Need tips / fundamentals on building a proper paint booth

[zeeboost]

I have a 20 x 21 concrete slab that I'm working on turning into a paint booth. I've done a ton of reading on the subject over the last couple of weeks, mostly trying to find the best intake / exhaust type setup to use, but information seems to get pretty conflicting after a while. Some say to use pusher fans with a filtered vent, or puller fans with a filtered vent, many setups use both pullers and pushers for intake and exhaust. I'm not sure what all factors come into place when trying to properly design a spray booth (what type of fans to use, should one be high and the other low, are there special outlets that need to be used to reduce chances of explosion). End game is to have a properly functioning spray booth without using plastic walls, that I don't have to worry about going up in flames.

 

I'm known to overthink things and have seen some pretty good paint jobs just by spraying a car outside in the elements, but since I'm building this from scratch I want to make sure it is done properly.

 

- Should I use double plywood doors that swing open on hinges, and can latch closed to weatherstripping to make sure it's sealed? Or should I install a rollup door so it can open a couple of feet and set it on top of box fans for when I spray?

 

- Wind where I'm at is typically 10-15 mph on average from the southwest, should I setup the vents and fans on the north / south sides of the shop to have the wind aid in air flow or set it up from east / west to minimize it?

 

- I did have some pretty large fluorescent shop lights already set aside from the booth, but that was before I found out about needing explosion proof lighting. So I'm between boxing the lights in I have inside a cabinet with plexiglass, or springing for the explosion proof stuff.

 

- What is the ideal setup for intake / exhaust flow when setting up the fans? I've seen some pretty good setups with squirrel cage fans, but also equally good setups with box fans. I'm pretty sure neither or these are explosion proof fans though.

 

- Are there any special power outlets to be wired in to minimize the risk of fires?

 

- Any other tips will be greatly appreciated, I'll be sure to post progress pictures as well.

[Evlevo]

I would suggest having more push rather than a pull type system. Paint booths do have both intake an exhaust fans, but usually have a slightly positive pressure. This helps prevent  dust sucking in through cracks un filtered.

[grannyknot]

Have a look at this site, the wealth of knowledge about painting and autobody is very impressive. A lot of the guys answering questions actually run their own paint shops and there is no attitude to new guys.

http://www.autobody101.com/forums/index.php?sid=f044bf1f351a02abe241234902095df9

[zeeboost]

Thanks you two for the advice, I've been reading up on autobody101 as well as many other forums looking to gather ideas on how to set this up. Here's what I have so far, let me know what you think.

 

To answer some of my earlier questions, yes I should put any electrical switches inside the booth within their own sealed setup, but I think I'll just have power to the paint booth controlled by breakers in the fuse box of the main shop. (1 breaker for lights, 1 for fans) For the lighting, looks like that'll be behind sealed plexiglass. Also I plan on sealing the concrete to help with dust control.

 

Here's a rough sketch of how I'll be setting up everything. 

 

The gap between the main shop and body shop (with the compressor) will be enclosed, with a man door to be installed on the body shop right next to the compressor. I'm considering running intake ducting into this room along with a heater to help with winter temperatures, but not set in stone yet. I may see how well insulation alone works first.

 

With the intake fan high and exhaust fans low, 1 large intake fan on the back wall and 2 (or 4) smaller exhaust fans on wall with door. Will there be any negative drawbacks to staggering the exhaust fans on each side of the door? Or do they need to be in the center of the building where the door would be? I'd prefer to stagger them on each side of the door so they can be a permanent fixture in the shop and I can use the style doors that I'd like to.

 

In regards to the walls, is there a specific material that's preferred for painting (without using plastic sheets)? I would assume something that doesn't trap dirt very easily.  Figured I'd have plywood walls or sheetrock. I thought about corrugated metal but it's very humid where I'm at and will randomly start sweating at any given time, so I'd prefer to not introduce that into the paint booth. I'm also assuming I'll want to insulate the walls for better temperature regulation.

 

So far it looks like for the compressor I'll be running a copper line 25 feet into the main shop (to the right) then loop it around and slope it downwards back towards the paint booth to try and trap as much moisture as I can. I still have a bit of reading to do on this.

 

I was hoping to do bodywork in here also but am terrified of all the hidden body dust that'll get flung everywhere, waiting to find it's way into fresh paint. Does it seem feasible that I could just blow everything out with compressed air before I begin spraying, or is that just wishful thinking and not worth the risk of introducing body work to the spray booth?

 

Any other criticisms or suggestions are welcome.

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by zeeboost