Customs Inflatable Paint Booths

I know a lot of guys here have built their own paint booths, but has any one use one the $1500.00 - $1700.00 inflatable mobile paint booths you see on Ebay? I was thinking if a few amateur friends got together, it would be a pretty cheap option at $500 or less each.

 

Interesting.Bruce.

 

Didn't know they existed. I have made a framework out of 1-1/2 inch pvc pipe and put clear Visqueen over it to make a paint booth before that got the job done.

Found them on Ebay and with a Google search. that would be pretty good if you had a slab or area of asphalt or section of a big building to set it up in.

 

Not sure about those, they are just the shell, the more expensive and probably better ones come with a proper ventilation system to extract paint fumes.
I built my own paint booth with some 2x4s and poly for less than $500 including a really good filtered extraction fan for ventilation.
For another $400 I scored a full Allegro face mask and a Hobby air supplied air breathing system.

So, why pay that much for a blow up bouncy castle without the bouncy

 

I'm going to get one if I ever have to paint an inflatable car.

 

A lot of the spot paint repair companies in our area use them.
I see them setup in many of the dealerships nearly every day so I guess they work.
They seem kind of tight for painting a whole car, and if the wind pickups I think they will too!
KK

 

I find it interesting as well and have seen them on ebay but have not seen one up close. I like the concept if you could store it when not in use in a reasonable size. I do not paint all that regularly but it would be nice to have a portable booth you could set up for a few days here and there if that is the case with these booths.

 

With a 15 x 25 or what ever works tarp laid down and one of the tent style carports with sides a guy is probably in under 300 bucks for something to work in and could work in a filter and fan real easy. I do like the idea of the smaller space the inflatable takes and the ease of putting it up. Pretty much like those inflatable bounce houses for kids partys.

 

They do come wiht a full ventilation system built in

 

I thought about the "blowing away" too, but it looks like they have staking systems built in front the top outside corners and middle. Also I don't really see a 2000 to 3000 LBS car being blown anywhere

 

The one I was looking at was 22'x13'x8.5', they make one for a a little more that was 26'x13'x8.89', they are as you pointed out a bit smaller. The best part, I feel, would be there is little dust compared to the DYI. Also, I could set this up outside of my barn and not have all the fumes you normally get.

 

It would be neeat to try one. My son and I have a couple of OT pickups that we want to try out hand at spraying before we do something nice.

I would have to find some giant biohazard/quarantine labels to stick on it to really mess with my neighbor's.

 

I still say that what I built is way cheaper and better too.

 

Yeah but You can't roll it up and move it to the next lot, Un roll it set it again up 3 times a day and knock out paint on 3 different cars in 3 different places.

I have a nice plastic tent that pulls up into the ceiling with the push of a button. Takes about 1 hr to set up and 20 mins to take down. I've been thinking about an inflatable too. Why, because it can completely go away when not needed and come back when I do need it. My tent doesn't completely go away. Nor can I move it next door .

Up and stowed away with sides rolled up.


Down in relative work and paint mode height.
Poles for sides and bottom.


There's a tent cameo and a man door

Here's the other side of the door where I can't move my tent but I'd like an inflatable. Or out side if the shop is full.



Right now If I have to paint, everything stops till the tent goes back up.

 

I agree with what 31 Vicky says that it would be nice to have it go away when not needed. I set up an larger area area that I normally use for build space and still have a dedicated small booth but the larger area to paint a car takes a while to clean out before and especially after and is not ideal. A portable booth if I could stow it away may very well be in the cards. It certainly looks interesting.

 

The poly/wood spray booth arrangement Blue One is recommending works really well. We built a larger one to paint an airplane fuselage, wings etc. The trick is to put filters high on one wall and filtered exhaust fan low on the opposite wall. This provides a cross flow down draft to remove paint and air.
Blue one used a confined space type vent fan for an exit fan. We used a plywood box with filters on four sides four our exhaust with a furnace fan. The furnace fan was large enough that there was about an air change a minute and it provided a great painting environment. The airplane paint turned out excellent and no airborne contaminants.
This is the link to Blue One's thread in regards to his paint booth. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/26-t-roadster-pick-up-build-thread.460009/page-36
This style of spray booth is effective and provides a healthy clean environment but a person should use proper respiration gear and wear protective coveralls to keep paint fumes and paint away from the skin.

 

Wonder how the material it is made of holds up to the solvents in paint??
The walls are going to be covered with it.

 

Did anyone notice that none of those inflatable booths on Ebay were in the USA?

 

Yes

 

Yes, but you see a lot of these used in Europe

 

Also take note that they are not equipped with any sort of lighting.

 

I use this- this is the only pic I have. It's 10x20, (12x22 would be much better, even 12x20), but it works just fine. Used clear plastic sheeting, and cheap shower curtain rings (reinforced the holes with duct tape). The brand is Shelter Logic, bought it off of Amazon or Home Depot, had it delivered to the house, cost less than $200.00, has endured two years of constant Texas sun and wind, although a bad windstorm hurt it enough for me to glue sign banner material over it. Now it weighs more, but is much heavier duty. And the sigh banner stuff is cheap on-line too. And now you can hang LED lights and blind yourself.

 

Just sayin'..............................

 

That's slicker than dog slobber

 

BRILLIANT!

 

Well done. Now if I only had a garage that big.

 

I know a local restorer that bought a used glass greenhouse and assembled it in his shop as a paint booth. Pretty ingenious.

 

I'm going to dismantle my paint booth soon as I need the space back in my 24x26 garage for assembly this winter.
My dream for retirement is a shop big enough to have a separate bay devoted to body prep and painting work.

Don't know if I can make it happen but the plan is to find a spot on Vancouver island and enjoy the good life for as long as I can.

 

Also think about storing and moving the thing uninflated. It has to weigh a couple hundred pounds. Then you need to store it where the rats and other "stuff" can't get to it.

 

With my luck it would deflate on my wet paint.

With me still in there.