Has anyone ever made a makeshift paint booth for spraying ... and if im doing this durning the fall/winter ... should i put a spaceheater in the booth to keep everything warm ... i was thinking about just taking those plastic dropclothes from lowes and making a makshift enclosure ? any thoughts ?

quote Originally posted by WhiteFieroGT: Has anyone ever made a makeshift paint booth for spraying ... and if im doing this durning the fall/winter ... should i put a spaceheater in the booth to keep everything warm ... i was thinking about just taking those plastic dropclothes from lowes and making a makshift enclosure ? any thoughts ?

Maybe get some 2x4's buried in the ground for a frame, then staple the dropcloths to it? Whatever you do... please be careful. Sparks, heaters, whatever + paint fumes do NOT mix.

We have one here made out of 1x2's and some tightly stretched poly sheeting... 4 identical sides and a roof, its easy to set up and take down and does a good job at keeping out dust and debris that would ruin a home paint job.

As for the heater question: it would be needed only if the temperature was to fall outside the recommended operating temp for your paint product, the surface temp of the parts you're painting should be within this operating range of your paint... if not, get a space heater. and note ryan's caution regarding sparks!!!!

Edit: to homage ryan's spark and fire comment

[This message has been edited by The Aura (edited 11-13-2003).]

I've seen a few home-brew booths made from simple studs with poly sheeting (I'd recommend the whitish poly sheeting as opposed to the clear, as it's supposed to have a fire-retardant ingredient added).

As for heating, they're both very correct in noting the dangers of fumes & fire. My suggestion would be to heat the parts & the space well above the minimum required temp... then shut down the heat source until after you're done spraying and the fumes are cleared (even then, be careful re-igniting it).

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I would think the poly sheets would attract a lot of dust.

im talking about a small electic heater ... i wouldnt use one of the 80,000 btu ones that we have sitting around in the garage ... that could be very very bad

The poly sheeting will attract dust to it and away from the paint. Just wash the sheeting off just before you start. Then any dust that enters will be held to the plastic.

thats awesome ... is there a book out there on doing your own home spray jobs ...

Please make SURE that your electric heater does not spark on start up. Even some small units do spark and if it does it's game over.

Thanks
Sour

The painting im doing right now im using the poly sheets taped against the walls and floor. It works great! The room im using is heated though from the house and has a door to the outside to vent fumes when done.

Think it thru.

Does your paint system require excellent air exchange? Or do you have a remote air system and total tyvek clothing? Some types of paint can ruin your day if you paint in a booth without super air movement and remote air. Not to say it hasn't been done by somebody, though.

If you are moving air at a suitable rate, is it now just cold, outside temperature air that you are moving over your subject? Hmmm.

If you are heating with kerosene or any "fired" heaters, what about the soot that accompanies such heaters? It will settle on your painted surfaces. Hmmm.

Think it thru.

Here's a link to a cheap PVC pipe/plastic sheet greenhouse. It may give you some ideas for a simple spray booth.

Paul McKibben
Norcross, GA

P.S. Check out the "Paint" section of Fiero Secrets for more info: http://www.fierosails.com/fierosecrets.html

Just a tip about Kerosene heat. If its not PERFECTLY adjusted, the oil mist that it creates, will totally ruin your attempt to paint. It will be covered with pockmarks (fisheyes) from bumper to bumper. Dont attempt to paint below 60* or you will end up with a mass of runs.

If you are going to paint, I would personally wait for the summer to roll back around. Spend the winter doing some research, more research and then even more research. You can never know to much about all the different techniques used in automotive painting and prep.

With that being said here is the MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN POSSIBLY TELL YOU.

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY.

If you are going to paint you really need to use some sort of freshair system. The halfmasks that are sold in hobbyshops and places like pepboys will not protect you from the most dangerous chemicals in most paints. DO NOT USE THE HALF MASK. You can severely damage your lungs or even die. Chew on that for a while and then go here.
http://www.autobodystore.com/index.htm

These guys know everything you could ever possibly want to know about auto painting.

just drop plastic sheeting down the walls of your shed..cover everything you dont want to paint..get a exhaust fan rigged or you will be too spaced to care about the paintjob....btw we used to use a kerosine powered burner to heat our sprayshop..never had a fire..cept when we backed over it once. if you extract the fumes well enough theres nothing to catch fire..thinners is not as explosive as you might think..a painter i used to work with used to drop his lit cig butts in the dirty thinners drum..never got blown up..not sure if hes still with us though..

Cheap PVC pipe/plastic sheet paint booth is easy to setup. Can be stored/reused when needed. Cut openings in the sheeting for 25X25 A/C filters.

Cut a square hole in the plastic at ground level AT THE OPPOSITE END FROM THE DOOR (or vent), then duct-tape a window fan in it. Place A/C filters from Home Depot across the opening on the inside of the fan. This way the fan will blow filtered air into the booth and any dust or fumes will exit the booth through the vent.

I made one once,

I used 2x4's to build a box frame large enough to pull the car into, I then wrapped the entire thing in Clear Plastic. I cut the front down the midle and along the bottom so I could pull it open to drive in, I then cut a hole in the back just the same size as a square floor fan.

The fan was turned so to exaust the fumes out. I sprayed the whole inside with water, and pulled the car in and painted it.

All in all it worked very well. The clear plastic under the heat of a Tennessee Summer also helped to cure the paint.

But as I said it worked well for me. IT was by no means a pro looking job when I was done. It was after all my first paint job ever. But it did look pretty good for an amateur.

I painted my car using a portable carport. I put fans on one end with filters behind them to keep to dust down. The carport went almost to the ground so all the exhaust went out at ground level. This worked very well for my painting I did have 80 degree weather to paint in so I did't have to worry about heating. So like eveyone else has said Please Be Careful!

Paint isn't something to mess around with... As noted several times above... Paint + sparks = boom

If it has a switch, it sparks. Even small electric heaters pull 1000-1500 watts, which will throw a heafty spark in the switch and/or thermostat. If there is a flamable mix in the thing when that spark hits, the whole area can go up.

Breathing air is the other big issue. People have died painting stuff w/o propper air handling.

It is not just a suffocation issue. It can be very sneaky... You may get away with painting the car only to pass out and even die later. Some solvents are slow poisons that may not get you for several hours. Many will cause Drain Bamage and other health problems even if you feel perfectly fine after painting.

These problems aren't limited to big sprayers running comercial grade paints... Even common spray cans now use propelants like Butane and Propane on top of whatever solvents are in them. That means the cans can be even more dangerous than the comercial spraying equipement.

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Be alert. The world needs more lerts...

The Ogre's Fiero Cave (It's also at the top of every forum page...)

YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME USING ONE !!!!!!

I'VE BURNED UP MORE THAN MY SHARE OF FIEROS

*************SERIOUSLY BE CAREFUL *********

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!
If you found my advice helpful, please take the time to give me a positive rating. Thanks

quote Originally posted by theogre: Breathing air is the other big issue. People have died painting stuff w/o propper air handling. It is not just a suffocation issue. It can be very sneaky... You may get away with painting the car only to pass out and even die later. Some solvents are slow poisons that may not get you for several hours. Many will cause Drain Bamage and other health problems even if you feel perfectly fine after painting. These problems aren't limited to big sprayers running comercial grade paints... Even common spray cans now use propelants like Butane and Propane on top of whatever solvents are in them. That means the cans can be even more dangerous than the comercial spraying equipement.

The Ogre is dead right (pun intended). I spent 8 years working in the automotive paint industry mixing paint and just breathing the suff can kill you. Automotive paint is loaded with the who's who of toxins. Heavy metals, isocionates (remember Brophal India?) not to mention what some of the solvents involved can do to your liver and lungs.
A word of warning to anyone painting at home, please use a respirator, gloves and protective clothing.

I would like to do a home paint job just for the expirience. I used to paint cabinets in a custom shop with stains and laquer.
HOWEVER: consider what it will cost to construct your booth, buy a good respirator, buy protective clothing, buy a compressor and paint gun, buy tape, plastic, sandpaper, red pads etc plus the cost of the paint---and if you screw it up--more expense.
Probably would be way ahead by going to fact-o-bake

To expand on what Paul said...

It has to be the correct type of air filter etc for the paint at hand.

NONE of the particle masks are enough! While these may stop paint droplets and dust... They will not stop solvent vapors and other fumes!

You need a true "gas mask" or even a remote air source for many paints. Only such a mask can prevent you breathing this crap. Even filters certified for VOCs (Volitile Organic Compounds) are not good enough for some paint types.

Don't give me some yap about I'm only painting one car... One car's worth of paint can easily kill you or screw you up for life. Worse, you may not find out about it for days, months or even years.

sounds like you're assuming that this guy isn't listening!
So, go buy a NIOSH Respirator specifically designed to be used with automotive paint compounds---DONE

NOw; more on the spray booth