Have an area about 21' by 16' that I could close off with a sliding curtain or movable wall panels to make a paint booth. Anyone using something like this? Can't make it a permanent wall. Ceiling is 10 1/2' high. Thought about using a silver tarp for a curtain and sliding barn door track to hang it from. Could also use some ideas for filters, lighting etc. Thanks
I used a special curtain from "Goff's" that is made for this purpose. Heavily weighted on the bottoms, so the wind doesn't blow it into the car, solid color on the bottom, but clear up from halfway up to see into. Came with tracks, even a curved track is available.
For a filtering system, run a large slower moving exhaust fan (may have to re-pulleythe thing to get it right), pipe the back of it down through a water bath (55 gallon drum 1/2 filled with water with a set of furnace filters before the fan and on top the drum. It's not perfect, but for cheap, it's pretty green. As for lighting, is has to be enclosed and shatterproof glass. A bit pricey, but safety isn't alway real cheap. Make sure you get lights as low as you can for rockers, etc. Paint the floor white. get as much bounce out of the light as you can. Most paint stores have color correcting bulbs for 4' fixtures. Throws a different band of light over the car. It helps. Just ideas.
I have painted in a shop before using the "curtain booth" I can tell you that you will need to clean everything even the shop outside of the curtain as you will be sucking in the air from the shop or else you will get a lot of dust in your paint.
I strung some 1/4" cable, held by hooks in the ceiling and bought a roll of 10' wide, 4mil plastic sheeting. I cut the plastic into appropriate size sheets and hung them from the cables with old fashioned shower curtain slider clamps. I also cut holes in either end for air to enter and exhaust. I covered the holes with furnace filters. Not sure if that's clear enough, but it works well, prevents paint from getting all over my shop and when not in use, I can slide it out of the way and gather it up with bungee cords to keep it out of the way. I also use the enclosure in the winter, to somewhat contain heat in that area, so I can work there in a little more comfort.
Mopar Bruce, what are you catching with the water in the drum? Particulates (dust, dirt, ex mother in laws, etc), or does it catch some of the solvents (VOCs)?
You can use one of the cheap portable "garages" from Harbor Freight or other sources. (frame with clear poly top/sides). It can be put up inside your shop and put up or taken down as needed and gives full enclosure - fast and cheap!
I usually have a coating over the water when done, (the prefan filters catch a lot) so it definitely catches dust dirt and overspray, but I can honestly say I've never had the water checked for VOCs (Volitile Organic Compounds), such as Toulene, Xylene, etc. I've been skimming the water for a few years and drop bleach in it a couple times a summer to keep the growth down. I also stretch a filter over top the drum, to try to catch anything the water doesn't. At this rate, I might be able to grow a mother-in-law in there........ or something more sinister. In Michigan if you paint out of your garage and you are not a registered business, the EPA nor the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Regulations) doesn't screw around with you. You obviously don't have enough money for them to take. I called in on a guy in town that was painting a car or two a week - and most of them outside in the backyard - and they wouldn't do a thing. Even after sending them pictures of the outlines of multiple cars and colors - nothing. As long as you are not registered with the state as a auto repair shop, the BAR can't even walk in your door. In spite of that, though, I do try to do my best at being responsible for what I produce, that's where this system came from.
So you route the air into the drum from the fan, then into the booth? Or do I have that backwards? Dose the end of the pipe have to be submerged, or just close to the water (like an oil bath air filter)?
I'd like to be able to curtain off the third car garage for painting as well, but my concern is that I have a gas water hearter in the 2 bay area and want to ensure paint fumes don't mingle with the pilot light!
weve talked about getting a bunch of big ,thick dropcloths and some pine like 1x2 furring strips,framing each dropcloth with it,putting the framed dropcloths together with hinges to make like a separetor curtain type thing . for the top,one of those big blue tarps . and ventilation,you say?a couple of variable speed box fans in the one side.if you have a big garage but dont want to waste alot of space by kepping a permanent spray booth,this one folds up like the afformentioned separation screen.i think it would work,go ahead and tell me whats wrong with it so when we do something like this i can have all the kinks worked out BEFORE buildingh it so all we have to do is set it up , pullin the car,and shoot it.asking for feedback,TROY
It's an exhaust fan. After the car comes two furnace style filters with prefilter material sandwiched in between (most bodyshops will cut a piece off their roll for free. Those are in front of an exhaust fan (mine was a small barrel type about 15-16"across and 8-10" deep (I think it was a Big Lot or Harbor frieght purchase). That hung out of the garage wall. I took thin sheetmetal about 4 or 5 foot long, made it conical, pointed it down at about a 30ish degree angle, screwed it to the fan cover, welded it to the drum and caulked the bottom. I filled the bottom of the barrel until the water was 2/3 of the way covering the face of the incoming pipe then put two more pieces of pre-filter over top of the drum held on with a couple BIG rubber bands. I built a little 2x4 stand with a hunk of scrap plywood on top to keep the rain out. It was 3-4 inches higher than the drum. Kinda redneck, but it worked really well. So to answer your question, more like an oil bath. I think my neighbors still think I was making moonshine. Bruce
I saw a friend of mine do it exactly like the link RodStRace put up. the only thing he did a bit differently was the two holes in the opposite end he put very very fine screen instead of an open hole..(for bugs i guess) and he put a card board box duct off of the fans out back..and at the end of the "duct" he had a garden water mister..about 2 foot past the carboard duct.. worked like a carm..was cheap. he used it 4 times 4 different cars. all of them looked fine. One thing he had to do was pick a good day climate wise to do the painting..(here in michigan that can be a chore on its own) humidity is not your friend.
I built a frame out of pvc. Built uprights, didn't glue anything. put supports across the top out of pvc. covered the walls with clear plastic, then went back and covered the top with clear plastic. taped it off at the top, where it met the sides. taped the bottom to the floor. mounted a couple of furnace filters at the back side, and a fan at the front side. watered down the floor, and sprayed away. paint came out good, and the cleanup was easy.........the rest of the garage was pretty clean. I knocked down all the pvc and fittings and stored in the shed till next time. I put it together differently the next time for a different size object to paint. Works for me........ da Geez
Have a fan blowing in filtered air instead of blowing air out. I you keep the booth under positive pressure, then the outside contaminants will stay outside. if you blow th air out, it will be under negative pressure and will suck outside contaminants in to your booth.
I'm actually in the process of building one of these in my new shop. And buy "in the process" I mean haven't even started yet. I'm using one side wall of the the shop, the bay door, the back wall and one curtain type wall. For intake and exhaust I'm going to build a 2x4 frame for exhaust fans that will fit under the bay dor with it 1/3 open. The frame will hold the exhaust filters as well. I'm doing the same for the back wall which has a personel door. Except I'm using box fans in the frame with intake filters. The walls will be sealed and painted white. Should work just fine.
One thing I've read and seen that doesn't sit right is the fans on the exhaust side. Hmm... You are inside a booth with flammable air, being sucked through an electric device. I'd rather have a positive pressure booth too....
If it's a temporary booth, just staple heavy clear plastic drop cloths to the ceiling, then to 2X4s on the floor. Wet the floor to help control dust. The most time comsuming part is rigging an explosion proof fan (unless it blows into the booth) and some filters. You can set lights outside the booth for more illumination. If you plan to sand and buff the car, dust is not much of an issue, and the car will look far better. If it's a flat finish, what you spray, is what you get.
Yeah, it would be easier to keep it 'inflated' than trying to keep it from colapsing (I think). That and any (air) leaks won't contaminate the paint (how'd that mosquito wind up doing the backstroke in my clear??).
Hot Rod magazine had a nice how-to article about 4 or 5 years ago, with spec's for building a portable booth from plastic sheeting, details on a fan, filters, etc, however I don't think a water bath was part of it. I don't know if you can search their website for it, I don't have better info on the month and year it appeared.
That guy with the Dart seems to have a problem with everyone. I have dealt with ppl like that, muscle car type. Spent $100 on paint, shit talked the paint store. Probably cheaped out on the paint job at the shop, and most likely got what he paid for.
someone should get mythbusters on the case! it's been done thousands of times, and i don't recall hearing any stories about home made paint booths exploding. i've fired up the kerosene heater just a few minutes after spraying paint, with a moderate haze in the air and haven't blown up yet. the air to fuel ratio will have to be in the right range for combustion, i'd suspect with paint you wouldn't be able to see the car through the mist before the mixture was rich enough to light off. the minimal ventilation provided by a box fan should be plenty enough to keep the air clean enough. the fan may create a risk by introducing a spark, but reduces it more because of the ventilation it provides.
fans and lights dont really matter unless you have open wires or spark coming off them!!! I have seen people smoking cigerettes and what not while painting cars and it wont ignite!! The odds of blowing yourself up is probally 1%!!! if that.. I am all about working in a safe enviroment... but if your a hobby painter doing a car every 5 years or some parts every now and then or whatever?? Theres no point in going to buy 20 $400 dollar explosion proof lights and a $200 spark proof fan regular tube lights and box fans work fine!! just be smart and responsible with how they are set up and test it before doing your complete perhaps find and old fridge or a wheel barrow to paint guys have been painting this way since the 50's with alot worse enviroments than we have today!! we got it good with garages and plastic
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