Thread: Ventilation Dilemna

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Hey guys, I have a question about the best way to ventilate a home brewed paint booth. I noticed somewhere that I can purchase "spark proof fans"?

I read an article in an old issue of "Car Craft" where one of the editors created a "bomb" by using regular box type fans duct taped to the windows, and even admitted that this wasn't safe, then proceeded to do a whole bc/cc paint job using high wattage halogen lighting!
That just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen to me, and I'm not even a pro, just adding 2 + 2.

If I paint in my garage, I'll definitely use flourescent lighting, but I haven't figured out the safest way to exit the fumes.
Some common furnace filters attached to a plastic sheet across the garage door opening at the bottom of the sheet seems like a good idea to filter the incoming air, as illustrated in the "Car Craft" article, but there's no way I'm risking using some $10 WallyWorld box fan with all those volatile fumes running through them.

Can anyone point me in a safer direction like where can I purchase these "spark proof fans", or some kind of blower where the motor won't be exposed to the fumes?

Thanks.

Hadn't thought about the motor-driven bomb issue. I read something a while ago dealing with making up a paint booth using visquine (clear sheeting) hung from sched 40 PVC sprinkler pipe and clamped together with spring clamps to prevent damaging the sheeting. Duct tape should work as well.

Use of the filters was required, but I think they said to put them between the box fans and the booth, and force air into the booth. I think that avoided the vapors/sparks issue, if memory serves. You'd want something to either filter the exit air (to prevent backflow) or to seal up when the fans stopped. You're applying positive pressure by blowing into the booth, so you can even open up a "door" to walk out after painting.

Reminds me of our old boss at the JC where I worked 30-odd years ago. He painted the college vehicles in the mechanics' shop one week, and had a sign on the door that said "Open this door if you want to die!" He had us hose down the floor, but we couldn't hose down the pit, or the walls (electrical) or the ceiling (too high). Paint wasn't bad.... at 50 feet.

Oh, the visquine booth also seals the vapors away from the lights and so on, if you vent it outside through the garage door like you were discussing.

I'd think about an old swamp cooler, fitted out with filters, as a fan to blow into the booth. Good discussion - I need to paint a couple of cars this summer. I'm planning on using the visquine booth, but will watch for other suggestions.

Squirrel cage swamp coolers was a term used in the Car Craft article I was referring to, but I wasn't sure what they are?
Would that be like an old furnace blower motor, belt driven, with the motor out of the direct path of the vapors?

I also thought of the fan blowing "into" the area through the furnace filters as a way to keep the vapors from exiting through the fan motors.

But really, it would help me if I knew how a "real" downdraft paint booth works and the set-up.

My intended method was to creating a "drawing in" of the filtered air, but I'm not sure how the fumes will exit if I blow the air in through the outside of the filters. Won't the vapors and overspray just settle wherever if there isn't something pulling the fumes out?

Thanks.

The Navy uses a spark proof sealed box fan to desmoke after a fire. I am in the CoastGuard, and we use the same thing. It is made by Super Vac. Look at this website.

http://www.supervac.com/elecfan.htm

Thanks for that link. Good info.

It just happens that the nearest dealer is in close proximity to me.

They sound expensive though, I couldn't get any price info, but something that is usually industrial rated or used by rescue personell is probably out of my price range.

I'll check 'em out though.

I'm still open for suggestions on the ventilation issue though if anyone has any thing to offer.

Thanks.

Seems like if you positioned the inlet air with filters up as high as you could on one end of the enclosure and positioned the outlet fan on the other end of the enclosure down as low to the floor as you could, you'd be pretty close to right, wouldn't you?

The only better way I could see is if you started from scratch and dug a pit, then used grating to roll the car on. You could have a shallow pool of water in the bottom of the pit and position a duct in the side wall of the pit to pull the air out of the enclosure.

The one thing that hasn't been talked about much here is lighting. I have painted a few cars in my time and I never had enough light. The last one I did, I had a buddy follow me around with a light. Strictly low-buck, never had enough money to do it right. A row of fluorescent lights all along the floor at the wall would do wonders in addition to overhead lights.

Well, either way I go, it'll be costing me a few bucks for sure, but I'll want this set-up for future painting also.
I have an '88 Lincoln Mark VII LSC that will need a paint job eventually, besides the Mustang I'm wanting to paint.
My garage is small, like 1 1/2 car sized. It's only 16'x20', barely enough room to walk around front and back, so I'm thinking I'll need to disassemble the front end Fascia and fenders to be able to just walk around the back of the car.

This ventilation thing has me a bit stumped though. It has to be safe, but not too involved or expensive. I found out firsthand when I shot the primer in the garage how toxic the fumes can be, but I did it with just the big door open and nothing drawing or pushing the fumes out. I looked almost like a red fox when I was done. Ha ha....red fox ('83 Mustang GT). I really want to do this paint job myself. I already seen what $4000 at a body shop bought my insurance company on my Dodge truck. I could've done a better job myself for a 1/4 of that cost.

Surely, more rodders here have painted their own cars and will chime in eventually. I'm patient, but have to go for now.
I have until the end of summer weather to try and get this done.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Oh BTW, concerning the lighting, I plan on just using those 4' dual tube shop lights mounted about waist high on the garage walls all the way around and overhead. I'm not sure how safe they are, but the flourescents don't generate anywhere near as much heat as those dual 500 watt halogens on tripods which I already have but won't be using. I want to live to "see" my finished work.

One way you could get out of the vetillation problem for less than using one of those Navy aproved box fans would be to rig a decent sized fan to an electric motor via a belt drive. I have a friend that has done this with great success. It was really cheap and simple to put up and take down. The fan was enclosed in a squirrel cage and had plywood sheets that where cut to fit to the door opening. The roll up door was rolled down to sit on top of the fan/plywood rig. The electric motor was outside of the space, and not in any contact with the atmosphere being pulled from the space, running the fan via belt drive. That rig moved a WHOLE LOT of air too. Where it sat on the floor, it gave a nice little downdraft too, and that is always a plus. Takes a little thinking and engineering to your needs, but it is an option. All you need is an old Electric motor. I am not sure where you are, but I would recommend an old poultry or dairy farm to get a motor from. My family had a poultry farm, and we had scads of motors laying around to run the ventilation in our barns. You could likely get the whole belt drive, fan and motor in one shot. Hope that idea helps.

Yep! That's exactly what I had in mind.

We Ford guys must think alike...if it sounds like a plan, rig it and make it work. lol.

I was just hoping to hear from other rodders who have firsthand experience doing these home brewed concoctions...how much? Does it work effectively? Would you use it again? And so on.

I'll figure it out. But I'd still like to hear some more ideas, bring it on rodders.

Thanks, P.T.

Here are 45 threads dealing with "paint booth"
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sea...der=descending

Just remember that is not enough ventilation for You.Most new paints require a seperate clean air source for you to breathe. Filtered masks are not enough.Water born, not water base , are the worst, urethanes aren't any better. Carlg

Originally posted by techinspector1
Here are 45 threads dealing with "paint booth"
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sea...der=descending

So....what you're sayin' is....Read this, you're takin' up too much bandwidth. lol

Years ago I was told by an old timer not to run the vent fan at full speed. He said it created too much air flow and could suck in more trash in a home made booth . . I have always since turned my fan about half speed and had no problems. I sort of gauged it by spraying some cheap paint and watched how quickly it cleared out fo the booth . Just a thought . Darin

i used to paint all the time with holdyourbreath ventilation and sometimes filteredlitcigarette ventilation, but it depends the solvent-paint system used, probably enamels being slightly less flammable
dont turn the fan UP or you will gets megadirt in the paint-
think gentle calm and wait for the cloud to disperse if you can, and have a good filter on your paint gun air, preferably next to the gun...
watering the floor could help both cleanliness and flammability

go out and take a breather or have your own air supply for breathing (big aquarium airpump laying around for a supplement?). a carbon filter respirator helps lots too

i have a old bodyshop guy in my area who has a small shop and homemade booth. he took a 45 gallon barrel and got a fan that just fits in it then built a carrier with bearings and mounted the fan inside the barrel. then he mounted a explosion proof ( i dont think he needs it but the motor is exposed ot the elements) 3/4 hp motor on the outside of the barrel and runs the fan with a v belt and pulley. he has 2 of these in his booth and they move a surprising amount of air. the motor is on the exterior of the buildiing with just the inner part of the barrel in the booth.
i bult a cheap air mover for my shop for welding. i took a old 1/2 hp elric motor and welded a 4 blade fan from a pinto on a pulley on one end. the fan is mounted up high and can be moved so i can get fumes outsie when the door is open as fast as possible. it moves a lot of air.
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