My Simple Space Saving/ Mobil Paint Booth....Mario

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

HI EVERYBODY,
A MODERATOR CAN MOVE THIS TO THE APPROPRIATE AREA IF THIS IS NOT CORRECT. i THOUGHT PAINT AREA, BUT A PAINT BOOTH SEEMS TO ME TO JUST BE ANOTHER TOOL.
i WAS IN NEED OF A PAINT BOOTH BUT DID NOT WANT TO CHEW UP SPACE IN THE SHOP. bUT THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE IT MOBIL ALSO. VERY EASY TO MAKE AND A MINIMAL LIST OF MATERIALS USED.....

24-Pack of 24"x18" Ultra-Smooth Opaque Corrugated Plastic 4MM White Sign Blanks

VELCRO
TWO SIDED TAPE
DUCK TAPE

NOT MUCH ELSE!

I am a slow typist so bare with me as I add to this log.




from this





and this




 

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

NOW IT'S NOT PRETTY, BUT THEN AGAIN IT'S JUST A PAINT BOOTH. SO IT''S GONNA GET A LOT UGLIER AS I USE IT. YOU CAN USE WHITE DUCK TAPE FOR A BETTER LOOK BUT THOUGHT YOU ALL CAN SEE MY PROGRESS A BIT BETTER WITH THE STANDARD GREY TAPE.










THESE 2 CUT WERE SO THE TOP WOULD FOLD ACCORDING TO PLAN. THE CUT AT THE 12 INCH MARK WAS MADE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE TOP PIECE.









THE UPPER LEFT PORTION OF THE PHOTO SHOWS THE CUTOFF. THIS WAS MARKED BY PLACING THE TOP PIECE UP AGAINST THE SIDE PIECE. THEN I LOWERED THE FLAP TILL IT CAME INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THE SIDE PIECE, AND THEN I MARKED AND CUT IT OUT.





NOW THE BACK WAS A NORMAL SHEET OF 24X18. I SHOW MEASUREMENTS BECAUSE IT DEPENDS ON THE SIZE AND TYPE OF FAN A BUILDER WILL USE. MY FAN WAS A SIMPLE 10" FAN.

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

prepping the fan....








NOW I HAD THE OPTION TO HAVE THE FAN ON INSIDE OF THE PAINT BOOTH, BUT I LOCATED ON THE OUTSIDE. THE METHOD TO MY MADNESS....I HAVE A BIGGER PAINT AREA!






NOW DOING WILL CAUSE THE BOOTH JUST TO FALL OVER, SO I MADE SOME STABILIZER LEGS TO SUPPORT THE FAN N HOUSING FROM THE SCRAPS. IT WORKED JUST FINE.

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

I USED DUCK TAPE TO HOLD IN PLACE UNTIL I WAS READY TO SWITCH TO VELCRO STRAPS







ONCE STRAPPED IN THE BOOTH IS READY.

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

THE SIDES, TOP, AND THE BOTTOM TAPED AND YOU CAN SEE HOW IT COLLAPSES or GOES UP....




THE VELCRO WAS USED TO REMOVE OR ADD THE BACK PIECE. I USED 2 SIDED TAPE FOR THE VELCRO.




YOU CAN SEE THE BACK ATTACHED AND OPENING TO GET READY TO PAINT.





ALMOST READY TO PUT AWAY. UN-VELCRO THE BACK SIDE AND JUST ABOUT READY.





READY TO BE PUT AWAY. REMEBER I HAD THE OPTION TO PLACE THE FAN INSIDE THE BOOTH. IF I HAD DONE THAT THEN THE WHOLE UNIT WOULD BE A 1 PIECE FOLDING PAINT BOOTH. MY CONFIGURATION IT'S 2 PIECE. I HAVE SEEN THIS DONE WITH MODELING PAINT BOOTHS BEFORE THROUGH THE YEARS. i FINALLY GOT AROUND TO MAKING ONE FOR MYSELF. i HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY LITTLE THREAD. JUST THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE TO YOU ALL. hAVE A GOOD DAY.

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

I WAS ASKED THIS QUESTION ON ANOTHER FORUM.....

" What about making sure you don’t use paint with flammable fumes or fan could cause spark and fire! "


MY ANSWER....


Kurt the best possible answer I can give you is there are bomb proof fans out there to buy. But very expensive. But I have seen at home paint booths for slightly larger items to spray and they use furnace fans for ventilation. My little fan has a sealed motor for one. But there are important things I can do. making sure there is proper ventilation. Doesn't do any good to have a bitchin fan or simple one if there is nowhere for the fumes to go. I also will have filters in front of the fan that will filter the fumes as they pass and clean air will exit on the other side. If I was going to use it in home I would vent it with a exhaust tube. But i built it for outside in the garage and making sure it vents towards an open window.
Per my firefighting buddy oil paint have a rate before they are dangerous. But that rate can be reached if the are your in is not properly ventilated. Plus I did you know that enamel paint is also flammable when the paint is still wet. It's not just the fumes. So for me I have to work smart not stupid. I hope I answered this for you.
 

[Cap'n Rat Fink]

And to further answer the gentleman question of safety and how what type of filters I will using and making....

 

 

[kurtvd19]

Unless the motor is classed for use in a spray booth with combustible vapors (NEC Class 1 Division 1) you are just asking for trouble.  Using a house fan in place of a properly classed exhaust fan is an accident waiting to happen.  It's not IF a fire will occur but WHEN.

Water based acrylics are the only safe paint to use in a spray booth not using the proper type of fan.  No amount of filtration in front of the motor makes this safe - filters only trap particulate matter not the dangerous fumes.  The rate you mention is the lower and upper combustible limits of a combustible or flammable liquid - the % of combustible vapors to air mix. 

Good luck.

[wefalck]

The fire/explosion hazard aside, where does the fan blow to ? One in general avoids raising dust during spray painting. However, unless the workshop is really meticuously cleaned and dedusted before spraying, it is likely that the fan will do more harm than good. If you a concerned about over-spray, put some absorbent material around the inside, but I don't think this is really necessary.

 

For your personal protection use a face-mask that absorbs droplets/particulates. As Kurt was saying, filters do not normally absorb solvent vapours, you would need an activated carbon filter (as per gas masks) for that.

 

BTW, I am using just a cardboard box for my occassional small-scale spraying operations. Never found over-spray outside of the box.