basic paint booth

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Neural

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I have a 6" duct fan, with ducting. Currently it's set up and does a great job with pulling spray paint through and keeping it out of the garage. Unless you're standing right next to the booth, you can't tell the paint has been used, and even then, you have to be standing next to the booth right after I've used it. So clearly my duct fan is moving a good amount of air (fan says 240cfm on the side). Since I'm going to be working with water based paints, I think it will work really well.

Unlike the spray paint, when I apply a clear coat (I've been using a Rustoleum crystal clear) ...that stuff tends to be sucked into the system just fine, but you can still tell when you walk into the garage, even after several minutes, that something was used. To be sure, it's not dangerously heavy. It's just enough to make you go notice a scent of some sort.

However, in my opinion, it is still too much. I don't mind the smell of the clear coat being there momentarily around the booth, but I don't want it getting away from the booth at all. Additionally, I was reading on solutions earlier today, and one article mentioned that duct fans have spark potential, which ..well.. when your channeling solvent rich air down a 6" tube past said possible spark location... not good.

I don't mind building my own stuff, and have seen several plans for paint booths, but what I'd like to know is what kind of filter do I need for such a booth, and are there different sizes (right now I work with metal that is around 1' x 1' in size, but I'd like to eventually cover 36" x 24" or there about).
I have a respirator that will work for protecting *me*, but I need to get the rest of the air cleaned so I can work on other projects in the garage that don't require a mask. Having a spot that I can do clear coat and then seal off while it cures is the end goal.

The limitations I currently have to deal with:

1) we rent. so no demolition/construction that permanently changes things
2) because I live in the Vegas area, opening the garage door to paint is not an option. It's going to be a fight just to keep the garage under 100F in the summer with the door closed and the swamp cooler on.
3) there are two small side vents (around 12" x 5" in size) on the garage near the floor. These are likely code requirement due to the water heater being in the garage. So I can't block them off in a way that completely prevents air flow (there *are* two of them though).

My big concern is getting the clear coat done safely. The current setup I have should work really well for the airbrushing, since the "water based" part will take the fire danger out of the equation.

(side question, as opposed to a new thread: The 4030 reducer mixed in with the Candy2O, as I understand it, makes it almost like a 2 part or epoxy, where you have a limited amount of time to use the mix. What are the associated health hazards with that? )
 
I can't really help with the paint booth side of things as construction isn't my strong point. But I can have a stab at the side question regarding the 4030.
4030 is a Balancing Clear rather than a reducer. It won't reduce the thickness of the paint, but in this case is used almost like a carrier for the Candy2o Paints. It helps with adhesion and durability also helps with the flow. The attached link is a short video from Craig Fraser which is helpful.
As far as the health risks go, I'd always recommend someone check out the manufacturers data sheet for the information, but as far as I'm aware adding the 4030 doesn't make it anymore hazardous than any other Water Based system.
Somebody please jump in if I'm wrong!
 
Theres not really a great solution that doesn't cost thousands. The 4030 isn't a whole lot different than using wicked color. paint booth Exhaust filters are really no different than the green cheapo fiberglass furnace filters. Nor are paint booth intake filters all that different from better quality hepa furnace filters. Besides that they are big enough and thick enough to last through a lot of volume.
 
That said squirrel cage blowers like this
https://www.zoro.com/dayton-blower-...upfJ9TxBJAHbJ4COA4a6wM6JQ-8otncxoCJi0QAvD_BwE

Aren't really technically "safe" by industrial standards , However they do keep the exhaust from blowing over the motor. For me they work great for open face booth.

I can't recommend making an enclosed booth, Far too many complications and technically youd need supplied air respirator to get in one. If you did do something enclosed though, in that case the fan blows air into the booth , pressurizing it so the exhaust just goes out the filters, the paint/ air never actuallly travels past the fan.


Setting up an exahaust for any of it is the easy part. all you need is some flex duct attached to some plywood. a couple of pieces a foot tall screwed to 2x6. then when you want to use it you can just shut the garage door on top of it If that makes sense?


And i'm not completely sure if you understand this but.....booths wont clean the air. They more like just supply fresh air. An open face booth is just and exhaust that sucks your overspray out.
A closed booth blows dust free fresh air in, while the contaminated air goes out.
The intake filters only clean out dust and the exhaust filters only clean out solid overspray.
But its all fresh air from outside



As a disclaimer CAUTION: Any System you are likely to come up with will be considered unsafe by industrial standards and you build and use it at your own risk
 
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If it were me. Id just build a 4ft open face box that sits on top of the frame of an old grill with slots for a couple of 20x20 fiberglass furnace filters.
I'd put flex duct off the back. Id mount a squirrel cage blower or two to a piece of plywood with a 2x6 base. Id make another 2x6 base with a piece of plywood to fill up the rest of the width of the garage door. When ready for use slide the blower base under the garage door, slide the blank base under the garage door. Shut the door on top of them. Hook the flex duct to the blower(s) and bobs your uncle.
This would really just be a scaled up version of the little hobby airbrush spray booths.
To make it so you could let something dry in it while you worked on something else, just add a door to the front of it, with a hepa furnace filter. So when youre done spraying, shut the front, The air thats sucked in will be dust free, while it continues to exhaust the fumes outside.
 
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Best way. Use your current set up for your artwork if it works, and then get a local auto refinisher/body shop to do your lacquering for you. Most will blow it over using the last bit of lacquer from a previous job, so will be cheap, and they’ll have all the correct equipment.

Hey presto, no smell at all, and professional finish to boot!
 
Thanks for the info. It looks like the squirrel cage fans are an excellent solution to what I'm working with right now. It will give me more CFM total pulled out of the booth, as well as remove the fire hazard when using clear. To help ensure that, I can put a filter on the back of the booth where the air is pulled out.

I do understand the air-in/air-out on an enclosed booth, and was primarily thinking of that in regards to the intake filters cleaning the incoming air, however the point about a respirator is something I hadn't researched yet.

Anyway, if I can use a filter of some sort to reduce the amount of flammable material going into the air duct, that would be even better. My main concern is getting the right one, since most of them don't list "spray paint fumes" on the marketing text, but instead list things that most consumers are worried about. :)

As for finding auto/paint shops to do the clear coating, I've looked around and most places either aren't willing to do it, or want to charge way too much for it since the work I do is only around 12" x 12" right now. A relative of mine works for a dealership in town in the service department, and he doesn't know of any shops that they work with that will take on small jobs.
I'll keep looking of course, but so far it's been dry.

On the bright side, I picked up a really nice 12" x 18" sheet of 6061 T6 today for $28. 1/8" thick. Most place I've come across online will charge that much for the same size at 1/16" thick.

Think I'm going to do a sunset with islands and palm trees silhouetted across it. I got my airbrush today (not saying what I got, cause y'all will excommunicate me :p) and am excited to dig into this. Safety is first though, so it might be a few days.
 

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Cool ,yeah I was just making sure. Some people get the idea that the booth will recycle, sorry since you already knew.
None of the filters will clean fumes, except active charcoal filters. Those would have a pretty short lifespan.
https://www.amazon.com/Activated-Carbon-filter-refill-pads/dp/B003ZKMFYG
Or the "odor blocking" furnace types would help fume wise, they are carbon as well
The chances of a squirrel cage that has the motor outside the cage causing a spark ignition are very slim However, they are not explosion proof blowers. Personally id be fine with one on an open face booth but not so much for enclosed unless it was a one time deal.
I did find some cheaper explosion proof fans that i wasnt aware existed. Last I checked they all ran 6-800 min.
But here they are at about $100
https://www.ebay.com/p/iLIVING-ILG8...haust-Fan-12-Inch/2254304000?iid=182968246789
 
ROFL 750-1050CFM. That's actually perfect, but I'd have to definitely put in a larger intake area. If I pulled that much on my 6" system, it'd be like a vacuum cleaner. :D Good price too.

Thanks again. :D
 
I think car booths usually run like 2-3k cfm if i remember right.
In any case when you look at the fans , go off of the middle number for static load. The top number is running with zero resistance.
So that 12" I linked would be 418 cfm actual.
Of course, the rating on the fan you use now is probably nominal too so it would still pull about double what your using now :) LOL
Shopping a little you can get those for 85 with free shipping from the US
Pretty sweet deal for explosion proof fan

Oh and forced air, not supplied air on the respirator
 
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Oh and tell us what AB for sure.
I've got a chinesium brush I like a lot
If its an HF deluxe though, I'll just say, Might as well order a better one now, the Hf deluxe will be likely trashed by the time the better one arrives.
 
If you get the carbon, might want a regular green in front of it, probably help with the life of the carbon. not sure if it would make too much resistance though, youd have to experiment
 
LOL. Ok, I'll confess. I bought a Paasche Talon. The only airbrush I've ever used was a Paasche VL that I got when I was 17 (1988), and the price point was better for me overall. We'll see how it goes, but my experience has been good, and I suspect that the Talon will be better, at least in design, than my old VL (wherever it is now. I sold it over 20 years ago). If it matches the atomization, I'll be fine.
And while I don't necessarily put a lot of faith in it all, when I opened the box and picked it up, it *felt* right.
I have some re-arranging to do in the garage before I can dig in. Air compressor needs to move to a better location. I like where it is now (all the way as far from me as possible), but the air hose will be an issue as it would be crossing a walkway. I'm paranoid about water. It was in storage for 7 years, and I left the drain valve slightly open to make sure no moisture would collect and cause any form of rust, and when I'm done using it for the day, I depressurize it via that same valve (if anyone knows of any safety concerns I've missed there, please please please let me know. I'm not interested in dying or being maimed just to do art).

I can make this work. I think with some time put in, I'll be ready to get moving by end of next week. Good way to start 2018.

If you guys thing I'm wordy normally, it's worse when I'm excited. hehe. :D
 
Im sure some talons are great, never used one, but I mean they used it as a platform for the MOJO or whatever. Only bad thing I've seen said about em is that they can be hit or miss.
Your fears on the compressor seem a little over the top :) Best two things you can do if youre worried is pull the ring on the safety release valve and make sure its not stuck, If anything seems crunchy,sticky or whatever, replace it Or heck just go ahead and replace it. big box hardware stores carry them theyre cheap. I would not even think twice about any compressor with a functional safety release valve.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-NPT-Tank-Safety-Valve-1-4-in/50129816
But hey glad you're excited and getting ready to have some AB fun.
 
Robbyrockett2 said:
Im sure some talons are great, never used one, but I mean they used it as a platform for the MOJO or whatever. Only bad thing I've seen said about em is that they can be hit or miss.
Your fears on the compressor seem a little over the top :) Best two things you can do if youre worried is pull the ring on the safety release valve and make sure its not stuck, If anything seems crunchy,sticky or whatever, replace it Or heck just go ahead and replace it. big box hardware stores carry them theyre cheap. I would not even think twice about any compressor with a functional safety release valve.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-NPT-Tank-Safety-Valve-1-4-in/50129816
But hey glad you're excited and getting ready to have some AB fun.
Click to expand...

I flat out deny pulling on the safety release valve ring once every other time or so that it's starting to compress before I leave and let it do it's thing. I'm not paranoid, I'm just allergic to traumatic bodily injury. :D
 
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