Well, first Marc, and then Warren, requested additional details on my home-made spray booth.The details first:1. I used four 3/4-inch thick foam insulation sheets: One for the back, one on each side, and one for the top.
2. Foam sheets are 4 X 8 feet, about $7 each – a LOT cheaper than 3/4-inch plywood, and also a LOT lighter and easy to handle!
3. I taped all the foam edges with wide duct tape, to stiffen and protect the edges .
4. I used wide Velcro strips with the adhesive backing, so that I could stick the strips to the foam insulation.
5. I purchased a 2,200 CFM tubeaxial exhaust fan from Grainger; it has a Dayton motor. It is explosion-proof, which is probably not necessary, since I spray only waterborne coatings.
6. Although I did not do it, it might be desirable to use duct tape all along the sheet edges, to firmly attach the sides to the back. I have not found this to be necessary, except for short runs.NOTE: I believe that any high-capacity blower behind the booth will do, as long as it can somehow be attached securely to the back of the booth.
Now for the fun stuff:
On the back sheet I cut a hole which is identical to the inside diameter of the tube – this allowed me to use duct tape to secure the flange on the tube to the back:
The back sheet with metal mesh, to prevent the filters from being sucked into the exhaust system. I made a simple frame and taped it to the back with duct tape to hold the screen in place, and to allow easy changes, if needed. The black stuff is some of the Velcro strips I used to “hinge” the sides to the back:
In this next photo I show a little more detail on how the Velcro strips make up the “hinge”. One strip is simply adhered to the back of the back sheet, and the other strip is adhered to the inside surface of the side sheet of insulation (as is also shown in the photo above):
The shop is heated in winter and cooled in summer, so I tried to minimize hot and cold air losses. Discussing options with the Grainger Tech Support people led me to buy the exhaust louver system, which opens with high air flow and closes when the fan is shut off:
The finishing touch: To keep rain, snow, sleet, etc., out of the finishing room, the Love of my Life (LOML) made a Naugahyde cover for the louvers – this also helps to minimize losses of hot and cold air:
That’s it! I sure had fun creating this booth, and preparing this writeup for your enjoyment. Good night.
Al
Now, two photos of the finishing room shortly after completion, i.e., still quite clean. First, the spray booth, made of foam insulation material, essentially “stitched” together using Velcro strips with the self-adhesive backing; this allows enlarging or reducing the booth opening, depending on the size of the piece being sprayed:
