Benefits of a paint booth?

[Aaronw]

Other than letting me paint in the house and not worryng about what the weather is doing, are there any other benefits to using a paint booth? Can it improve the quality of paint jobs?

My wife just went back to working full time so finances will be getting a bit easier for us. I've never really considered getting a paint booth as it was way over in the might be nice someday list. Now that someday might be close at hand the question is do I really want one?

Any pros or cons to a paint booth are welcome.

Thanks

[george 53]

Aaron,If your S/O has a sensitive nose, a spraybooth is a God send! I built mine from an old 70 cfm bathroom fan, an an old microwave stand. My 1st one vented outside, my 2nd one vents into a water/charcole filter system that TOTALLY kills any fumes or smells.It doesn't need outdoor venting. But if you get one,you'll be glad you did!

[Bobdude]

One of the benefits to having a spray booth is having a fan to suck out the overspray so you can actually see how much paint/clearcoat you have on the model.

[MrObsessive]

Another benefit is having the fan suck the dusties out of your way while the paint sets up on the body.

Nothing's more irritating than to have that perfect paint job, only to have a speck of dust land right on it while wet!

[RodBurNeR]

Among the things like being able to paint all year around....

The biggest plus in my book especially if you have doors on it, is to let the parts sit where you painted them until they cure.

My booth was given to me by my buddy Steve Kohler , so I got lucky. It has doors that I can see through and a roof with a glass top so I have plenty of lighting and can see everything while painting. I really like being able to leave everything there so I am not carrying it around trying to put it up high while curing! Just carrying a body around is about impossible to keep the paint free of debris.

Okay back to the plus....

I don't get any dust, hair or lint in my paint jobs. I turn the booth on before painting or putting anything in it to suck any particals out before hand. I clean the booth after about 10 uses with a vac to remove overspray and possible spider webs.

Like mentioned above, the fumes being sucked out as fast as you spray them is a huge plus! My wife used to complain when I bring a body back in the house after spraying outside or in garage.....she always smelled the paint. It was a pain to paint because she would make it a point to let me know how much she loved it.

Basically , anything you can think of that would be an inconvenience....automatically becomes a convenience. You can't go wrong by getting one.

If you make one, make sure you get a sealed fan so it doesn't cause a fire. In my opinion, you should also put doors on to keep unwanted stuff out while it cures.

OH...I almost forgot! I get my paint to cure faster with the booth! I shut the doors and leave the fans on for about 10 minutes and it speeds up the curing process!

[Aaronw]

Keeping dust down is a huge plus, I didn't realize a booth would help with that, I HATE DUST . I've really never looked closely at one so really don't know much about them.

My wife is much worse about bringing smelly stuff in the house than I am. She made something for halloween a few years ago using Krylon Ultra Flat Black, almost dropped me with the fumes coming off of it and it was dry to the touch, strongest smelling paint I've ever run across except for some of the automotive laquers.

This is off a way, I'm thinking maybe for my birthday next november or Christmas, so I'm definately just in the window shopping phase right now. I'm leaning towards one of the commercial booths, building my own isn't completely out of the question but by the time I find everything I need, design it or find plans then actually build it, I'm not sure how much I will actually save if I consider my time.

I assume the primary consideration for size is just that the models I build fit inside?

Are they fussy to maintain, or just basic housekeeping stuff?

Any brands stand out?

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Keeping dust down is a huge plus, I didn't realize a booth would help with that, I HATE DUST . I've really never looked closely at one so really don't know much about them.

My wife is much worse about bringing smelly stuff in the house than I am. She made something for halloween a few years ago using Krylon Ultra Flat Black, almost dropped me with the fumes coming off of it and it was dry to the touch, strongest smelling paint I've ever run across except for some of the automotive laquers.

This is off a way, I'm thinking maybe for my birthday next november or Christmas, so I'm definately just in the window shopping phase right now. I'm leaning towards one of the commercial booths, building my own isn't completely out of the question but by the time I find everything I need, design it or find plans then actually build it, I'm not sure how much I will actually save if I consider my time.

I assume the primary consideration for size is just that the models I build fit inside?

Are they fussy to maintain, or just basic housekeeping stuff?

Any brands stand out?

I HIGHLY recommend Pace Paint Booths. Bob Pace is a great guy and he builds an awesome paint booth. His use household air filters that are inexpensive and easy to find. Call him to order one and you'll probably have it within a week.

Marc

[CAL]

Yup a lot less dirts in my finishes since I built my booth. Besides the fumes it cut down.

[E St. Kruiser50]

GREAT TOPIC

I live in the Pacific Northwest, so for me a spray booth is mandatory for doing what I enjoy.

At my other house, I bought a 10X12 metal shed and insulated everything as I assembled it.

I installed light's, venting, and an oil-filled recirculating heater. No exposed flame or element's to blow myself up .

I built a 24"X30" spray booth, that has a replaceable filter. The motor came from Grainger's, and I used 4" dryer venting flex tube, and connected it to the out fitting I had installed earlier.

A spray booth and heat address everything I need for the quality of build I want to produce.

If you spread the cost out and have the space, it can be affordable, and make model building more enjoyable.

When I moved, there was already a nice metal shed that was part of my parking area, so the first thing I did was insulate it and bring in power, lights, and then install everything I had brought with me.

The new walk in spray booth area was 5X10, about half the size of my old one, which turned out to be much better ,because it was easier and faster to heat, would even get warmer, and was less expensive to operate. I like to spray at around 80 degree's.

On a very cold day, say around 25-30 degree's, it feels so nice to walk into .

Later, dave

Edited February 28, 2009 by Treehugger Dave

[Aaronw]

Ok, so for size how much space around the model do I need? Looking at the photos of the pace booths and some of the home builts it doesn't look like there is much space left over. I'm guessing you still need something under the booth to protect from over spray?

About size any suggestions? I do build trucks (semis, fire engines etc) I'd like to get away with something like that Pace mini 20" booth, both for cost and space issues but I'm guessing that may not be enough.

I also noticed most of the booths I've seen photos of are pretty open, do most have a cover of some sort that just isn't pictured?

I'm actually surprised to see most have the filter right above the painting shelf, it seems like it would attract dust (suck it right onto the model) but from your comments I guess this isn't the case.

Thanks for the comments.

Edited March 1, 2009 by Aaronw

[Guest Davkin]

Does anybody here use a charcoal filtering system on their spray booth? If so, does it work well? How is it set up?

David

[E St. Kruiser50]

Ok, so for size how much space around the model do I need? Looking at the photos of the pace booths and some of the home builts it doesn't look like there is much space left over. I'm guessing you still need something under the booth to protect from over spray?

About size any suggestions? I do build trucks (semis, fire engines etc) I'd like to get away with something like that Pace mini 20" booth, both for cost and space issues but I'm guessing that may not be enough.

I also noticed most of the booths I've seen photos of are pretty open, do most have a cover of some sort that just isn't pictured?

I'm actually surprised to see most have the filter right above the painting shelf, it seems like it would attract dust (suck it right onto the model) but from your comments I guess this isn't the case.

Thanks for the comments.

Hey Aaron

My spray booth is a five sided box made of 3/8 plywood. It's 24X30, and 18" deep, with extra lighting installed on the inside roof of the booth. The filter I use is 20"X20" and is slid in from the back, and is at the rear of the booth, where I spray directly into it.

The extra large size of the booth, 24X30 allows me to have some of the thing's near me that I need, like extra cans of paint, my solvents and extra air-brush bottles and paper towels for clean-up.

The top side of the booth, I used a hole saw and made a hole large enough for my air-brush to rest in, and keeps it outta the way.

I have several plug recepticles and switches wired in, and mounted on the side of the booth, to control the lighting, the vent motor, and the compressor. Works great.

Remember, this is inside of a 5X10 walk-in area that is heated, lit and vented.

Good luck on what you choose - dave