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Paint booth questions

aarvig

Well Known Member
I am going to be priming in my basement. I plan on building a small paint booth so I can trap the vapors and paint mist and send it out the basement windows. I am wondering if people who have built paint booths can post pics of their booths and comment on how they built them. I am particularly wondering how to set up the proper air flow through the booth. My booth will be about 3-4 feet by 6 feet and I would like to be able to take it down. I want to use it just for priming. Thanks for the advice.
 
I built a booth about the same same size but in the end abandoning it as it was just too small to manuever around in. I used/am still using the Stewart Systems water based primer with an HVLP gun so I ended up just shooting parts on my worktable covered with a canvas drop cloth. If I was doing a big batch I'd open my outside door and window to allow fresh air to enter. I woudn't do that for any type of finish/top coat, but for primer it has worked fine. YMMV...
 
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Watch out for too much air flow. It can cause turbulence that swirls the paint right back at you.
 
http://picasaweb.google.com/mdoyle2/PaintBooth?feat=directlink


This works for me. Lowes bath exhaust fan. It has a shaded pole motor so no sparks. The furnace filter catches virtually all of the over spray, and I've found that I can just vacuum it with my shop vac rather than change it. The whole unit is on wheels so I can move it around as necessary. It definitely keeps the shop cleaner, and I can prime whenever I need to.
 
I am going to be priming in my basement. I plan on building a small paint booth so I can trap the vapors and paint mist and send it out the basement windows. I am wondering if people who have built paint booths can post pics of their booths and comment on how they built them. I am particularly wondering how to set up the proper air flow through the booth. My booth will be about 3-4 feet by 6 feet and I would like to be able to take it down. I want to use it just for priming. Thanks for the advice.

I realize this isn't the answer you were looking for, but have you considered just priming everything outside and bringing it inside to dry? Much less complicated, but you will have to modify your priming plans occasionally due to weather.

IMO, that's an easier plan than spending time and money building a mini-priming booth, especially when some of the skins will be marginal in the booth anyway.
 
I'm kinda like Kyle.

I had a "clothes line" outside my basement door.

Hung the parts up with wires, painted, and returned them back inside.

I did paint an entire Taylorcraft inside my basement inside a temporary plastic enclosure. You can vent it all you want to but the fumes will waft upstairs no mater how you prepare.

My other-half threatened and complained and slept elsewhere several times during the recovering process.
 
If you have flouressant lights on the outside of a clear plastic sheeted booth, be carefull it will make your paint look flat and not shine. you can possibly over shoot, chasing the shine, causing lots of runs.
 
Tail kit box

Aaron, I used the tail kit box and a box fan. Might have used a few 1x2's as well, but I don't recall. Stacked about 3 furnace filters in front of the fan, and blew the stink out the window.
 
Regarding painting outside, note that he is Minnesota. Waiting to paint outside could slow things down quite a bit.
 
Spray Booth caution

A spray booth in Minnesota and other northern climates can present a problem if placed in the basement of a tightly insulated house. I had a metal fabricated booth with a high volume fan which I used in business machine repair. Our furnace and gas hot water heater was in the next room in the basement with an average interior door, 2x4 walls covered with sheetrock separating the shop. When the booth blower was running AND the furnace or water heater kicked in the exhaust (smoke) from the furnace/water heater would get sucked DOWN the chimney. Houses in most northern climates now have a requirement to supply outside air to the furnace via a large duct through the wall which would probably solve the problem but that was not the case in houses built in the 1970's or older. To get this thing to work required turning the furnace off, the water heater thermostat down, seal the workshop door with a rug at the bottom, open a shop window or crack the outside shop door (I had a dedicated outside entrance) to provide outside air before using the booth. It would draw the temperature in the entire house down somewhat.

My booth may have been overkill on my part but I had NO fumes, nor chemical, or paint smells in the house at all. It was a permanent appliance & had more CFM's than a bath fan or box fan could produce. Keep this in mind when building your spray booth as it could be deadly if the wrong combination of equipment is present. I wish I had the spray booth in my shop today as it worked very well but it went with the business.

Dick DeCramer
Northfield, MN
RV6 N500DD flying
RV8 fuselage
 
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