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Priming rack ideas?

Iluke

Well Known Member
I'm looking for good ideas for a priming rack. I'm setting up my shop, getting ready to start an RV-7, and I'd like to have something ready for spraying primer on parts that won't make a mess or aspyxiate me.

I have a nice, heated garage to work in, and I'm thinking of building some sort of expanded-metal table-top rig with a down draft blower exausting thorugh a hose to the outside.

Anyone have some good or bad expereince in this area? Specifically, what size surface do I need (i.e., what's the largest part I will need to spray?) Also, any thoughts on how much airflow will I need & what's the most cost effective source/type of fan?

Thanks
 
No real thoughts on the exhaust system, but a window screen with aluminum fabric is great for a work surface. No problems with small stuff falling through it & virtually no effect on spray patterns.

Charlie
 
chicken wire

Chicken wire sandwiched between 2X2's for the spray table. Mine was about 3' X 5' spay near the door with a fan blowing out.
 
I took at 2x12 and wedged it between the floor and the ceiling (make sure you hit a ceiling joist runner, or you'll punch through the sheetrock) then screwed 1x2 runners horizontally to that, and used a brad nailer to put a few dozen finish nails in the 1x2's. Hang your parts on the finish nails and spray away.

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Simple

Mine was made from mechanics wire hanging the parts off the forks on a fork-lift. My point is it doesn't need to be fancy, just something that works.
Anywhere that you can hang it, and you don't mind a bit of overspray. Kid's swing set on a nice day? Just use a chemical mask! Mine cost more than my spray gun.

I do like Greg's idea.
 
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Good ideas, thanks! Is the consensus that it is better to ahve parts hanging than laying down on a screen?
 
might be a little easier to have them hanging, but more importantly is to go and build your plane, not talk about priming :D

seriously, do a good job priming the bare al, do whatever you think best for the alclad and get building!
 
Simpler

I built a screen covered rack and never ended up using it. I found that I had to turn things any way so I just used cardboard on the floor (my car was outside any way :))

I too built in my heated garage - I wore a respirator when I primed and cracked the big door in the winter and left it open in the summer. (How else are you going to have your neighbors tell you they'd never fly that thing).

I agree with Danny7, for i=1 to done, build and prime, don't fret too long.
 
I used a 12" axial flow duct booster, 2' X 5' plywood box, 1/2" hardware cloth, exhausted out a window, closed off remainder of open window. I also hung parts. I did not prime most alclad stuff. With 27 hrs on it, it has not corroded and fallen from the sky. It also turned my slow build into a quick build. Just depends on where it is based, how soon you want to finish, how much you want to spend and what you want to breathe into your lungs/absorb into your skin. Yes, I wore a respirator and nitrile gloves, but if you paint inside in the winter you will still have some residual in the air even with exhaust.
 
My Solution

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A bottom skin from my RV-7 wing gives the photo some scale. Mesh on top is "chicken wire" with about a 1/2" grid size. There is baffling in the box to settle out most of the overspray before it is drawn through a 20" square filter on the bottom by a fan strapped horizontally to the bottom of the table.

This seemed to take care of almost all of the actual overspray. What you can't see in the photo is an industrial exhaust fan through the wall above the table which takes care of ventilation and fumes.

I have used this setup for the last 5 years and found I could prime without getting paint overspray all over the shop. I had to resort to other means for some of the larger fuselage skins and really long parts but this took care of virtually everything else. It has been really nice being able to prime and paint pretty much at will without issues from weather, etc.
 
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Priming parts

I use fishing line and some little metal drapery clips and hang the parts.
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I know people use exhaust fans all the time, but I worry about an explosion hazard. I try and keep the garage door open when I can and I use a high quality respirator with organic chemicals filters on it. It's very comfortable and I can detect NO paint odor when I'm wearing it.
 
Tom,

Looks like a great idea, but I'm missing what it is that keeps those hooks from sliding down the line...:confused:
 
A clove hitch

The hooks are tied into the line with a clove hitch knot. I'm sure an overhand knot would have worked too.

T.
 
Chicken Wire Priming Surface

When I first started my build, I ran across an article by two guys who built an RV-6 in 56 days. One of their tricks was to lay everything out on a 4' x 8' chicken wire screen. Everything got primed very early on in the project so they didn't have to stop and do it as they assembled things (I believe they touched up parts after trimming, drilling etc)

Here are some pics of what I did to adopt their method.

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Sorry for the lousy photos but these are very old digital photos (circa 1998)

Caution: even though I used their method for priming, it still took me 14+ years to build my RV-6..... LOL
 
Thanks to all, especially for the "just get building" advice! Good advice & I'll take it.
One question, though. . . About how long are the biggest individual pieces I'll be dealing with.. Wing skins, for example. 36 inches? 48 inches?
 
Sprayed yesterday

Here's what I did - I went to Home Depot to buy some chicken wire and saw this 2'X8' piece of lath wire. Instead of building a frame, I just laid it on four cheap sawhorses and went to town. I put duct tape on the ends, they are rather sharp.

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