Tip: Cold Weather Spray Booth

This is for us guys who have to build and spray six months of the year when it's to cold to paint outside. Some 3/8 plywood, 2X3's, screws, 3/4 pine, hardware cloth, 2 filters, blower from old Jenn Air or other similar air mover and 6" flex metal duct work. Casters on the legs if you want to move it easy. I can send more pics to your e-mail if you would like.
http://i50.tinypic.com/2hs0qqu.jpg

Might as well time share the dryer vent with my wife, as well as it's 220V-30A plug (for the compressor). Good idea BTW, as I've been debating with myself just how I was going to prime wing ribs before winter is over (no room for a booth). I just need to find an adequate blower, probably explo$ion proof.


RV9er's Setup:

Jenn Air Blower

longranger said:

Might as well time share the dryer vent with my wife, as well as it's 220V-30A plug (for the compressor). Good idea BTW, as I've been debating with myself just how I was going to prime wing ribs before winter is over (no room for a booth). I just need to find an adequate blower, probably explo$ion proof.


RV9er's Setup:

Click to expand...

There must be lots of these blowers around at appliance shops, the stoves are getting old and being replaced but the blowers are generally OK.

Baking

Winter painting was how I learned that baked Variprime is "stronger than steel" .

I had opened the shop door and quickly sprayed some brackets. I decided to place the parts on top of the metal grating that surrounds a vertical kerosene heater. Dried the primer in a hurry which was the goal.

Some time later I needed to remove the primer from one part (don't remember why). Usually it came off with laquer thinner. Not the baked stuff. It needed serious abrasive work in addition to thinner to get it off.

Been baking everything since then.

Ya But

rzbill said:

Winter painting was how I learned that baked Variprime is "stronger than steel" .

I had opened the shop door and quickly sprayed some brackets. I decided to place the parts on top of the metal grating that surrounds a vertical kerosene heater. Dried the primer in a hurry which was the goal.

Some time later I needed to remove the primer from one part (don't remember why). Usually it came off with laquer thinner. Not the baked stuff. It needed serious abrasive work in addition to thinner to get it off.

Been baking everything since then.

Click to expand...

How do you get the big sheets into your wifes oven?

rzbill said:

Winter painting was how I learned that baked Variprime is "stronger than steel" .

Click to expand...

Have you tried it without baking? I've dropped room-temperature variprimed parts on the concrete floor, and can't find the mark where it hit. Dimpling after applicaltion will leave a mark but won't break through. Very tough stuff.

RV9er said:

How do you get the big sheets into your wifes oven?

Click to expand...

The wife works evenings and you know how inventive one can be if there is a need......

Have you tried it without baking?

Click to expand...

Sure, much of my construction is that way. The revelation happened during fuselage fab.

Bill,

How are you baking? Temps and Times?

Are you using a heat gun just to heat it up?

Phil

Betty Crocker wants to know....

Where do you find the fan?

RV9er said:

This is for us guys who have to build and spray six months of the year when it's to cold to paint outside. Some 3/8 plywood, 2X3's, screws, 3/4 pine, hardware cloth, 2 filters, blower from old Jenn Air or other similar air mover and 6" flex metal duct work. Casters on the legs if you want to move it easy. I can send more pics to your e-mail if you would like.
http://i50.tinypic.com/2hs0qqu.jpg

Click to expand...

Nice down draft set-up.

As I sit here in at my computer in Omaha, NE staring out the window at snow and single digit temperatures, I've been contemplating this exact same subject. Cold weather priming will be one of the biggest challenges for me. I think I'll have to set up an arrangement like yours in my basement workshop and then vent the fumes out the basement window.

I do some woodworking as a hobby and have a auto primer HVLP gun for painting/finishing my projects. When I set up a warm weather booth for them, I learned that you need approximately 100 fpm of air passing by your parts to overcome overspray. Your set-up looks like it is about 10 sq. ft., which would ideally mean you have a 1,000 cfm blower. Would you agree with that?

Do you find your "spray booth" is large enough for most parts? How big does a spray booth need to be for RV parts?

Also, got any advice on finding a cheap blower? I've looked at Grainger before, but man, those fans are expensive for this application, especially the explosion proof versions. (I use water-based finishes in my woodworking -- no explosion worries.)

Send More pictures! Excellent! and you have no problems indoors?

More Justin Wilson than Alton Brown

Phil said:

Bill,

How are you baking? Temps and Times?

Are you using a heat gun just to heat it up?

Phil

Betty Crocker wants to know....

Click to expand...

Phil
When I had an unheated shop, I simply placed the parts on top of my Kerosun heater cage and let the super hot rising exhaust vapors do it. No timer. I just set them there for 5 or 10 minutes.

Now that I am not using the Kerosun anymore, I resurrected an old toaster oven for small bits. I used 250 degrees and 10-15 minutes. Don't think it is possible to overcook.

jpurban said:

I've looked at Grainger before, but man, those fans are expensive for this application, especially the explosion proof versions. (I use water-based finishes in my woodworking -- no explosion worries.)

Click to expand...

Hey RV9er, I'd love to see some more pics of your booth - that's exactly what I need for my shop. My email is [email protected], if you're up for sending more pics.

All,

It would be ideal to have an explosion-proof fan, but is it really necessary? I have a couple of friends who use regular squirrel-cage fans and they're still alive - and I've never heard of an RV builder's shop exploding. Not trying at all to nay-say the risk, but I can't afford an expensive explosion-proof fan. Has anybody ponied up the cash for one? If so, where did you find it?

???

Dave

Don't remember the exact numbers

but be careful baking your 2024t3 parts too much. Temps over about 300 degrees will start to affect the temper and thus the strength of your parts. I'd stay below 250 to be safe...

Quick, simple alternative for small jobs

I did a similar thing this week to paint some small parts in my walk-out basement workshop.



My setup went a little like this:

1) cut a plywood panel to fit nicely in a window opening
2) put a shelf on the plywood panel for one of those little yellow Stanley squirrel cage fans (they move a lot of air). Cut a hole in the window panel for the Stanley to blow air out of
3) find a big, deep cardboard box, place it on a cart next to the fan with the opening facing in a convenient direction for access. Cut a hole in the side of the box to match the air inlet of the fan.
4) Turn on the fan and spray away to your heart's content. If you keep the part and the can inside the opening of the box, you can spray all day without ever catching a whiff. (I "sniff tested" the rig with lysol to see if I could detect any escaping spray, and I couldn't detect any).

It's a little hokey, but not bad for 1/2 hour's worth of work. Some refinements for sub-zero weather have included a squishy foam gasket between the fan outlet and the window panel, and wide blue painter's tape to seal around the window opening to stop any drafts. With this setup, I can paint all day with no cold air getting in nor paint fumes escaping into my shop.

M

RV9er, I would love to see some more photos as well, How about the inside of the box with the filters and the grate removed. where did you pick up the grate? Lowes, HD? [email protected]

Thanks,

Dave

Blowers

jpurban said:

Nice down draft set-up.

As I sit here in at my computer in Omaha, NE staring out the window at snow and single digit temperatures, I've been contemplating this exact same subject. Cold weather priming will be one of the biggest challenges for me. I think I'll have to set up an arrangement like yours in my basement workshop and then vent the fumes out the basement window.

I do some woodworking as a hobby and have a auto primer HVLP gun for painting/finishing my projects. When I set up a warm weather booth for them, I learned that you need approximately 100 fpm of air passing by your parts to overcome overspray. Your set-up looks like it is about 10 sq. ft., which would ideally mean you have a 1,000 cfm blower. Would you agree with that?

Do you find your "spray booth" is large enough for most parts? How big does a spray booth need to be for RV parts?

Also, got any advice on finding a cheap blower? I've looked at Grainger before, but man, those fans are expensive for this application, especially the explosion proof versions. (I use water-based finishes in my woodworking -- no explosion worries.)

Click to expand...

I used an old JennAire Downdraft stove blower. It could be stronger for my setup but it appears to be adequate. I spray mostly Dupont VeriPrime and it evacuates the fumes pretty good. SOOOO with that said I'd look into appliance stores, they always are hauling out old stuff from homes and just junk it anyway. Another good blower would come from an old oil furnace taken out of a home. Normaly you might expect to pay 30-50$$$ for a good used one. Hope that this helps.
Chuck G.