Thread: Setting Up A Paint Shop...

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I've been building a stand alone structure on my property that will become my paint shop when it is finished; however, there is one thing I cannot figure out about setting up a paint shop. How exactly do I go about keeping the "painting area" of the shop dust-free?

As my name implies (antique) I may know of an old fashioned way that I use when I paint to keep the dust away. I use hair spray on the walls and the floor before I paint. I spray the hairspray and leave it alone for about 20 min. before painting. The hairspray is possitively charged and the dust is negatively charged, it pulls the dust to it like a magnet. I almost never have to wetsand a car while using this method.

Seal the inside walls with caulking when you panel or sheetrock it to eliminate drafts. Your exhaust fan should have ductwork along the floor so that dust and overspray are sucked down to the floor and then out. Use Furnace filters on the air intake. You need incoming air for the exhaust fan to work properly. Spray the floor with a hose before you start. You could spray down the walls too If you don't accumulate a lot of clutter in there. When I was painting in my dusty garage I stapled a plastic dropcloth to the rafters over the car to catch any dust that might fall.
AL

Being strapped for space, I take everything out of the shop, everything to the walls. sweep it and then blow it out with a leaf blower. Then I let it settle and do it again. Repeat as nessesary until I don't stir up any dust w/the blower. Then the car after gettin' the same treatment, goes back in and the place gets the garden hose trreatment. I always spray the final clear coat very early in the morning, before the flies and mosquitos wake up. Always comes out good. I don't paint many cars, so this has to do. I always out of habbit I suppose wet sand and buff the final coat anyway just to get that wet look.

I once (when I didn't have a garage) painted my truck outside. FInal coat was Delclear. I had it all preped and got up real early one moring, wipped the dew off. As soon as I could wipe the body off without the dew coming back, I sprayed it. Came out like glass, no dirt not even on the hood. No one could beleive I shot it outside. Maybe I just got lucky.

For a paint shop, cleanliness is next to Godliness. I regularly vacuum all the nooks and crannys, clean the airfilters, ( in and out). And wipe down the whole area, ( walls, floor, ceiling) with a wet rag to remove loose paint particles.
No sanding or bodywork in the paintbooth. If you have been doing either of those, you will need to either change out of dusty clothes or wear a coverall so you dont bring dust into the paint area. Make sure the paint area is as 'dusttight' as possible with only filtered air coming in. ( I use furnace filters covered with fine silk)
A few hours before painting, clean the paint area and let it settle,... a few minutes before painting, mist the entire inside very lightly with water ( mixed with a few drops of dishsoap) to trap all the dust thats left and get rid of static electricity. Let that settle a couple minutes, wipe the car down one more time with clean dry tack rags.