Agreed, with patience and a little luck you can get a good result witout a proper booth. Old school paints could cause health issues. Over time old-time painters often developed problems. The newer/better catalyzed paints are orders of magnitude worse. Particle masks stop none of the harmful vapors. And surprise, charcoal filter masks don't either. The damage done by the fumes from catalyzed primers and paints is serious, cumulative, and can't be undone. Everyone has a different tolerance, so you can never be sure whether you will be the one to draw a short straw. I'm one who is willing to suck it up and do what needs to be done, but no car is worth the health problems you can get from catalyzed paints, or even the less hazardous but still harful "regular" paints. I'm not saying don't do it, just protect yourself when you do.
i have painted dozens of cars at home. i have had lots of sucess from it. i have had cleaner paint jobs out of my garage than in a booth. its all in the prep. more the smell than anything i worry about, as far as pissing neighbors off along witha noisy compressor lol
My first suggestion would be to have it all pre-preped and then go to MACO and ask them how much to just spray it. You will get a profecional spray job with no gurantee. Next would be to instal fans to blow filtered air into the garage, ground the car and wet the floor, leave the door open enough to let out the exhaust air. This ,of course, will biuld up an explosive mixture in the garage, so be prepaired to buy a new one if you get out of the hospital. (not that I haven't done this myself)
Not the only source but TCP Global is one place. How about the thread on the '58 Suburban. That guy did some nice work in a cloth shelter.
This the best advice you, or anyone, can get on the subject. This stuff isn't to be looked upon lightly. If a guy isn't well prepared and understands the chemicals as well as the risks and consequences of using them then they should be left on the shelf. If you really want to be a painter go to work in a paint shop and learn the trade. You'll most likely get free use of the booth, too. Trying to learn "just enough" to do a couple of jobs at home is usually a recipe for trouble of one kind or another. Always keep in mind.... If you smell this stuff it's causing damage. To you, your family, pets and neighbors. Just evacuating the fumes and particulate matter out of your homemade booth/garage might be great for you, but does nothing to protect anyone else within "smell range". If your not prepared to accept that responsibility, then you probably shouldn't be painting at home. Not trying be a hard ass here, but these are the realities of painting nowadays and like it or not, they can't be avoided or ignored.
Somebody mentioned grounding the car. That made me wonder what kind of static charge buildup you can get with all the plastic and PVC? I have been planning to build a temporary booth in my driveway behind the house. Planning on 2x4s and thick gauge plastic. I'll make the door into it the filter holder too, and put the fans on the opposite side. The fans will be in a box w/more filters between the booth air and the fans themselves. Does anybody spray sticky stuff on the filters to help with catching all the air gribblies?
Quote, "Somebody mentioned grounding the car. That made me wonder what kind of static charge buildup you can get with all the plastic and PVC?" There have been cases of wax and grease remover or final wash on plastic that have caused static electricity and have caused explosions. Thats why we now use non flamable solvents.
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