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Blow Up Spray Booth

Randy Anderson

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I've started putting higher quality finishes on my larger hollow forms and needed a place to do some serious quality spraying in a controlled space. Like a lot of folks, my shop is not big enough, too much dust, takes up too much room, etc, etc. I was considering building a small paint room outside but that gets into another airflow system and lots of other one thing leads to another challenges. My neighbor found these portable blow up spray booths online. Like a kids bounce house. I didn't know such things even existed but discovered they're used by people doing auto body work in their garage or outside. Not expensive so I ordered one (10ft x 8.3ft) and have used it a few times so far. It's a game changer for my ability to set up, spray pieces in a controlled space with proper ventilation, plenty of light and not take up space in my garage or shop. I've even found that on cooler days when the sun is shining it will stay warmer inside the booth than it is outside giving me more opportunities to get some spraying done. Easy to set up. When done just deflate it, roll it up and pack it away. Simple solution. You can even zip them end to end to make a much bigger space. You do have to pay attention to how much air you vent inside so that it stays inflated properly but it's not hard to keep good positive air pressure inside while spraying. I've put a link below to the one I bought.

 

Roger Wiegand

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I've just bought a pop-up one, one just big enough to hang a guitar in-- uses aluminum tent poles like a backpacking tent rather than blowing up. Much smaller and cheaper than the one you link to. Haven't used it yet, but will report when I get to it. I've been going through a whole routine of hanging plastic drop sheets, this should be a big improvement. I only spray water based finishes (rarely some shellac, but I'm now experimenting with a water-based version of that) so an organic and particulates respirator should be adequate; I let the shop air out pretty well after spraying before going back in. The overspray is generally dry before it hits the ground, so does create a dust problem. I'm hoping it will be more contained with this device. Putting a big fan in back of it with a furnace filter might help to catch some of the dust.
 
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I've just bought a pop-up one, one just big enough to hang a guitar in-- uses aluminum tent poles like a backpacking tent rather than blowing up. Much smaller and cheaper than the one you link to. Haven't used it yet, but will report when I get to it. I've been going through a whole routine of hanging plastic drop sheets, this should be a big improvement. I only spray water based finishes (rarely some shellac, but I'm now experimenting with a water-based version of that) so an organic and particulates respirator should be adequate; I let the shop air out pretty well after spraying before going back in. The overspray is generally dry before it hits the ground, so does create a dust problem. I'm hoping it will be more contained with this device. Putting a big fan in back of it with a furnace filter might help to catch some of the dust.
I've wondered about those pop-up jobs, so please do report back. I'm curious how they actually block the spray as they seem to be fabric.

Randy, one of my club members showed us how he would set up a cardtable topped with cardboard out in his driveway to do his spraying. He will spray outside when it's as cool as 40 degrees. It doesn't take long to do a coat, so everything stays warm enough from the heated indoors to get several coats done. A light breeze wafts the overspray into the firmament and there's no problem with inadequate ventilation, and less trouble with dust moats than inside the house.
 

Randy Anderson

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Dean, I've heard of folks that spray/finish in temps and conditions well outside of the mfg specs and norms with success. The finish process for the large (28" - 30") hollow form pieces I'm doing takes a bit of time - mounting on a rotating finishing stand, spray the base coat, multiple sealer coats with specific time windows, spot filler for tiny imperfections, sanding, curing overnight and then several coats of automotive clear coat. After many many hours invested the last step, clear coat, is tricky to do especially since I'm still learning how to spray it, and must be perfect. Corrections are very difficult to do. I wanted to minimize any outside risks for finish failure and try to limit them to operator error, which is a big enough risk for me already.
 
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Looks like a good choice. I dont think these were available ~15 yrs ago when I needed something similar. I opted to make the walls out of heavy plastic, and made them into Roman blinds (roll up to the ceiling), with a cutout for a 1000cfm blower to pull air in and trap the overspray. When finished spraying, the walls roll up to the ceiling.
 

Randy Anderson

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Doug, I was on that path until my neighbor spotted these online. Didn't know they made such things. So far it's working great. Set it up in the driveway right outside the shop so my air hose reaches and then roll it up and stow it away when done. Can even spray in a bit cooler temps when the sun is out since it gets 5-10 degrees warmer inside. When August gets here that won't be such a benefit I suspect.
 
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