My Downdraft Paint Booth Finished

[mikemodeler]

Daryl,

If you paint the inside of the booth with gloss white paint, you will still want to follow Harry's tip about using the saran wrap self stick sheets to contain the overspray. I have a primer booth (without a fan) that I built and while I painted the inside with gloss white paint, I didn't line it with the paper and now it is full of paint. No amount of scraping will take it off. Gregg's tip about using veneer allows you to line the inside and then when the paint gets on the sides, you just wipe it with lacquer thinner and a rag.

Harry's idea is cheaper and sounds like you have paint already to do it. Gregg's might cost a few more bucks but in the long run might be easier than replacing the plastic wrap every month (depending on how often you spray).

I am definitely gonna consider building one of these as I like the size and downdraft idea.

[scalenut]

I was thinking of using white adhesive shelf liner on mine, so if it got too crusted it could be peeled and replaced.

sounds like glad press and seal(similar to Harry's saran wrap idea) might be a good sacrificial layer.

[route66modeler]

Hi, What was to total cost of materials for the booth? Thanks,Steve

[Big Daddy]

Steve-- the total cast was 90.00 for the blower and 35.00 for the plywood (3pcs 24x48x3/8) and 5.00 for the filter,15.00 dryer kit

crazyjim- the plastic dryer kit has a square flange with with 2 inches of tube on both sides i just cut one side flush and it fit perfect

[route66modeler]

Hi daryl, I guess the important thing about the blower is that it is sealed to prevent a fire, correct? thanks,Steve

[CadillacPat]

cadillac pat i thought about putting it in the center but with the 1/2 flange that goes around the air exit the blower wouldn't sit flush against back wall,,,and i was worried about not drawing all the fumes and paint away from front so when it was done this afternoon i sprayed my 77 wrecker, i placed it right at the front and with me spraying 4-5 inches from body the fan did a great job and sucked all fumes away so i know now that with it in the back corner it draws from the front with no problem

now with the baffles do you mean just like a 1x2 around the whole perimater?

More like a 1/4" x 2" around the perimeter of the opening. Just like a picture frame.

Here's a little tip I use to keep mine "wetted down"

I vacuum my booth routinely and then I spray it down with a cheap $1 Enamel aerosol from Walmart.

The slight layer of paint tacks down all present lint, dust and overspray.

CadillacPat

[Big Daddy]

Steve the blower is not rated as fire or explosion proof but the motor is out of the air flow which in my opinion and others it should be good enough

[hooterville75]

More like a 1/4" x 2" around the perimeter of the opening. Just like a picture frame.

CadillacPat

So I was going to use little baffles around the entire booth to hold my filter and then pegboard, so I want to do the same putting baffles around the entire perimeter of the spray booth on the complete outside, inside the work area after its completely finished ?

[greymack]

Hey Big, that is a great spray booth. I have a solution to your lighting if you use 2- 16 inch long flourescent tube lights that would give you plenty of lighting.Hope that helps.

[58 Impala]

Nice booth Big Daddy, looks like it will work very well. I have one suggestion, if you use a smooth exhaust tube instead of a corrugated dryer duct you would get better exhaust flow. I'm currently working on getting everything together for my booth. I have acquired a dual squirrel cage blower, the motor is a shade pole motor. The motor doesn't have any brushes to create a spark, it runs on magnetic polarity. I also have it connected to speed control switch. I'm building mine out of a good quality 3/4" plywood. I went to my local building supply store and got a 4'x8' sheet of white cabinet liner, which is a thinner sheet of Formica than is used for counter tops. I'm going to use it to line the whole inside of the booth. The sheet only cost $13. I plan on my making mine a cross draft booth. I was thinking of using either low voltage LED puck lights (no heat) or a small fluorescent fixture for lighting. I also plan on putting a folding lexan door on the front so when I'm done spraying I can turn off the fan and close the booth to minimize dust.

Edited September 30, 2012 by 58 Impala

[Aaronw]

If the side mount fan gives you any problems, I solved the clearance problem by mounting mine on a 1" piece of pine to get it out far enough to clear the back of the booth. Mine is a cross draft but it would just be a matter of mounting yours on its side below, instead of upright on the back as I did. I've actually considered putting some legs on the back and tipping mine upright to make a downdraft, but it works just fine as is, so I've left well enough alone.

[Big Daddy]

Just last week i swithed it from downdraft to crossdraft and i beleive it is way better,, i too put it on a 3/4 inch piece of pine to get the clearence

[CadillacPat]

cadillac pat i thought about putting it in the center but with the 1/2 flange that goes around the air exit the blower wouldn't sit flush against back wall,,,and i was worried about not drawing all the fumes and paint away from front so when it was done this afternoon i sprayed my 77 wrecker, i placed it right at the front and with me spraying 4-5 inches from body the fan did a great job and sucked all fumes away so i know now that with it in the back corner it draws from the front with no problem

now with the baffles do you mean just like a 1x2 around the whole perimater?

BG it looks like you have a good strong fan so that's great.

I mentioned that I like to have my fans centrally located (in the middle of the back and in the middle of the base) just to catch the maximum overspray from my AirBrush.

It's good that you know the fumes are all being extracted quickly but you don't want the tiny particles of overspray to linger around your wet paint.

I have looked at the pics you provided and I would place 4" wide strips (1/4" thick) on the top and bottom face and 2" wide strips on the front sides.

these baffles will help direct and focus incoming air to the center of the Booth. It will increase draw from the fan.

CadillacPat

[my80malibu]

More pictures please .what's the model number on that fan ?

[Big Daddy]

BG it looks like you have a good strong fan so that's great.

I mentioned that I like to have my fans centrally located (in the middle of the back and in the middle of the base) just to catch the maximum overspray from my AirBrush.

It's good that you know the fumes are all being extracted quickly but you don't want the tiny particles of overspray to linger around your wet paint.

I have looked at the pics you provided and I would place 4" wide strips (1/4" thick) on the top and bottom face and 2" wide strips on the front sides.

these baffles will help direct and focus incoming air to the center of the Booth. It will increase draw from the fan.

CadillacPat

pat call me a dumb a-- but not really sure i follow where you suggest the 1/4 inch strips

[CadillacPat]

pat call me a dumb a-- but not really sure i follow where you suggest the 1/4 inch strips

Like a picture frame around the inside face of the opening.

CadillacPat

[Big Daddy]

yea after looking at it i figured it out, will let you know if it makes a difference

[hooterville75]

Big Daddy now that I figured out whats meant by baffles, that makes sense. The cabinet that I'm going to be using as the spray booth already has something similar in the design already so I'm thinking I'm not going to have many modifications other then mounting the blower motor or fan I decide to use. Will post pics after I get it all figured out and totally built.

[lanesteele240]

Looking nice but, i tried the peg board as my " floor"and it plugged in a month. I bought this item from lowes. It came from the screen door section

[AzTom]

Just last week i swithed it from downdraft to crossdraft and i beleive it is way better,, i too put it on a 3/4 inch piece of pine to get the clearence

Doing this did you remove the pegboard from covering the filter? I didn't do the math but it seems a 273 CFM fan would be restricted with the few 1/4 holes that the pegboard has.

Thank you for choosing the correct fan.

I like the fluorescent 5000k to 6500k lighting the best, shows true color and detail better.

[Big Daddy]

yes the pegboard on the back is gone it was there for hanging parts if i needed to when it was set up for downdraft

[MAGNUM4342]

I've always preferred a backdraft booth, but i'm kinda liking the idea of a removable pegboard wall. Is there a real advantage to downdraft vs. backdraft?

[Aaronw]

I've always preferred a backdraft booth, but i'm kinda liking the idea of a removable pegboard wall. Is there a real advantage to downdraft vs. backdraft?

Supposedly gravity helps with a downdraft so they say you only need a fan 1/2 as strong.

I've never used a downdraft booth for comparison, so I can't say iof there is really a difference. I built myself a crossdraft booth mainly because it seemed simpler and closer to what I was already doing before I had a booth, so would take less adjustment.

Oh and technically it is a crossdraft booth, not backdraft. In firefighting a backdraft is an explosion caused when fresh air hits a hot smoldering fire. Considering how frequently the issue of fires comes up in these posts, I find the term backdraft booth amusing as a backdraft booth would be very unpopular.

Backdraft

I know what you meant, it just struck me funny, hope no offense is taken by my amusement.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Aaronw

[MAGNUM4342]

No offense taken. Now that you explained it i'm a little amused at myself. I just called it that because it seemed obvious. My last booth (getting ready to build a new one) drafted straight out the back. I think a cross draft would be better for me as I paint on a lazy suzan and a bottom draft would have too much blockage.

[CadillacPat]

Big Daddy now that I figured out whats meant by baffles, that makes sense.

Hooter a baffle is used to check or break the flow of fluids (air is a fluid).

If you need to you can look it up in the dictionary. I'm sure it will be in there.

CadillacPat

Edited October 1, 2012 by CadillacPat