Question about dust control

[Samuel S]

Hey guys!

This topic was probably covered numerous times but I've been having serious dust issues lately..

I paint in the garage in a well-ventilated area and I clean the garage quite often.

But whenever I paint, I have all these specks of dust sticking to the body prior to painting and during painting...

Is it something that has to do with wiping causing the dust to stick to the surface? If you could help me out with possible solutions, it will be much appreciated!

 

(Now I have to strip paint on couple cars  )

 

Happy new year!

[BigTallDad]

I too paint in my garage; I also do woodworking in my garage, so sawdust is abundant.

On a day when I plan to paint, I do not open the garage door until painting is complete and the model is housed in a dust-proof case for drying. Opening/closing my door stirs up the dust. When I'm done spraying, the door is opened and the fans are turned on. Even though I wear a respirator, I don't do prolonged painting...I break the job down into several steps.

What are you using to wipe down the model? I prefer used dryer sheets (Downy etc.) since they are intended to fight the dreaded static cling. Don't use new dryer sheets, they could leave a residue.

[Samuel S]

9 hours ago, BigTallDad said:

I too paint in my garage; I also do woodworking in my garage, so sawdust is abundant.

On a day when I plan to paint, I do not open the garage door until painting is complete and the model is housed in a dust-proof case for drying. Opening/closing my door stirs up the dust. When I'm done spraying, the door is opened and the fans are turned on. Even though I wear a respirator, I don't do prolonged painting...I break the job down into several steps.

What are you using to wipe down the model? I prefer used dryer sheets (Downy etc.) since they are intended to fight the dreaded static cling. Don't use new dryer sheets, they could leave a residue.

I meant cleaning and sanding the body causes static.  I just bought devilbliss paint anti static  prep wipes.

[jaymcminn]

I just picked up a Tamiya anti-static dusting brush. It seems to work pretty well for finished models, but I haven't gotten to see if it reduces the tendency for dust to stick to plastic during the painting process yet. Maybe it'll help keep the dreaded cat hairs out of my paint!

[restoman]

I paint in my garage, which still has a dirt floor and many, many gaps for wind to blow through. It's an old, dusty place, with lots of dust and cobwebs in the rafters. Not exactly a proper spray booth...

Here's what works for me:

I keep the big door closed. Always. The man door is kept open, as that is my exhaust area. I don't use an exhaust fan - moving air out means it has to come in from somewhere. Air movement means dust movement...

My compressor has a 20 gallon tank, so I fill the tank and then shut the compressor down so it doesn't blow air out the exhaust. 

I wet the floor in the area where I'm standing/sitting. Sometimes I'll water outside the door if it's breezy out.

I lightly blow the dust off of everything ( table, parts, body, etc.) at least 20 minutes before I'm ready to spray. That gives lots of time for any dust to settle. No more than 20 psi.

From that point on, I wear nitrile gloves. No loose clothing, no shirt sleeves.

No paint gets into the paint gun unless it goes through a proper paint strainer. I use a new strainer every time I have to add paint. I use a HVLP mini spray gun for almost all my spray jobs. I find it much faster, easier to control, and easier to hold than a n air brush. That\s just my preference.

I wipe everything down lightly with an alcohol swab immediately before I'm ready to spray.

Then, I use a tack cloth over everything to be painted. Just a light pass. I keep the cloth in a zip-lock bag when not in use. I can easily get a summer of paint work out of a single tack cloth.

Here's the most important part: I don't roam all over the place when the paint is wet. In fact, I arrange it all so I can stand still and spray. Movement creates air movement... and most of the dust in any paint job comes from the painter. Dust in inevitable, in some form or another, so anything that can be done to minimize it shows in the final product. 

Hope this helps... 

[Samuel S]

1 hour ago, jaymcminn said:

I just picked up a Tamiya anti-static dusting brush. It seems to work pretty well for finished models, but I haven't gotten to see if it reduces the tendency for dust to stick to plastic during the painting process yet. Maybe it'll help keep the dreaded cat hairs out of my paint!

Oh! I heard ostrich feathers make the surface anti-static! Many car manufacturers use the feather and seels like Tamiya brush is made of it! I just picked up 50 packs of devilbliss anti-static wipe for $20.

[Samuel S]

1 hour ago, restoman said:

I paint in my garage, which still has a dirt floor and many, many gaps for wind to blow through. It's an old, dusty place, with lots of dust and cobwebs in the rafters. Not exactly a proper spray booth...

Here's what works for me:

I keep the big door closed. Always. The man door is kept open, as that is my exhaust area. I don't use an exhaust fan - moving air out means it has to come in from somewhere. Air movement means dust movement...

My compressor has a 20 gallon tank, so I fill the tank and then shut the compressor down so it doesn't blow air out the exhaust. 

I wet the floor in the area where I'm standing/sitting. Sometimes I'll water outside the door if it's breezy out.

I lightly blow the dust off of everything ( table, parts, body, etc.) at least 20 minutes before I'm ready to spray. That gives lots of time for any dust to settle. No more than 20 psi.

From that point on, I wear nitrile gloves. No loose clothing, no shirt sleeves.

No paint gets into the paint gun unless it goes through a proper paint strainer. I use a new strainer every time I have to add paint. I use a HVLP mini spray gun for almost all my spray jobs. I find it much faster, easier to control, and easier to hold than a n air brush. That\s just my preference.

I wipe everything down lightly with an alcohol swab immediately before I'm ready to spray.

Then, I use a tack cloth over everything to be painted. Just a light pass. I keep the cloth in a zip-lock bag when not in use. I can easily get a summer of paint work out of a single tack cloth.

Here's the most important part: I don't roam all over the place when the paint is wet. In fact, I arrange it all so I can stand still and spray. Movement creates air movement... and most of the dust in any paint job comes from the painter. Dust in inevitable, in some form or another, so anything that can be done to minimize it shows in the final product. 

Hope this helps... 

Cool!  Thanks a lot for all the details!

[Miatatom]

I  spray in a spray booth I constructed. I spray them with 80% water  and 20% isopropyl alcohol and blow them dry with compressed air.

[Warren D]

13 hours ago, Miatatom said:

I  spray in a spray booth I constructed. I spray them with 80% water  and 20% isopropyl alcohol and blow them dry with compressed air.

Unless your compressor is oiless, you run the risk of oil contamination from the compressed air.

[restoman]

15 minutes ago, Warren D said:

Unless your compressor is oiless, you run the risk of oil contamination from the compressed air.

If the compressor is that worn out, it's going to contaminate the paint coming out of the gun too...

[Cornpatch]

                          Hi Guys !

                                    I also spray in a booth but with the part sitting in the booth it can still get dust in the wet paint, ask me how I know this. LOL

                                    So to cure this, I went to the Dollar Store and bought one of those big plastic cake covers. The kind the wife uses to cover left over cake, if there is any.

                                     I took the lid of it and drilled 4 1/2 inch holes around the bottom, than took some window screening and epoxied it tight around the holes so the inside can breath.

                                     Now when I paint, I move the wet painted piece to the plate on the bottom of the cake thing (comes with the top as a complete unit) and cover the object. With the holes in the bottom, the paint can gas out and no dust or foreign object can get in                           

                                                                       Jeff

 

[BigTallDad]

3 hours ago, Cornpatch said:

                          Hi Guys !

                                    I also spray in a booth but with the part sitting in the booth it can still get dust in the wet paint, ask me how I know this. LOL

                                    So to cure this, I went to the Dollar Store and bought one of those big plastic cake covers. The kind the wife uses to cover left over cake, if there is any.

                                     I took the lid of it and drilled 4 1/2 inch holes around the bottom, than took some window screening and epoxied it tight around the holes so the inside can breath.

                                     Now when I paint, I move the wet painted piece to the plate on the bottom of the cake thing (comes with the top as a complete unit) and cover the object. With the holes in the bottom, the paint can gas out and no dust or foreign object can get in                           

                                                                       Jeff

 

How about a picture, please.

[Miatatom]

7 hours ago, Warren D said:

Unless your compressor is oiless, you run the risk of oil contamination from the compressed air.

I've got two in line filters to keep the air clean and dry.

[bugman9317]

I think he is talking about one of these. That is a great idea with a few holes in the bottom so the paint can gas out.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2018 by bugman9317

[Pete J.]

I have always painted in my garage and it is a dusty place as I do all sorts of work in it including woodworking.  My solution is a simple one.  I keep a large hand spritzer bottle(Home Depot has a Zep bottle) with distilled water and 20% alcohol in it.  Before I spray, a quick wipe down with that and a cotton(not microfiber) cloth and then a light misting of the air and area around were I am going to spray.  The latter part helps remove most of the dust from the air.   I stop between coats to re-mist the area.  Then I made a dust free cabinet with a HEPA air filter blowing air into it to let the piece dry. Just some simple fixes that seem to work for me. 

[Cornpatch]

                Hi guys !

                          Yes the picture that Bugman9317 put up is what I am talking about. With the few modifications that I did to it, it works great for me.

                           Sorry Big Tall Dad and others,  There is just no way I can put pictures on here,  2 reasons I ain't smart enough to do that as I have no idea how it's done and I don't even own a camera, oh yea I don't own a smart phone either, for that part I don't even have a cell phone.

                             I am just a 71 year old disabled guy who is attached to a oxygen machine 24/7 and stays at home and works on his several hobbies. Who also enjoys reading this forum.

                                                                                             Jeff

[Miatatom]

Considering your situation, Jeff, the cake cover thingie is probably perfect for you. Cheap too!

As for a paint booth, are you really using an enclosure or just one of the exhaust fan systems that many folks call a booth? To me, a booth is an enclosure with some sort of control over air flow, filtration and exhaust. Here's a pic of it originally. I've made several modifications to it since I first built it. I'll post some pics sometime.

[DiscoRover007]

I use a booth but not the fan. It’s essentially a metal box for me. But before I paint I take a windex bottle and or spray bottle with water and spray every where. The air, the booth, the floor, my shoes, my pants, even my arms. You need to seal any dust you can imagine kicking up before it happens.

For the body prep. I usually wash the body before painting depending on how much visible dust there is. I then use my airbrush at high psi to blow it off being careful to hit every crevice.

This usually takes care of about 96% of my dust problems.

[DiscoRover007]

12 hours ago, Miatatom said:

Considering your situation, Jeff, the cake cover thingie is probably perfect for you. Cheap too!

As for a paint booth, are you really using an enclosure or just one of the exhaust fan systems that many folks call a booth? To me, a booth is an enclosure with some sort of control over air flow, filtration and exhaust. Here's a pic of it originally. I've made several modifications to it since I first built it. I'll post some pics sometime.

Wow that is an epic set up. What did that cost you and do you still have the dimensions? Would love to mimic that one day.

[Psychographic]

Going back to the static problem, a simple way to remove it is to wet a paper towel and wring the water out of it until it is barely damp. Blot the part with the towel, if you wrung it out properly the moisture transferred to your part will evaporate almost immediately. DO NOT rub the towel over the surface, just blot it. Use the hottest water you can to speed the evaporation process.

 

I learned this trick while pinstriping fiberglass parts. When you wipe them down with a wax and grease remover you put an enormous amount of static into them, As the brush gets close to the parts you can watch the bristles fan out on the end of the brush. The line you lay down will look like a fuzzy caterpillar, if you slowly pull the brush from the surface you will see microdops of paint forming on the surface as they jump from the brush to the part. I have pulled a brush as much as 3 feet from the surface and the paint will still jump from it to the part.

Edited January 7, 2018 by Psychographic

[Miatatom]

On 1/7/2018 at 10:28 AM, DiscoRover007 said:

Wow that is an epic set up. What did that cost you and do you still have the dimensions? Would love to mimic that one day.

Initially, I had about $230, but the modifications I've made have added to the price. Probably around $300, I guess. Some of the things I've done is add much, much, much more lighting and enlarging the door. I'll post some more pics and a description.

Edited January 17, 2018 by Miatatom

[Miatatom]

Oh, dimensions are 2' deep, 3' wide and 3' tall.

[Cornpatch]

          

On 1/6/2018 at 8:36 PM, Miatatom said:

Considering your situation, Jeff, the cake cover thingie is probably perfect for you. Cheap too!

As for a paint booth, are you really using an enclosure or just one of the exhaust fan systems that many folks call a booth? To me, a booth is an enclosure with some sort of control over air flow, filtration and exhaust. Here's a pic of it originally. I've made several modifications to it since I first built it. I'll post some pics sometime.

                  Oh heck no I don't use anything that elaborate., that is a great looking booth.  My father built mine, seems like a hundred years ago now. It's built out of cheep plywood, it's far far from perfect but it works now as it did than. It was made to keep the paint from getting all over the garage when I was younger, a lot younger. Has a little hole where you put the hose in  and a small blower (original blower) turn it on and out goes most of the over spray. Line the inside with newspaper and change as needed. Crude but it works.                                                                                                        

                  When you relay on Social Security for a lot of your income, you sure as hell can't afford anything like yours,. You said that you built it, hey wood ain't cheep.  200.00 hell if I spent that, my dogs wouldn't get to eat for a couple of months, and that ain't going to happen, they eat first than I eat the scraps. LOL LOL

                                                                                       Jeff

[Miatatom]

Thanks for the compliments, Jeff. Since I work in the basement and spray lacquers a lot, I had to build something to get the fumes out and provide some sort of dust control. No method is perfect but this booth helps.