Nice, Although I don't understand why they have a fan sucking air out through a filter. I though the air going IN was suppose to be filtered.
 
osxuser said:
Nice, Although I don't understand why they have a fan sucking air out through a filter. I though the air going IN was suppose to be filtered.
Click to expand...
Both would be ideal. There is a cow pasture to the north of my shop. Not sure the farmer would appreciate red splotches on his cows. :)
 
Home paint booth

We used a similar design and expanded this to 13' X 20' and 8' high. This allows us to paint both wings at the same time and move the fuselage in and out on its wheels. We also used left over 1 1/2" pvc pipe to stick in the lightning holes at the wingtip end for ease of turning the wings on the sawhorses. This is much easier for two people and keeps you out of the paint.
Since the booth is so large, we used three filters for the intake at the far end and a single exit filter between the booth and fan at the garage door end. We styled the filter system at the floor to duplicate the modern paint booths that use a down draft system to keep overspray off the parts.
We used two 7 foot apoulstry zippers at the garage door end so we could roll up the end and roll the plane in and out. Another zipper at the front of the booth allows people and hoses to go in and out without disturbing the fan and filters. We found the zippers at a fabric store and applied double stick take in a straight line on the plastic wall, attached the zipper to the tape and then used thread to sew the zipper to the tape for durability. Works great.

Pat Garboden
Ozark, MO
 
Last edited:
Garage Painting

I built a similar sort of arrangement for painting. I took a 4X8 sheet of plywood, built a 2X4 frame arount it. I then mounted two box window fans, one for in and one for out. I also mounted my air filtration system to the outside and a flourescent light fixture to the inside. Put it all on casters. When it is time to paint, I errect a 1" PVC pipe enclosure around it, cover with pieces of 6 mil plastic and that's that.

The advantage to filtered output is that all the fine dust overspray is in the filter, not all over the garage. This system has worked quite well, so far. The only real hassel is setting up the PVC and plastic. I was able to find plastic clamps to secure the plastic sheeting onto the pvc frame, which vastly simplifies assembly and dissassembly.

The nice thing about this arrangement is that you can taylor the size of the paint booth to the pieces being painted. For a wing, you just make a bigger enclosure.

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 Fuselage
San Ramon
 
I painted cars in a scaled up version of this in my garage - large enough to swallow a 2 car garage with just enough room for one person to walk all the way around it.

The frame was 1x2's with 6 mil clear plastic all around. We made a grid of nylon string across the top, laid plastic over it, then tied it up to the garage door opener to make a pointy ceiling that could withstand the pressure difference.

We used three box fans to draw air through. If you build one, I recommend turning the fans on low first and experimenting with how many inlet filters to use - the first time we fired ours up we turned all three fans on high and only had three panel filters on the back wall - needless to say the booth began shrinking because the sides and roof began sucking in! More filters solved the issue. :)

We just used a few layers of cheese cloth on the exhaust of the fans to capture "loose" paint.
 
I use the whole garage

I turned my whole garage into a paint booth. I got some 6 mil construction plastic at Home Depot - 10' wide by 100' long. I stapled the plastic to the 3 sides of the garage at the top and let it cover whatever is on the walls. Then I got 2 box fans and close the garage door on them. I put cardboard on either side of the fans to close out the bottom. I use some 12"x24" furnace filters taped together and taped over the opening 'slot' at the top of the garage door on the outside.
The fans blow out, and the air comes in over the top of the partially open garage door through the filters.
Whenever I'm not painting, I roll up the plastic on the walls I need to access (workbench, door to house). I stapled some strings in strategic locations when I put up the plastic.
 
Just finished testing out the paintbooth...A few problems to fix, but seems to be a workable design...it can be viewed at my "kitlog.com" site listed below. Seems that surface preparation is the most critical step in the whole process...Still have LOTS to learn on that.
 
Nobody has mentioned "explosion-proof" fans. I built and used a pvc pipe/plastic sheet paint booth with a regular fan and got away with it when re-covering fabric control surfaces. To paint an entire airplane I'm considering getting a real explosion-proof fan, but I don't know if it should be a serious concern or not.

Mike Bell
 
mbell said:
Nobody has mentioned "explosion-proof" fans. I built and used a pvc pipe/plastic sheet paint booth with a regular fan and got away with it when re-covering fabric control surfaces. To paint an entire airplane I'm considering getting a real explosion-proof fan, but I don't know if it should be a serious concern or not.
Click to expand...

I'm using a 30" 5500CFM fan from HomeDepot to pull the air "out", with a filter rack between the paint fumes & fan blades. Has a brushless motor, but is "not" explosion proof rated.

With the HVLP, I'm not getting a lot of excess spray within the booth (one complete bay of a three car garage), and I get plenty of air through the inlet filters to "dilute" the fumes.

Seeing how I've been installing things that can potentially blow up for 36 years; furnaces & gas lines; I'm just not to worried about this setup, for painting the whole plane.

When using the HVLP, there is very little excess spray mist floating around. The carpet underneath, and walls are not even stained, with the fuse and tail feathers completed.

Well, thats how I feel about the subject. Others may disagree.

L.Adamson
 
HVLP - Overspray is a thing of the past.

L. Adamson is correct. If your gun is an HVLP, overspray is a thing of the past. Whereas my old (expensive) gun used to make the room foggy, HVLP is heaven sent. I use two window fans to pull the air thru the booth. One fan is at eye level, the other at foot level. Incoming air goes thru 3 air conditioning filters built into a door that encloses the booth.

Before paint, wash the floor, ceilings, and your 3200 lumen fluourescent bulbs after blowing the dust off the walls & ceilings the day before. Leave the floor wet so any ambient dust settles into the water. I get virtually no nibs.

If you're working with parts, set the part to be painted on a bench (preferably a rotisserie) so you're always working down. That eliminates the possibility of sags.

My recommendation is the Devilbiss Finishline III gun and make sure you have a decent regulator that maintains the same pressure despite compressor output, not the junk sold by Harbor Freight. Incoming air MUST go thru a water separator and an air filter. I have three water filters in series (in line), & two compressors in parallel just in case one croaks.

Here is a photo of a project car painted in this environment.

http://www.arizonaairparks.com/68 Corvette
 
Doesn't the explosion risk also come from the solvents used in the paint as well as the paint particles? If so, it doesn't matter if most of the paint hits the part (hvlp), you still get vapors and therefore, explosive fumes. Am I right? Anybody know for sure?
 
Explosions 101

RScott said:
Doesn't the explosion risk also come from the solvents used in the paint as well as the paint particles? If so, it doesn't matter if most of the paint hits the part (hvlp), you still get vapors and therefore, explosive fumes. Am I right? Anybody know for sure?
Click to expand...
I have been painting cars for 30 years as a hobbyist and used a variety of Home Depot fans to exhaust fumes. Not one explosion thus far. I know, maybe I'm lucky but the volume of overspray from HVLP is much less than the old style guns we used for the first 20 years.

The exhaust fan goes on when you mix and doesn't go off till a few hours after you're done. In other words, there is always an exchange of air passing thru the booth.

One thing IS certain. Wear a forced air respirator with the source of air coming from outside the booth. Anyone who mixes paint or sprays (anything other than water based paint) w/o a forced air respirator that covers your eyes too hasn't read the label or has a death wish.

Also, make sure you wear a full suit that covers your arms. You can buy cheap ones at any body supply shop for < $10.

Painting is fun, the prep is the hard work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.