GARAGE PAINT JOBS!

RosharonRooster

Promoted Users
Lately ive been spending alot of hours reading these forums. I thought id make a topic to exchange information and experience for garage painters. Those of us who dont have a booth. I wanted to trade tips on how to get the best quality result as one can compared to a booth. I have a spray foam insulated "paint room" it is 15ft wide x 20ft long. It has 2 windows that i tape ac filters to and it 2 18 inch exhaust fans i installed. It also has 8, 8ft LED lights. Somethings ive learned along the way (6 cars later) are...
1. If you spray clear at night, expect bugs
2. I leave the fans running the entire time to reduce dust and trash landing on car.
3. Wet floor to reduce dust kick up
4. I sometimes tape a plastic sheeting ceiling with the ""paint this side" down so it picks up overspray
5. I usually get the car ready then let it sit overnight and spray the next morning. Doors and windows closed. This helps everything settle on the ground
6. You cant do any kind of primer sanding and base coat clear in the same day because dust is floating in the air

Anything anyone else can add is appreciated.
 

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Looks like a nice clean room...some debate on whether to wet floor or not .I try to paint car on jack stands as high as I can get it..helps with rockers and keeps from spraying so close to floor..not to mention it keeps my old ass from bending so far.
 
Looks like a nice clean room...some debate on whether to wet floor or not .I try to paint car on jack stands as high as I can get it..helps with rockers and keeps from spraying so close to floor..not to mention it keeps my old ass from bending so far.
How do you approach the roof if the car is up high? What is the debate about wet floor. I dont like wet floor but i do it lately
 
Wet floor adds humidity. I prefer to use Devilbiss floor control in a pump sprayer.

The fans are where a lot of the dust/trash come from. In a perfect world you would be in a big room w/out fans but I'd never do it for health concerns. When I was a stupid kid I didn't have fans and would just spray. Now I spray the clear and shut the booth down between coats like the tech manual.
 
i wash out my booth . fans on blow off walls . put the car in and spend a good amount of time blowing off the car . by the time i get ready the floor is dry and air has been exchanging for about an hr. one trick i do is to use my shop vac on the cowl vent . blow air in and pull air our . make damn sure the vents are shut if the interior is in it . as soon as i'm done o let the cloud get cleared out the shut down the fan .
 
I do the same as Shine when cleaning the booth and vehicle. Another step is to clean the air hose. Plus you should be wearing a painter's suit, sock if needed and gloves.

I also put the car on jack stands to get it up off the floor and use step ladder with two steps and a rail/handle that keeps me from leaning into the paint.

Airflow is critical IMHO and the air in the booth should change out completely every couple of minutes. When spraying you should be able to watch the cloud head straight for the exhaust.
 
I'm assuming that's a puller fan and you've got filters on it to keep from gumming up the blades with paint?

I'd like to find a reasonably priced exhaust fan. It has to be wall mount though.
 
I built a plenum behind my filter bank. Air is drawn through 4 squirrel cage fans from old home furnace units and forced into the top of the plenum and then in turn through the filter bank, across the booth and out the garage door which is kept closed just enough to great a positive pressure in the booth.
 
I live in the high desert of southern AZ and paint outside so my fans are the damn wind that only stops blowing 4 months out of the year!
 
I'm assuming that's a puller fan and you've got filters on it to keep from gumming up the blades with paint?

I'd like to find a reasonably priced exhaust fan. It has to be wall mount though.
I got mine at tractor supply. 200 each for 18 inch. Maxair i think is the brand. Pretty good reviews. Work fine for me they arent explosion proof.
 
Hey I watch that show every now and then, did they say when you will be on?

Two things Id like to possibly try if and when I build a new booth, a positive pressure booth, and grounding. Ive read about both on here before and wouldn't mind trying one or both.

I used an 18 inch fan with a totally enclosed motor and polypropylene blades. It was not explosion proof, but stepped in that direction more than some fans. I tried to size for atleast two air exchanges a minute, and on paper I was slightly over 2 per minute. With static losses I'm not sure where I ended up. I don't think more flow would have hurt but it wasn't bad either. I stuck with an 18 inch as it fit a preexisting window.

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I only had 4 exhaust filters and I should have doubled that to allow more time between changes and better overall performance.

My booth was really built for one project, but it worked out pretty good. I used it a lot longer than I thought I would have, but it held out ok. Two things that kind of sucked were only having a garage door for entry and exit and using plastic. But for the space I had and the fight I had to battle to even build what I did, I'd do it again if need be. One thing that worked out really good was using vinyl flooring over the shop concrete. My dad was adamant about not making any mess in his shop and for $50 it worked out great. Id be tempted to try some carpet after reading about it.

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Hey I watch that show every now and then, did they say when you will be on?

Two things Id like to possibly try if and when I build a new booth, a positive pressure booth, and grounding. Ive read about both on here before and wouldn't mind trying one or both.

I used an 18 inch fan with a totally enclosed motor and polypropylene blades. It was not explosion proof, but stepped in that direction more than some fans. I tried to size for atleast two air exchanges a minute, and on paper I was slightly over 2 per minute. With static losses I'm not sure where I ended up. I don't think more flow would have hurt but it wasn't bad either. I stuck with an 18 inch as it fit a preexisting window.

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I only had 4 exhaust filters and I should have doubled that to allow more time between changes and better overall performance.

My booth was really built for one project, but it worked out pretty good. I used it a lot longer than I thought I would have, but it held out ok. Two things that kind of sucked were only having a garage door for entry and exit and using plastic. But for the space I had and the fight I had to battle to even build what I did, I'd do it again if need be. One thing that worked out really good was using vinyl flooring over the shop concrete. My dad was adamant about not making any mess in his shop and for $50 it worked out great. Id be tempted to try some carpet after reading about it.

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The rumor is mid March but a buddy is trying to get a more concrete date.
 
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