Help me build a paint booth!

[AKcharger]

Guys need some help. I want to make a paint booth in my garage and have an 80% solution but have one big dilemma...the fans. I made a booth one time from the '70 rebuild but that was just to keep the fumes out of the house when I shot primer. This one is going to need to cycle air and most important not explode/burn my house down! Well here's my 80%
- Plastic sheeting "booth" in garage like the 1st picture below
- Lighting will be cheap floecent lights outside sheeting to avoid heat/sparks/explosion

The remaining 20% is exhaust fans. how do I get the vapor out of the booth without buying an expensive explosion proof fan?
- Use regular 20 inch box fans...flamable vapors drawn across motors...not good
- I saw some people use normal fans to blow air into booth thus avoiding the flamable vapors...but can you effectively move THAT MUCH air by positive pressure? plus they still had an exhaust fan in there and I think it was not explosion proof. (see bottom 2 photos)

suggestions?


http://img7.echo.cx/img7/83/paint41mw.jpg

[superbirdtom]

I actually painted in a shop where it had a 2x4 frame plastic paintbooth.  my only suggestion is u need to put the fans at the bottom of each wall and the intake filters at the tops of the walls so paint flows down and out. this will take some more ducting and such , and looks like you have your setup already done.  I wouldn't worry too much about blowing up. those fans are anemic though . all you need is one really good inwall fan with flapper door and duct all your floor exits too it.

[superbirdtom]

basically you would be constructing what is known as a semi downdraft booth. or make a crossflow booth where the doors are one big filter and the opposite wall is all fans, go online and look at booth construction. the cossflow and the semi dowdraft are the simplest to construct , i see you are using pvc pipe as a frame cool

[Big_John]

Don't take this as gospel, but I don't think you'll have a problem with the fans.

Being AC, the fans have no brushes and therefore have nothing that causes sparks. I would start and stop them when the booth is free of paint fumes, as the switch could cause a spark when its thrown, but even that is kind of remote.

[AKcharger]

Hmmm I thought they did have brushes...My wife would kill me if I blew up the house!

Tom I get what your saying, intake high, exhaust low...gotcha!

Oh I haven't built mine yet, I just swiped that from some chevy site...just an idea of what I want to build

[BigBlockSam]

.My wife would kill me if I blew up the house!

[Big_John]

Hmmm I thought they did have brushes...My wife would kill me if I blew up the house!

Tom I get what your saying, intake high, exhaust low...gotcha!

Oh I haven't built mine yet, I just swiped that from some chevy site...just an idea of what I want to build

AC motors on stuff like fans don't have brushes.

[Doright]

I tried the do it your self paint booth deal so I can sympathise but look at these some are cheap

https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/search/search.aspx?keywords=fan

[69*F5*SE]

I'd think you'd do better with a positive pressure booth set up where more air is being pushed in than being pushed out.  A negative pressure booth would be pulling more air out and you have more chance of sucking more dust etc. in from every nook & cranny. Positive pressure would essentually be pushing dust etc. out.     Ted

[Charger-Bodie]

I'd think you'd do better with a positive pressure booth set up where more air is being pushed in than being pushed out.  A negative pressure booth would be pulling more air out and you have more chance of sucking more dust etc. in from every nook & cranny. Positive pressure would essentually be pushing dust etc. out.     Ted

You are 100% correct on that entire statement.

[tan top]

I'd think you'd do better with a positive pressure booth set up where more air is being pushed in than being pushed out.  A negative pressure booth would be pulling more air out and you have more chance of sucking more dust etc. in from every nook & cranny. Positive pressure would essentually be pushing dust etc. out.     Ted

You are 100% correct on that entire statement.

  we changed from negitive  to positive  spray booths about  10 years ago .. never did think they were as good ..... soon as you opened the door would suck air in ! along with any dust ! better for the guys in the paint shop though , not catching any remaing over spray coming out the door  when opened .

[AKcharger]

OK, I like that idea sice I can use regular 20 inch fans and not have too much fear of an explosions since they will be sucking in  clean air. Question then is do I need a exhaut fan(s) at all or should the positive pressure be enough to push the fumes out?

I'm thinking 3 20 inch fans for "intake" air and one 20 inch exhaust port...what do ya' think?

[NorwayCharger]

I'd think you'd do better with a positive pressure booth set up where more air is being pushed in than being pushed out.  A negative pressure booth would be pulling more air out and you have more chance of sucking more dust etc. in from every nook & cranny. Positive pressure would essentually be pushing dust etc. out.     Ted

You are 100% correct on that entire statement.

Only problem is the balloon effect

[superbirdtom]

heres what I would do ,build your booth whatever method you want your still Going to have to cut and rub your paint job a couple nibs here and there always happen. dust comes off 3 sources  yourself the booth or the car , maybe off the hose being dragged around but that is considered the booth. then the gun is a source but is not included as every painter should know how to keep it clean.. I painted in a plastic booth at a functioning body shop in 1980. the filters were furnace filters and it had a couple big enough exhaust fans to suck the paint out well. Just wet down the floor around your shop so no dust gets whisked about, and put a mixing table in the booth so you don't have open the door one time the entire paint job. and the biggest thing is keep all the lookey lous away that day who want to watch you spray. and end up stirring up dust like cattle in your shop.

I painted for CarCoa in L.A. for about 8 months they had sticky goo you sprayed on the walls of the booth through a bug sprayer, the walls were like flypaper. and you would get some but surprisingly little for how many cars I sprayed up to 8 cars a day. If there was noone at that sghop doing work and stirring it up I could take my time and lay out a real nice paint job.

Also the paint was synthetic enamel. most quickie shops use it as it glosses out like crazy and is cheap.  when you build a positive flow booth thats a lotta foolin around for a temporary paint job. number 1 your not going to build a booth that has doors on it that seal like an amphicar. a positive pressure booth will blow paint fumes and overspray around your whole shop. through leaks everywhere in the booth. keep it simple and get the car painted

[AKcharger]

Tom

Sure appreciate you time on this. You're spot on, all this is for one shoot. My only real intent in all this is to safety get the noxious/explosive fumes out of out house/garage.  So, with that goal in mind I need the minimum ventalation system to cut the explosion/smelly house risk...I might not have mentioned the exhaust will be ducted out side not dumped in the garage. If this works like I hope Household air is sucked into the booth, and ehausted outside via an 10 inch vent duct in the wall or opening in the outside door and seal off the duct to keep the warm air in.

[Doright]

My first Paint booth was Plastic and I did it Positive Pressure with box fans and the furnace filters.
Problems
Biggest is no matter how you install the fans and turn them down they blow threw the booth upsetting the paint flow out of the gun.
Was for me any ways I ended up having to shut them off spray and then turn them on to vent.
Second
And a Biggie
If your Garage is attached, Even if the Booth is vented outside fumes will get into house!
If your going with Urethane you have Isocyanites Bad stuff to breath! very dangerous even for first time contact
You do not want your kids or Wife any were near that stuff! 

Try to find a buddy with a detached garage or Rent a booth

Its not worth Blowing up the House or Hurting a loved one or worse  OH and I deserve a slap and a Kick in the Nut's too! because I did it in an attached garage about 6-7 years ago but no one ever said or told me any thing about how dangerous Iso's were!   

Check out this site for Great paint advice!
http://www.autobody101.com/forums/
Have fun!

[Doright]

heres what I would do ,build your booth whatever method you want your still Going to have to cut and rub your paint job a couple nibs here and there always happen. dust comes off 3 sources  yourself the booth or the car , maybe off the hose being dragged around but that is considered the booth. then the gun is a source but is not included as every painter should know how to keep it clean.. I painted in a plastic booth at a functioning body shop in 1980. the filters were furnace filters and it had a couple big enough exhaust fans to suck the paint out well. Just wet down the floor around your shop so no dust gets whisked about, and put a mixing table in the booth so you don't have open the door one time the entire paint job. and the biggest thing is keep all the lookey lous away that day who want to watch you spray. and end up stirring up dust like cattle in your shop.

[AKcharger]

Problem is liability for "renting" a booth shps aren't covered for that, plus even if I could find one I'd have to pay someone to Babysit me...rapidly gets expensive. Now I don't mind spending the money, in fact taking it to a shop would be a lot easier but I want the practice.

[superbirdtom]

man I wish I was there I could give you a lesson and cut out the bs and youd be painting fairley well in notime.. it boils down to temperature of the surface of the vehicle  -air temp -reducer is the key- so you get good flow . and flash times and being real patient between coats. I am chewing on starting an auto painting school here in alaska. it would be a three month crash course on fixing small dents and repairs blocking an entire car straight and cutting rubbing and color matching.. believe me at any shop you always make the most money doing the combo work were the painter fixes the small dents and primers tem up and does the painting , thats where the money is if you want to work ata shop, but for your self it would be a good course to take.   

[PA Dodger]

I read an article in Hot Rod or Car Craft about 10 years ago about Do-It-Yourself paint jobs including paint booth tips. They said some rolls of plastic use silicone as a release agent that will cause fisheyes. Anyone ever hear of this being a problem?

Dan

[NorwayCharger]

If you paint more than a couple of cars, maybe this
http://www.toolsusa.com/asp/item_detail.asp?T1=PBE+9CN+PPB-1000&GENB=&UID=

or buy one used or new from $2000 +
http://shop.ebay.com/items/__paint-booth_W0QQShopEquipmentTypeace84d16ZPaintBoothsdf727dbfQQ_dmptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fToolsQQ_flnZ1QQ_fromfsbZQQ_ssovZ1QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em282 

[AKcharger]

man I wish I was there I could give you a lesson and cut out the bs and youd be painting fairley well in notime.. it boils down to temperature of the surface of the vehicle  -air temp -reducer is the key- so you get good flow . and flash times and being real patient between coats. I am chewing on starting an auto painting school here in alaska. it would be a three month crash course on fixing small dents and repairs blocking an entire car straight and cutting rubbing and color matching.. believe me at any shop you always make the most money doing the combo work were the painter fixes the small dents and primers tem up and does the painting , thats where the money is if you want to work ata shop, but for your self it would be a good course to take.   

Let me know when you have one!

...Norway, inflatable booth was cool but for $8K I don't see where the savings is besides of course electric for lighting

[carguyy]

I would definitely stay away from used booths if you end up buying one.  They can be worse than used cars.  If you are going to paint several cars you should probably get a decent booth.  You can tell a poorly constructed paint booth from a solid one just by looking at the paint job of the car.   has some fantastic spray booths at low costs.  They also are made of a nut and bolt construction so that they are easy to put together and take apart.

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/booths.html

[68blue]

A quick clean negative spray booth I have seen made with 2X4 framing and furnace filters on it in place of dry wall. A customer of ours ,back when I was employed, used this as a fast cheap solution to paint high gloss black parts. They built this as a room around a small existing booth.