered going in and also heated in winter months, there is also filters to catch particles that are exhausting and are cleanable and reuseable. You can probably never get enough light (safely) and it should be waterproof for the occasional hoseing off. Remember to leave enough room to move around the object or objects being painted. I'm sure someone can add more but thats the basics and I'll keep an eye on this thread for more tips .. Good luck man.
Thanks. I was looking on Ebay and it seems you can buy a used paint booth sometimes for around $2500 and that's actually quite cheap but not as cheap as a free pole barn. It might not be feasible but it's sure tempting if it is.
using a HVLP gun there shouldnt be a problem at all...I sprayed in the garage and there was no overspray like conventional spray guns. Make sure and use some sort of fan to pull some fumes out and wet walls and ground (assuming its on concrete) and get after it. Not sure about the laws where your at, you may want to ck. Fines could be expensive for using "illegal booth"
Ever heard the expression, "opening up a can of worms". You cannot meet the standards of EPA, and if you think you can sneak by, you are wrong. Someone will report you and you will find yourself subject to some nasty fines and retributions from the paint booth police. My suggestion, get your car ready and rent a booth or have Maaco do the final spray. Use the pole barn for car stuff but not spraying. It gets everything nasty and maybe even toxic. Never mind!
i shot my car in my old garage/warehouse. made a booth around the car with clear plastic, including the roof. so lights and possible ignition sources were outside the booth part. wet everything down before i'd spray, and had a fan pulling the fumes out a window at the rear. i was on the edge of town next to a vacant lot, so no one called the fuzz on me. that said, paint still got a little dust in it, and the lights weren't as good as they should have been. and when i moved i had to strip the floor of all the over spray. didn't look like it was getting much, but when i pulled the plastic down you could really see it. i think i'd rent a booth if i ever did it again, can't beat having all the right stuff set up for you, filtered air, clean air supply to your gun, and great lights. and not having to worry about the cops showing up is nice too. gary.
There is a paint booth I can rent for $100 per month on the south side of Indy. I think I'm just gonna go that route and use the barn for storing more projects that I'll never get done.
It's just a regular barn but it has a brass pole where I can dance. It's a "temporary structure" despite usually having a concrete pad to sit on. They are typically steel sheet siding and range in size from minibarn to aircraft hangars. This one is in between at 30x20. The structure framework can be wood or steel.
Usually a pole barn is an open sided structure with a dirt floor. Most municipalities will allow a pole barn because it has no concrete and and be taken down with no damage to the terrain. Usually just a shed to keep equipment out of the rain.
We abuse the term here. Must be a regional thing. Some people even build houses out of what we call pole barns here. Then again, we are rednecks. Soda is pop, Corn grows in our yards, and any barn that ain't wood and you can build in a weekend is a pole barn. Plowboy, I'm a simpleton. But I accumulate well.
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