Clean the garage spotless and remove everything that doesn't need to be in there..within reason. you can use clear plastic attached to the ceiling with firring strips and secure it to the floor with tape. use the search feature on this site for more much better ideas on this subject. Might even be something in the Wiki link on here.

 

You can build a plastic sheet booth using common sense and materials you can get pretty much anywhere. For mine I covered the roof joist since I had insulation up there and secured the plastic by stapling through small pieces of cardboard so the staples wouldn't pull through. Duct tape will seal up the seams. The real challenge is finding a good way to secure the plastic to the floor. Duct tape usually won't do it because of dust on the floors, no matter how much you clean. They'll need to be weighted down along their length.

Buy a couple of box fans to blow out the door. Seal the entire door with plastic and cut holes and seal the fans with duct tape. On the opposite end mount a couple of central heat filters the same way. 3 box fans on high and three or more filters would be better. You'll need to generate a lot of air flow to move the considerable fog out of the work environment.

Tips learned from experience: You need a LOT of lights. Several multi-tube florescent fixtures at a minimum. Once you start spraying the fog will make seeing well difficult, and the better you see the better your work will be. Also the walls of a temporary plastic booth like this will bow inward when set up this way(with the fan blowing out, making a vacuum) so make sure you have lots of extra room when you build the booth size.
You can set it up where you put a filter on the fan and blow into the booth so it has positive pressure. This reduces the chance that dust is pulled into the booth by the vacuum. But I have always used the fan blowing out because it's been more important for me to get all the fumes out of the entire garage. I've had good results using temp booths. Also remember that most trash found in paint is from the vehicle itself, so clean and blow off with compressed air as much as possible before you start shooting color. This is one reason a lot of guys like to epoxy and shoot color all through the interior. Just to lock down sources of dust that might get airborne when hit with the blast from the gun.
Good luck.
Bruce

 

This is how I did mine. It has a 900cfm variable speed fan set at about 75% of rated output in a window and a set of furnace filters to clean the inlet air. The ceiling and garage door were also covered while painting. The results was a 99% free of crud paint job, and probably as dirt free as many body shops.

Dave W

 

Slightly different from those above...I used inexpensive plastic tarps from Fleet Farm. They are heavier weight than visqueen and don't tend to get sucked inward or move outward with the air pressure from the fans and the gun. They also come with grommets so they can be easily hung from the ceiling on hooks which can be left in place for the next time you need to have a paint booth. I also find that they do not require being weighted around the bottom edge. Note also in the picture the Jet air cleaner hanging from the ceiling. In addition to my intake and exhaust fans (I use box fans), I run the Jet on high to help filter the air during the shoot.

In this second shot you can see my "mixing table" in the background as well as a sheet metal box on the table which is for testing the gun pattern and making final adjustments to the paint flow before actually shooting the car. Also note the blue tarp taped to the floor which was an extra precaution because the car body was so close to the floor I didn't want to have any dirt from down in the surface of the cement blowing up into the paint. In addition, I opt to spray the floor down with a little water mist before shooting each coat. I use a small garden type insecticide sprayer to lay down the water. (Note: there are many who argue against using this technique, so keep that in mind.)

Final note regarding "stupid things we all have done". Don't EVER throw open your overheard garage door immediately after shooting. Let the paint dry first. Many a guy has opened the door only to have a cloud of dust and debris fall from the rails down onto a pristine paint job.

 

.......The real challenge is finding a good way to secure the plastic to the floor. Duct tape usually won't do it because of dust on the floors, no matter how much you clean. They'll need to be weighted down along their length........

One way to weight down the plastic is to sew pockets on the bottom of the plastic and slip in metal electrical conduit. You can easily sew the pockets in with a home sewing machine and a helper. This can also be done at the other end so you can screw the conduit to the ceiling with conduit clips. Use the clips with one end open so you only need one screw per clip.

 

One way to weight down the plastic is to sew pockets on the bottom of the plastic and slip in metal electrical conduit. You can easily sew the pockets in with a home sewing machine and a helper. This can also be done at the other end so you can screw the conduit to the ceiling with conduit clips. Use the clips with one end open so you only need one screw per clip.

I just wrapped mine on 2x4's at the floor and stapled it in place - which takes care of the billowing Dewey mentioned. I used 4 or 5 rolls total of 10x20x.003 clear plastic, stapled to furring strips then screwed to the wall studs under the 'rock.

But --- whatever works for you to keep the dust off of the surface is the best way, regardless of how you choose to do build your "booth".

Dave W

 

One way to weight down the plastic is to sew pockets on the bottom of the plastic and slip in metal electrical conduit. You can easily sew the pockets in with a home sewing machine and a helper. This can also be done at the other end so you can screw the conduit to the ceiling with conduit clips. Use the clips with one end open so you only need one screw per clip.

my floor is very un-even (think old barn) i use a chain to keep my plastic walls on the floor

 

i got a new furnace this year and saved the big squirrel cage fan from it for this purpose.
but now that i'm thinking about it, is this going to be too much exhaust fan?
will it be windy in there, or does the fact that you've built a room with only the furnace filters for intake, keep it from getting to much airflow?
the reason i ask is because i use a similar furnace/fan screwed into the rafters for heat in the garage and when it is on it gets down right windy under it.

 

My garage was too small and crowded to paint in it. We built a outdoor booth in the backyard. Might be an option if you have the space. Ended up selling the canopy for what I paid for it. Worked really well and had no trash in paint.
Pictures and write up here if you are interested:
http://chris66dad.tripod.com/id24.html

 

i got a new furnace this year and saved the big squirrel cage fan from it for this purpose.
but now that i'm thinking about it, is this going to be too much exhaust fan?
will it be windy in there, or does the fact that you've built a room with only the furnace filters for intake, keep it from getting to much airflow?
the reason i ask is because i use a similar furnace/fan screwed into the rafters for heat in the garage and when it is on it gets down right windy under it.

Is there a tag on it with cfm flow - or is it history. For a home booth you don't need a lot - just enough to keep the air reasonably clear with out picking up dirt. Then of course, there's the spray gun. I use an Iwata which does not use lots of air volume or pressure. If you have a HF 'purple' or similar, you need lots of both pressure and volume which of course puts out clouds of overspray .

Dave W

 

i got a new furnace this year and saved the big squirrel cage fan from it for this purpose.
but now that i'm thinking about it, is this going to be too much exhaust fan?
will it be windy in there, or does the fact that you've built a room with only the furnace filters for intake, keep it from getting to much airflow?
the reason i ask is because i use a similar furnace/fan screwed into the rafters for heat in the garage and when it is on it gets down right windy under it.

I'd think too much was better than too little. If it's too much, simple duct work with adjustable side exhausts would allow extra air to blow out. If the fan is on the exhaust side, the same applies - adjustable ducting would allow it to pull air from the sides and reduce pull from the garage. I could make do with it!

 

I just wanted to point out my biggest mistake when I first started. After a few tries, and lots of dust I realized the debris was coming from my hair. Like most people I thought a fancy paint coverall was to protect the user, not the other way around. Now with the coveralls I spend half as much time trying to get the room dust free, and concentrate as much on the vehicle, and myself being dust free. I even shower, and put on clean lint free clothing under the coveralls before painting now. You may notice that when you bend over in coveralls a whoosh of pressure will billow out of your hood, thats not good so keep clean even underneath.

 

Be careful with hanging plastic on the ceiling. Overspray and dust will stick to it and if slightly disturbed it WILL fall onto your project. I know from personal experience. Here are a few pics from my garage. I have a 24" fan built into the back wall. I typically clean the garage the day before and do my masking, then the next day, lighty blow the car off and tack and shoot. I still get dust, but it sand out. I'm always looking for tips on garage set-ups!

I typically remove any large items and then hang plastic around the compressor to stop any dust from flying off of it.

My fan. I built a box to hold filters infront of it. I have fresh air that enters from the other side. Although the fan can pull more air the can be supplied. I may install a window on the front of my garage come spring that I can slide a filter in. So I'm not sucking air through EVERY single crack in the garage and pullling dust.

13 hours later, lol

 

OMG what a hassle all this is!!!

The whole reason I want to paint my car at home is because I don't have a lot of time and money to spend on it!!! It looks like there is easily as much work just prepping the garage to spray than the actual paint job on the car! I had no idea this was all so involved. What about this: are there paint booths that I can just use once to spray my car in, so that I don't have to make one at home from scratch? I live in a medium sized town and don't have the room outside my house to spray a lot without it possibly blowing over to the neighbor's cars/house.

 

I didnt set my garage up just to paint one car . I've sprayed in my garage before I did all the work to set it up "somewhat" correctly and all I did was buy a $20 roll of plastic and some box fans with filters. Just make sure your area is CLEAN. You cant expect to paint outside on a windy day in the wide open and think you will have a showroom finish.

If this is the only job you wanna do, then you can cheaply do it! I had originally shot my car one color(grey), then later decided on a 2 tone.

 

Be sure to have the air compressor outside the paint area,, it will cast off oil into the air and cause problems

 

If I'm not mistaken, one of the hot rog mags did a car with a roller a few years ago - and it did look half way decent --- from 25 feet and at 50mph.

What I'm saying, you get back what you put into a paint job. What you possibly haven't considered is the cost of doing a car paint job using decent middle of the road materials. Automotive paint, a national brand in anything but black or white plus the primers, fillers, thinners, tape, sandpaper is in the high hundreds of dollars and then some with pearls and metallics doubling that number. Then there are the labor hours to prep the body which can be minimal to hundreds. So with that said, a day of work plus $50-$100 of materials to build a booth - dam' cheap

 

just a thought, i had maaco paint my kids jetta, when they were having a sale.
they did it cheaper than i could buy the materials for.
just remember you get what you pay for, the car looks like it was painted at maaco for a sale price.
but it is now dark blue and it was silver and thats good enough for what we wanted. :thumbup:
and it will probably will all peel off in a couple more years. :spank:

 

I painted my last car on a 40 degree day. I have heater vents in the drop ceiling which I put 2x2 furnace filters over because I needed the heat. Normally I just cover them up.

Door is covered in plastic and fans taped in bottom. The garage door itself was left cracked to keep as much heat as possible in.

Walk in door has filters which also pulls in warm air from the other rooms.

This room in my poll barn was specifically laid out for occasionally painting cars. Floors, walls, drop ceiling, all painted with epoxy floor paint. Drain in center. Base board is 1x4 treated lumber and caulked around edges which I also staple plastic to from time to time. Before painting I pull the hose in, close the door and hose it down from the ceiling, walls and floor.

I was able to keep the bottom rear body of the car closest to the garage door between 60-65 on a 40 degree (high) day.

 

Oh, and that tube behind the door goes to a fresh air turbine on the other side of the wall for breathing:

 

Built a pressurized booth in my garage when I painted my '41. Worked very well using three boxed fans supplying air and two sucking air out.

Centerline
HotRodsAndHemis.com

"Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines." – Enzo Ferrari

 

...are there paint booths that I can just use once to spray my car in...

Might be. It's worth checking out. You'll need to find a friendly body shop manager or painter. Suggest doing it after hours or on a weekend when they are not busy. I know of one shop in my local area that would probably let me use their booth (or rent it for a nominal fee), but I also imagine many would not due to liability issues and other potential problems.

 

i got a new furnace this year and saved the big squirrel cage fan from it for this purpose.
but now that i'm thinking about it, is this going to be too much exhaust fan?
will it be windy in there, or does the fact that you've built a room with only the furnace filters for intake, keep it from getting to much airflow?
the reason i ask is because i use a similar furnace/fan screwed into the rafters for heat in the garage and when it is on it gets down right windy under it.

Not being a lemming, I did exactly what you are asking about Post 18, of the link. I found it to be a great way, the blower is 3 ton, having the duct move able allowed me to get it where it would clear the room. It acted like a down draft, I got 0 dirt in the paint. The over spray was minimal, one of the biggest down falls of the box fans. I did use the furnace filters, at floor level wall to wall. Want any more information PM me happy to lend a hand.
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/gar...com/forum/garage-paint-booth-few-questions-concerning-design-safety-182483.html

 

Not being a lemming, I did exactly what you are asking about Post 18, of the link. I found it to be a great way, the blower is 3 ton, having the duct move able allowed me to get it where it would clear the room. It acted like a down draft, I got 0 dirt in the paint. The over spray was minimal, one of the biggest down falls of the box fans. I did use the furnace filters, at floor level wall to wall. Want any more information PM me happy to lend a hand.
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/gar...com/forum/garage-paint-booth-few-questions-concerning-design-safety-182483.html

thanks :thumbup:

 

I didnt set my garage up just to paint one car . I've sprayed in my garage before I did all the work to set it up "somewhat" correctly and all I did was buy a $20 roll of plastic and some box fans with filters. Just make sure your area is CLEAN. You cant expect to paint outside on a windy day in the wide open and think you will have a showroom finish.

If this is the only job you wanna do, then you can cheaply do it! I had originally shot my car one color(grey), then later decided on a 2 tone.

ok, where did you get the 20 dollar roll of plastic and how much square feet