hey all.. nice site.. i've been lurking for a while but finally had a question worthy of registering for..

anyway, heres my issue... i just moved into a new house, and i'm planning to get a 60 gallon compressor so that i can run decent air tools and spray paint in my garage..

the problem is my gas hot water heater is in my garage, and i'm concerned that if i try to spray any paint i will get a free sun tan courtesy of flammable paint fumes..

do i have a legitimate concern or am i being over paranoid? can i just turn the heater to "off" while i spray and until the garage thoroughly airs out? when the heater kicks on open flame is in clear view inside the heater..

sorry if this is a common sense question.. thanks for any advice..

- eddie -

I would shut it down while spraying. Unless you plan to spray on a daily basis that should be fine. I would also use a fan and filter system of some kind. Maybe even make a home made booth from some PVC and clear plastic.

I second custom chrome, deffinatly shut it down. Also second the home made booth.

HK

I will third that

I have sprayed 3 cars in my garage but have screwed strips of 1x to the ceiling so I can staple plastic to make a booth.Also have the water heater and furnace for house in the garage + 2 garage heater on the ceiling all gas fired. I open the garage door and the let it down on a 2' square fan then bag the garage door with painters drop cloths. Then open my back garage door and part of the plastic for air flow. Haven't shut down any of the heaters though. The fumes don't get that thick with HVLP. Have sprayed when 10 degrees outside and worked good. Got one just primered today. Ray

great! thanks for all the advice.. i think building a booth as descibed above sounds like fun.. where can i find large sheets of clear plastic to enclose a booth?

hk,

as a side note, thanks for all of your hard work on the KB.. i've read a lot of your tutorials and have decided to use ppg paints based on your recomendations..

- eddie -

new question... should i be concerned about overspray traveling out of my garage and onto my neighbors car about 20 feet away? i dont have a "back" garage door to open, unless i want paint fumes in my kitchen...

thanks...

- eddie -

No, 20ft is a pretty considerable distance for overspray to travel. Its heavy a should have fallen to the ground before it reaches the car, but if your concerned just ask him to move it or put on a cover.

HK

I built a homemade paint booth in my shop out of 5 mill(I think)plastic and used an attic exhaust fan to pull out fumes. I accidentally forgot to move my truck that was outside the door one day when painting, but to my surprise had no overspray on it. If you are concerned, you could cover your exhaust fan with A/C filter material. It will catch most of the overspray as the air exits. I did this to keep paint out of my efan motor.

Chris

My $.02... but I would NOT spray in any area where there is an ignition source, I don't care what anyone has done. Any particulate which is flammable, ie.: paint,thinners, stabilizers, reducers- can EXPLODE and do so violently!!! I had a brother-in-law killed in a similar circumstance. Remember SAFETY FIRST!!! You can't enjoy a neat ride if you're maimed....or worse!!! take care of yourself!!

I agree with mr dragon j I would add that storing anything than has flamable fumes in a room with an open flame is very dangerous

so are you guys telling me dont do it at all, or are you saying make sure the heater is off before spraying?

Just turn the heater off.

I was spray painting a mail box. I had a cinderblok i was painting on next to the gas water heater and i ignited the overspray.

Yeah, Eddie- put up your plastic but, of course, keep it away from the heater and shut the heater down when you spray. Even turn off the pilot light- no source of ignition should be in any area you spray- just for your own safety. Good Luck!! And enjoy it- painting is FUN and REWARDING!!!