ever made your own paint booth?

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fast eddie

fast eddie

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i have a small utility shed in my back yard and im considering converting it into a paint booth. if anyone has ever made their own paint booth i would really appreciate any tips you could give me on building my own.

the shed sits in the back part of the yard so odor and fumes from the paint would not get in the house. but its not very well ventilated, should i correct this with a low budges air in/air out system? is there any thing that works good for filtering this air to keep an air intake fan from bringing in dust like window screeing or something? the shed also sits far enough back that i could put something in there to store all my paint/primer to keep those flammable materials outta the garage which is attached to my house.

i would like to put a space heater in there so that i could paint all year round. anyone ever done that?

what should i cover the walls with? id like to use only sheets then after a project or two i could dispose of them to keep the inside space from getting too much paint on it.

fast eddie outty
 
for auto paint booths you basically have them for two purposes

- control dust

- apply heat

are ya just paintin small stuff like bikes ??

auto paint booths typically bake the finish on at 140' , but for a small projects like a bike thats overkill and unnecessary and ya need special paints made to be baked on, just make sure your temp is what is recommended with the paint for the best result, a typical rattle can recommends 70' temps (just read the can for the recommended temp) auto paints have activators usually for 60', 70' and 80' temps (it gets expensive keepin different stuff on hand especially for small stuff, lotsa waste involved too)

as far as dust control a proffesional booth has filters for the incoming air and has air movers (exhaust fans to direct overspray out)

if this was a garden/storage shed your tryin to turn into a semi pro set-up for small stuff, i would put up something smooth on the floor /wall /ceiling like tub/shower surround board (somethin easy to clean of and doeasnt hang on to dust, preferably somethin you can hose down) i would put an exhaust fan to suck the air out (bathroom exhaust fans have sq ft ratings on em). an exhaust fan will suck air into the shed thru any little crack (like around the door or any windows), if you wanted to get real serious, make a vent that will accept an furnace filter so all the incoming air runs through it before gettin in your "booth". as far as heat goes, dont overdue it, a propane spaceheater puts moisture in the air, you dont want that. Im not an engineer by any means and havent built one before, but if seen plenty of em and thats my understanding of how they work, i used to work in my familys body shop, we never had a booth tho, just air dried.

no grease / oil allowed in booths BTW so this is pointless if your storin grungy lawnmowers, chainsaws, garden tools or dusty junk in there too.
 
uhhhhhhh.........i wouldnt put a space heater in there.....get abunch of paint fumes in a small enclosed space and have a possible spark and BAD things are gonna happen......
are you planning on using rattle can paint or auto paint...if its automotive make sure you use a REAL resperator....not the little paper dust mask.theres lots of nasty things in paint(especially new auto paints),like isocyanates.......which will really tear up your lungs and nervous system. as for keeping dust out.wet the walls. floors,etc. before you paint and tack everything off in between coats (after the paint has flashed). i dont know what the laws are where you are but id start looking because here in ca. there very strict with HUGE fines......btw..if you are gonna be using auto paints you might ask bodyshops around your area if they would be willing to rent the booth out for an hour or so....some shops will. hope this helps
 
your going to get a ton of back yard ways so here is my shadetree way


no heaters in booth with you.KABOOOOOM!! :shock:
best way i've come up with is. squirrel cage fan (3 speed is best) but a light dimmer will work also.
build a box for fan in a manner you can later fix to back of shed. make said box with two sides to accept filters for drawn air into box.
i guess if you really wanted to you could use a space heater in the box also but don't know how warm it will keep it.
you'll wanna line the shed with plastic sheeting. it will keep it somewhat air tight and easy clean up.
idea is to keep positive pressure in shed pushing out all fumes and dirt from coming in and out. you'll have to put a vent in shed for the air to come out . above the door is good because the door will leak anyway.
don't over vent the out air or you will lose the positive pressure.

check area heating and cooling shops for the fan cheep or no cost.

don't know if this helps
 
As a painter ( commercial type) I have had to paint, stain and laquer in cold climates. We would use portable heat source, get it toasty and then REMOVE HEAT SOURCE FROM AREA TO BE PAINTED !!!! When finished ventilate very well, when all is clear bring heat source back in. Do not store flammables in there w/ the heat source. 8)
 
yea we used to preheat the garage back in the day too
we used just a kerosene salamander type heat it to about 100 and start painting hahaha
it was crazy painting with a 60 watt treble light in your hand hahaha
we would put a coat on crack the door a few mins then fire up the salamander again lol
fan? lol the garage was full of leaks
I think all the imron paints mighta been hard on my head too lol
as paints got better the harder on your body they became
 
Not much more could be said on this topic...Upper Class White Trash pretty much said what I was going to say and is what I have done in the past!

As a Firefighter he is very much RIGHT! KAAABBBOOOMMM is right!

A quick story for you all......

A lady was spray painting a bunch of stuff in her living room during the cold season, and had her log fireplace going not only to heat the house but also to help dry the paint.........Well........once all the paint fumes built up and made contact with the flame....BBBOOOOOMMM!

It blue her and the dog out the main living room window to the front yard and burned half the house :shock: She faired well and the dog had alot of burnt hair ....but they will paint another day...just not in the house anytime soon......man they were lucky!!!!!
 
I've done a lot of garage paint jobs and have not had too many problems. My best result are when i throw my paint cans in warm water for an hour before painting. I quickly paint outside (cold or not) and take the project into my bathroom and hang from shower curtain. I turn on the exhaust fan and in the winter I use a space heater to warm the bathroom to about 80*. Make sure to not gob paint on and use multiple coats. I found that when using this method I get virtually perfect paint jobs. Thats my white trash paint booth. Oh, make sure the wife is cool with it. :shock:
 
wow, thanx for all the great info guys! i have a few questions and answers to the posts...

yes, ill just be painting bike stuff
yes, ill just be using rattle cans

what does "paint flashed" mean?
what is a squirrel cage fan?

its very hot in my shed during the summer, if i left a ventilation system on overnight after paint would that keep it cool enough in there to let the paint cure correctly ya think? would it be a good idea to consider painting at sunset and letting cure overnight?

what do you guys do for light in a paint booth?

where would i find sheet plastic to cover the walls?

fast eddie outty
 
Just think of flash as dry to the touch. Tacking is basically dusting w/ a tack rag, these can be bought at local paint/ home improvement store.
fan.jpg
squrriel cage fan.
heat is not a problem , direct sunlight is.As far as lighting flouresent should be fine.
Plastic sheeting can be bought at hardware/ home improvement store. the thicker the better. the real thin is cheap but is hard to work with and tears easy.
This seems like a lot of trouble to go through to paint the occasional bike frame w/ rattle can. Why not just use the patio or driveway ? :wink:
 
botony19.jpg

fluorescent light
fluorescent.jpg

lowe's ect
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flashed is when paints top layer has cured enough to touch but still soft on the inside. it takes a while for all the solvents to kick off the paint job. this is why the odor still present for a while. even baked in a real aerospace/automotive booth the finish will cure for some time after.
summer heat is not the problem it's the rain if you are going to use rattle can. too much moisture in the air it will make it hard on the paint. it will wanna go milky on the finish.

use a resperator when you do anything paint sand prime all this is bad on your lungs and wear rubber gloves cause it will soak into your skin and is just as bad as breathing in fumes
 
hey eddie

a squirrel cage fan is like the fan motor assembly out of your furnace
go talk to a local hvac shop see if they might save one out of an old furnace
it would be best to use a three speed motor and not an old belt drive assembly
the belt drive motor has a start switch in the motor that will spark when it is turned on
the three speed motor (although not rated as explosion proof) dose not have a start switch
the only way it could spark would be if the motor overload tripped.(not likely)
it would be best used as the in let with filters(pressurizing your booth)
less likely for the paint fumes to be exposed to the motor

if you need help with the motor let me know (20 years hvac exp)
i might even be able to come up with a motor assembly for you if all else fails

mike
 
thanx for the info guys. it does seem like alot of trouble for bicycle stuff. hangins stuff from the tree in the front yard of my lil hanger frame the driveway i ok, but i'd prolly paint more if i had a better space. im kinda tired of picking bugs outta the paint, finding grass or dust in the paint (the neighbors dont stop mowing cuz im painting) and all that kind of stuff. id tacke more complex paint jobs if i was more confident in my paint space. i wouldnt be at the mercy of the weather either. im still kickin the idea around, i guess ill see what my project list looks like come summer.
fast eddie outty
 
I saw an area made with pull down/roll up window shades and an old bathroom exhaust fan...just pull the shades down to "smaller" your area and vent with exhaust fan..
 
my first was two refrigerator boxes in my second bedroom hooked to the window with a box fan pulling out the fumes. ducted with fresh air coming in from outside.

don't do this

you don't need the paints, solvents, or fumes in the house
 
Hugo said:
These guys built one: http://www.redhaus.com/vespa/booth.html

Hugo
Click to expand...


see they are using a bathroom fan.. don't know about yours but mine don't even take the stink out of the room. plus your pulling the fumes past the fan.

if the fan were to spark or arc man you would be toasted.

to each their own though....... just video tape it for us. i'll watch
 

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