The Complete Paint Booth Guide

Transcription

1 Pittsburgh Spray Equiipment The Complete Paint Booth Guide Everything you would want to know about paint booths

2 Table of Contents 1. Used Paint Booths A Guide 2. A Complete Guide to Keeping a Paint Booth Clean 3. How to Know CFM for a Paint Booth & Exhaust Fan Size 4. How Much Does A Paint Booth Cost, A Complete Cost Guide 5. Homemade Paint Booth; Things to Consider 6. Cross draft vs Downdraft vs Side Downdraft Paint Booths 7. How to Install, Calibrate, and Maintain a Manometer for a Spray Booth 8. How Big of A Spray Booth Do I Need? 9. How to Maintain Your Vertical Air Make Up Unit for Your Spray Booth 10. Important Things To Consider about Spray Booths 11. Save Money on your Spray Booth Operation 12. Things to Consider When Choosing a Paint Booth Filter

3 13. How to Know if You Need an Air Make Up Unit for Your Paint Booth 14. How You Can Increase Production up to 80% if Your Using Solvent Based Coatings 15. Ensure a Clean Paint Booth for Painting 16. Why are Spray Booths Different Prices 17. Spray Booth Types and there Uses 18. Spray Booth Maintenance 19. Need Additional Help?

4 Used Paint Booths A Guide Depending on your application and needs you may often times be considering a used paint booth. It may be due to having a small budget or because you will have a very small amount of painting work you need to perform. Either way if you are considering a used paint booth you will want to consider a few important factors to best determine if the used paint booth will truly be a better value than a new paint booth. Variable 1 The Age of the Paint Booth Older paint booths are more prone to having a variety of issues including fans that do not exhaust an appropriate amount of air and air make up units that will not function correctly. Additionally, if the paint booth is exceptionally old it may not be made of galvanized steel but may be made of black iron which is not as resistant to rust. An additional consideration is the booth may not meet all the requirements for NFPA 33 as regulations change from time to time and depending on the specifications the booth was manufactured under it may not meet the requirements. You will also want to check to see if replacement parts are still available for your potential paint booth because if the booth is no longer supported

5 by any current companies you may end up with a paint booth that will not be able to be restored if anything breaks (which is more likely with a used paint booth). Variable 2 The Original Build of the Paint Booth Paint booths have varying levels of quality in their design and use a variety of assembly methods. The way they are originally designed will have a large influence on the ease or difficulty with which the paint booth will be able to be moved. The two most common ways a paint booth is assembled is using nuts and bolts or primarily using zip screws. Nut and bolt assembly booths will typically be able to be reassembled easier than a zip screw construction paint booth because holes will have been pre drilled to match. With a zip screw construction holes were created during original assembly of the paint booth and when the booth is broken down to be relocated the screws may not align with the original holes which can create headaches with reassembly. In addition to the way the booth is assembled, you will want to determine how much of the original booth information is available. Quality built paint booths like those offered by Global Finishing Solutions come with complete assembly drawings including exploded views of all the paint booth components. Additionally, quality paint booths will often also have numbers on the paint booth panels to better know where they go, this will make reassembly significantly less challenging. Without good drawings available reassembly can be a big challenge as various booths are manufactured with different configurations depending on the manufacturer. Variable 3 The Condition of the components Primary areas you will want to evaluate to reduce the chance of your paint booth not working well include the exhaust fan, lights, controls, and if applicable the air make up unit. In particular you will want to ensure the paint booth fan has been shown operational. Ideally you will want to ensure the paint booth is moving air at an appropriate rate. This can be done with a gauge like an anemoter. Most booths will have a general speed of air based on their design which you can learn more about here which you will ideally want to verify that the booth is meeting the approximate speed that it should. You will also want to evaluate the fan to ensure it is spinning without resistance and doesn t have excessive over spray build up. If there is an air make up unit potentially included you will want to verify that all the major components in the unit function right. Ideally this would be performed by

6 a authorized air make up service technician as there are a variety of potential problem areas including blowers, pilot lights, the gas train, and sensors that all have to function properly to be able to elevate and regulate temperature. In addition you will want to verify that any included control packages work as outlined. Variable 4 Tear Down and Rebuild Costs In addition to the cost of the used booth you may have to factor in the cost of time and labor of break down and installation whether it be with your own employees or an outside crew. Depending on the costs associated with tear down you may have a better cost by purchasing a new paint booth and having an installation cost only or depending on the company providing the booth they may offer installation assistance with new paint booth purchases. Variable 5 Support If you purchase a new paint booth a quality provider will stand behind their product offering assistance with challenges of their air make up unit and exhaust fan if/when they need it. Additionally, they will help answer questions related to gas requirements and electrical questions. They will also have knowledge of your booth to be able to offer any parts that may be required for future challenges. Many used paint booths will not have replacement parts available or have a provider who is knowledgeable about the booth. Conclusion By evaluating all the factors about your used paint booth you can better determine if it is truly a value. It can often make sense to at least evaluate a new paint booth as well to determine if the total cost and lifetime value of the product will make better sense. If you want rough pricing on a new paint booth you can contact us today.

7 A Complete Guide to Keeping a Paint Booth Clean Paint Booths are an investment that can cost anywhere from $1000 dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The beauty of a paint booth is with proper care and maintenance they can last 40 years. This article is a complete guide on how you can maintain a clean, well functioning paint booth. Protect the Paint Booth from Over spray One of the biggest problems within your paint booth is over spray which will have a tendency to build up on the spray booth's walls, lights, and floor over time. To prevent these issues it is recommended to use a peel-able paint booth coating. Paint booth coating provides protection to the underlying sheet metal of your paint booth and is removable, which will prevent the walls of your paint booth becoming overly contaminated over time. In addition to the booth covering you will want to protect your lights from over spray build up so that you do not have issues with visibility due to excessive coating build up. This is done with a mask for the paint booth lights. A final area of preventive care is to utilize floor coverings for your paint booth. A floor covering will prevent build up of over spray on the floor. Protect the Paint Booth Fan from Paint and Maintain it Properly Your paint booth fan is one of the few items in your paint booth that over time could wear out. To help reduce the chances of your paint booth fan wearing out follow these steps. 1. Follow the maintenance program laid out in your manual this will ensure your paint booth fan runs reliably for many years 2. Use a quality paint booth filter. Paint booth filters prevent over spray from landing on cars in your parking lot as well as protect the fan blade from over spray. By using a quality paint booth filter and routinely replacing the filters

8 you can ensure the fan will last a long time. It can be tempting to use low quality filters but they can lead to long term failure of your fan due to over spray buildup 3. Change your paint booth filters routinely. A paint booth should have a visual gauge called a manometer to help know when the filters need changed. If you need to learn more about the manometer and how to use it you can review this article here. The ultimate gauge is if the over spray is hanging in your paint booth's air it is time to change filters or if the manometer is showing the filters are dirty. Maintain your Air Make Up Unit Your manufacturer will have a paint booth air make up guide that will lay out recommended maintenance steps. You can also review a quick overview of air make up care here. Keep the Booth Free From Outside Contaminants The best way to keep the interior of the paint booth free from dust and other contaminants if you have an enclosed booth is to ensure all the gaps are properly caulked to from a seal. What if you are trying to clean a dirty paint booth? While maintenance is always easier than restoring a dirty paint booth you may find yourself in a situation with a dirty paint booth. If you have a paint booth there are a few options. You can use a booth coating that can be applied over a dirty booth wall (while normal booth coating requires bare galvanized metal). You can also use scrapers that are non sparking to clean existing over spray off your paint booth's walls or use solvent solution and a sponge mop NOT A COTTON MOP as it will breakdown. You can avoid having to clean the booth by using a peel-able booth coating that can be applied over dirty paint booth walls. By following these maintenance, cleaning, and care tips you can ensure your paint booth will last a long time and run without issues. Further Resources

9 Global Finishing Spray Booth Cleaning Tips

10 How to Know CFM for a Paint Booth & Exhaust Fan Size Why Paint Booth CFM is Important Paint booths are designed to meet a minimum air flow requirement to be compliant with national codes that govern spray booths. Important codes that paint booths comply with include National Fire Code 1, NFPA 33, OSHA, and a few others. For a good overview of all paint booth code compliance check out this article. The important thing is that to meet code compliance a paint booth is required to exhaust an appropriate amount of air. The amount of air a paint booth exhausts will depend on the style of paint booth. The three main styles of paint booths are cross draft, down draft, and side down draft paint booths. There air flow requirements are summarized below. In the past NFPA dictated paint booth air flow needed to be 100 FPM for non electric static coating application, downdrafts were usually between FPM. Revisions to the code now dictate that the exhaust must be sufficient that solvent concentration is below 25% of the lower flammable limit. To properly measure the solvent concentration requires expensive tools and so most of the

11 time air flow rates will help to know if your booth is running approximately how it should be, to be safe consult with the booth manufacturer to know you have a proper sized paint booth fan replacement in mind. If you do not have proper air flow it is a safety hazard, it can effect the finish quality of your product, and can cause your painters to have trouble working in the paint booth due to visibility problems How to Know about the CFM Your Paint Booth Should Be exhausting Cross Draft Paint Booths For a Crossdraft paint booth the booth should remove approximately 100 FPM across the face opening of the paint booth plus any additional openings should be included. SO you take the width and height of the paint booth x 100 FPM and will provide the exhaust speed in Cubit Feet a minute. Lets take two quick examples to best understand the math Crossdraft Paint Booth is 6 feet wide x 8 feet high your air flow will be 6 feet x 8 feet x 100 FPM = 4,800 CFM per minute You have a Crossdraft Paint Booth with a 6 feet by 8 feet opening with a 4 feet by 4 feet crane opening you take the face opening 6 * 8 + (4 *4 ) then take this x 100 = 6,400 CFM Down Draft Paint Booths A Downdraft Paint Booth will remove approximately 50 FPM across the floor print of the paint booth. Lets take the following for an example You have a downdraft paint booth that is 30 feet long x 14 feet wide this means the booth will remove approximately 21,000 CFM (30 x 14 x 50) Side Down Draft Paint Booth Side downdraft paint booths work on the same speeds necessary as downdraft paint booths. However, a side down draft paint booth will often use a few smaller paint booth fans. This makes side downdraft paint booths often require each fan size to know what is a good replacement fan. Special Situations (Exhaust Chambers )

12 The majority of regular paint booths will have a Totally Enclosed Paint Booth fan. If you are using an exhaust chamber rather than the full spray booth fan it is important to remember that it is most likely not a spray booth, you will want to make sure to coordinate with your local authority to ensure all proper safety processes are in place. Additionally it can be good to consider an explosion proof fan motor as this will reduce the chance of your fan causing a spark. Unlike a regular paint booth their is a little more chance that the fan could be a sparking source. Paint Booth Fan Types & There CFM Totally Enclosed - A totally enclosed fan is the typical tube axial fan that most paint booth utilizes it prevents air from outside of the fan to flow across the motor which reduces the chance that solvent laden air would be ignited by the fan Explosion Proof - An explosion proof fan will have designed features that reduce the risk of a spark forming Variable Pitch Sheave Design - A Variable Pitch Fan allows for adjusting of the fans speed which can allow for adjustment of the fans speed. This is a great option for a fan replacement as it will allow for balancing of an older paint booth by adjusting the air flow. Each fan will have a varying CFM rating and you will want the fan to be rated for an appropriate static resistance based on the length of duct you have, elbows in the duct, and similar factors. If you need help with knowing the right size fan its best to speak to the provider of the booth to ensure it is appropriate.

13 How Much Does A Paint Booth Cost, A Complete Cost Guide When it comes to paint finishing your paint booth is often your largest expense(unless you are a large manufacturer with a lot of additional paint equipment). If your planning on opening an auto body shop, an industrial coating facility, a fabrication shop, or even a hobbyist shop you will want to consider the cost of your paint booth as you plan your building. This article will cover factors contributing to a paint booths costs and then provide simple rules of thumb to help estimate the price of a paint booth. Factor # 1 - Amount of Air the Paint Booth Exhausts Paint booths have to remove a significant volume of air to be able to meet NFPA 1 and speifically NFPA 33 (which is more specific to paint booths). The amount of air removed by your paint booth will depend on if it is a crossdraft, side downdraft, or downdraft. A crossdraft air requirement is approximately 100 FPM x the face area of the opening of the paint booth, while a downdraft and side downdraft booth requires 50 FPM x the footprint of the paint booth. The higher the CFM of the paint booth the higher the cost for two reasons. One is the paint booth will require a larger exhaust fan to move the appropriate volume of air. Two, you are more likely to need to replace your paint booths air leading to the need for an Air Make Up Unit. Third, a larger paint booth will require larger duct work which will result in additional cost. To keep costs of your paint booth as reasonable as possible try to keep the paint booth size to the smallest face area for a crossdraft or footprint for a downdraft as possible. For an idea of determining an appropriate paint booth size refer to this article for helpful tips.

14 Factor #2 (and typically the largest expense factor) - Will you need An Air Make Up Unit for the Paint Booth? An air make up unit replaces the air being removed from your building. It prevents you from losing all of your facilities heat in the winter and prevents excessive negative air pressure due to having a small facility that your paint booth will be located in. To determine if you may need to consider an air make up unit for your spray booth this article covers what you need to know or you can reference the calculator below to see how fast you will remove all air from your building. Essentially were trying to determine if you will remove all the air from your building in 20 minutes or less which will definitely require considering an air make up, outside of that you will have to determine if a cold paint booth in winter will be problematic for production and long term needs. In general the air make up for a paint booth will be one of the largest expenses often costing as much or more than the paint booth itself. Please input the size of your paint booth and your building and the CFM as well as Time until the Building has all heated or cooled air exhausted will be calculated.

15 Factor #3 - Is the Booth a Factory Standard or Completely Custom? Standard spray booths that are not custom engineered will be a much better cost. Standard spray booths due have size restrictions though and if you have an exact size that you need a custom engineered paint booth can often be necessary. A custom designed paint booth can end up costing quite a bit more than a pre designed paint booth due to the custom manufacturing needed and engineering work. Factor# 4 - How Big is the Paint Booth and what style Paint Booth is it? The size of the paint booth will require varying amounts of sheet metal and if over a certain size additional structural support. Additionally booths typically go in the following order of increasing expense: Crossdraft, Downdraft, Side Downdraft. For

16 a downdraft you have to include an additional cost of concrete work as they have a concrete pit in the floor. For a side downdraft you have an additional cost of double the fans and double duct runs of a crossdraft paint booth. For a general range of prices consider the following for a guide, this is without duct work included (which is the 5th factor) and not including an air make up. Open Face Booths 6 W 7 High 6 Deep - $2, w 12 High 6 Deep - About $5,000 dollars 18 w x 7 high by 6 Deep - $5,871 dollars. Enclosed Truck/ Large Industrial Booths Cross Draft 14 Wide 10 High 24 Deep - About $12,500 dollars Cross Draft 20 Wide 16 High 34 Deep - About $29000 dollars Down Draft 14 Wide 10 High 24 Deep - About $16,000 dollars Down Draft 20 Wide 16 High 30 Deep - About $35,000 dollars Automotive Paint Booths Basic single skin paint booth without curing capabilities 14 w 27 deep 9 high - About $14000 Automotive paint booth with cure capabilities 14 ' w x 9 ' high x 27 ' deep - about $50,000 - $65000 dollars Factor # 5 - How much Duct work will your spray booth need? Ductwork pricing will come down to two things. How big is the duct you will use and how long of duct runs will you require. Plain exhaust duct (the typical duct that is used with a spray booth) will range from $15 - $60 dollars per foot for the smallest to largest duct runs. If you have long runs of duct and larger diameter duct you may need spiral duct which is higher expense ranging from about $36 dollars a foot to $125 dollars a foot for large diameter duct. If you have multiple elbows or a really long exhaust distance you sometimes will have an added

17 expense of a exhaust fan designed for high static resistance. There can also be a small added expense for an access duct that allows for cleaning of the booths exhaust fan (which is highly recommended). Factor # 6 - Who is manufacturing your paint Booth? There can be slight variances in the cost of paint booths. Additionally you will want to make sure your paint booth meets all national codes, which you can read a good overview of national code compliance here. Each manufacturer will have varying costs but should be within 10-15% of each other typically and if they are not you will want to see if one company has added features like startup assistance, a different air make up size, different duct lengths, or different features in your spray booths control panel. A big factor in choosing a paint booth will be the expertise of your local support company which is always valuable and a well known, highly regarded manufacturer. By evaluating all these costs you can better assess the cost of a potential paint booth project. You will also be able to have a rough idea of what to expect on a paint booth's price.

18 Homemade Paint Booth; Things to Consider Paint booths can be expensive compared to application equipment. Even for a standard smaller open face paint booth the cost can be a few thousand dollars. If your considering building a paint booth you will want to compare the costs, benefits, and drawbacks of time and money in building the paint booth to the costs,benefits, and drawbacks of purchasing a paint booth. Building a Homemade Paint Booth Benefits The Biggest Benefit is you may be able to save costs on your paint booth Ability to customize a paint booth without significant costs added that a paint booth manufacturer will require to provide engineering design of the paint booth to ensure it meets all code requirements Building a Homemade Paint Booth Drawbacks Code Compliance- Spray Booths are governed by a variety of codes including NFPA 1, NFPA 33, OSHA, and International Fire Code. Ultimately your local authority having jurisdiction, which is most often your fire marshal is the one who will dictate what is needed. However, without a pre designed booth it can be challenging to meet all the requirements that the certifying bodies mentioned above require. If you build a paint booth to meet all the requirements it will most likely cost more than a pre engineered booth. Finish Quality- A pre built paint booth will provide an isolated enclosure and can have an air make up incorporated preventing any contamination of your finish. If you build a paint booth you would have to find a way to keep dust and contaminant to a minimum. Safety- A pre engineered paint booth is designed for a proper number of air changes per minute to eliminate Volatile Organic Compounds from becoming excessive in the painting environment. This helps prevent risk of a fire as well as provide greater safety for breathing. If you build a paint booth you it most likely will at best meet the requirements

19 of a spray area - a spray area is one of two environments for paint application that is listed by NFPA 33 and requires different considerations in a variety of ways Buying a Pre Made Paint Booth Benefits Code Compliance- With a pre engineered paint booth from an approved paint booth manufacturer like Global Finishing Solutions you will meet all known national codes. Ultimately your local code enforcement agency can ask for additional requirements but all national codes will be met Safety - A pre designed paint booth is designed to help reduce the risk of a fire and will provide provide appropriate air changes which help with safer breathing air Finish Quality- If you need your finish to be top quality there are a variety of things that can be done including an air make up unit feeding the paint booth or intake filters. Ease of Building - A pre designed paint booth will have engineered drawings allowing for easy erection of the paintbooth as well as be designed to appropriately stand erected for a long time (we have seen booths that are years old without a problem) Support - Reputable paint booth manufacturers will have local support in case there is ever an issue with your paint booth. Insurance savings - many times your insurance carrier will provide a better rate with a pre designed paint booth then if you have designed your own paint booth, this is not always true. Buying a Pre Made Paint Booth Drawbacks Cost- A pre designed paint booth can have higher costs associated with it then a home built paint booth Flexibility- Depending on your shops configuration a pre made paint booth will typically be made of rigid walls which will require dedication of shop space, if space is an issue and you will not spray a lot of coating (less than a gallon every 8 hours) you may be able to get away with a prep station consult with your local fire marshal, paint booth distributor, and state to determine applicability. Overall between the two if you want to make sure to be safe, meet required codes, have the best finish possible, and ensure ease of building a pre designed paint booth is the right choice. Building your own paint booth can save on cost but there are a lot of code and safety issues to be aware of, which is why it is not a

20 recommended route.

21 Cross draft vs Downdraft vs Side Downdraft Paint Booths I often get asked whether or not a customer should use a cross draft or downdraft spray booth. I also often get asked what size booth they should use. The goal of this article is to cover the main styles of spray booths, the benefits and drawbacks of each style booth, and how much space you may want in a spray booth based on your product size Cross draft Spray Booths Cross draft spray Booths bring air through the front of the spray booth and exhaust it out at the rear of the spray booth. The major benefits to this type of booth is that they are more affordable then downdraft booths and typically easier to install because you do not have any concrete work to be performed. When accompanied with an air make up unit they are often as effective as a downdraft spray booth in providing a clean finish. The downside is that if your top priority is finish quality a downdraft will always be a cleaner paint finish because all overspray is pulled down away from the product while in a cross draft spray booth overspray at the front of the spray booth can potentially land on your product at the back of the booth. Downdraft Spray Booths Downdraft spray booths bring air in through the ceiling and down through the floor into an exhaust chamber which is exhausted at the rear of the paint booth. Downdraft spray booths will provide the cleanest possible finish. It is what is used in high end auto body facilities due to the clean finish provided. The downside to downdraft booths is that they typically require a raised floor or concrete pit which can be an additional expense. If you plan the concrete floor prior to purchasing your paint booth you can install a downdraft booth at the same cost as a cross draft paint booth. Additionally with very large objects downdraft booths do not make sense because air removed is based on the length and width of the paint booth making it harder to reorient your product to reduce air removed from the building. Side Downdraft Paint Booths

22 Side Downdraft paint booths bring air in through the roof and exhaust it out the sidewalls of the paint booth. This allows for a downdraft finish quality but doesn't require a concrete pit. It might seem like a Side Downdraft paint booth is all the benefits of the downdraft without any drawbacks (concrete work ect), but there are some negatives to a Side Downdraft paint booth. First is that it will require a lot of ductwork which can often lead to a cost similar or even more expensive than a downdraft paint booth. For example a Side Downdraft paint booth will require at least twice the number of duct runs that a comparable cross or down draft paint booth will need with longer booths even more duct runs may be needed. Each duct runs also adds an additional hole in your roof which can be a source for water leakage over the long term. An additional downside to Side Downdraft spray booths is that over spray from painting is carried back against the painter which can be annoying for some painters. A final consideration is that a Side Downdraft will exhaust a similar volume of air as a downdraft paint booth. Ultimately, f you absolutely need a downdraft finish and are limited on altering the floor of a building a Side Downdraft can be a good solution. It can also be a great solution for a smaller booth where only two duct runs would be needed and no floor alterations can be made (such as a small auto body shop). Ultimately if your choosing between a cross draft and downdraft paint booth consider the following. If you need the finest finish possible consider the downdraft. If your on a budget or do not want to alter your floor consider the cross draft paint booth. What size Paint Booth Do I need? The size of paint booth you will need depends primarily on the size of your product. If you are buying a cross draft paint booth try to keep the width and height of the booth to the minimum you need by orienting your parts so they face deep but not wide in relation to the booth opening. The reason to keep the face opening small is that the amount of air you remove or if using a pressurized spray booth the amount you have to replace with a cross draft spray booth is determined by the size of the width and height of the face opening. A larger opening will create extra negative pressure and even remove all the heat from your building vary fast depending on your buildings size. So if your product is 45 feet x 3 feet by 8 feet you would want to consider a booth that is only about 12 feet wide but very long. As a general rule of thumb you want to keep about 3-5 feet of space on all sides of your product for maneuverability so in the product mentioned above you would want about a 52 foot deep booth. Additionally always try to ask for factory standard sizes so that you select a paint booth that is not custom designed, typically booths will come in varieties of 3 foot lengths but always make sure to ask

23 for a standard size unless it will not work for your specific situation. Air Make Ups and Cure Capabilities As we have discussed paint booths will remove a lot of air from your building and depending on the size of the booth and your building you may completely empty your building of all temperate air in minutes. If this is your scenario it can be important to replace the air your spray booth is removing. You also have to consider whether you want to add a cure capability to your spray booth. For reference sake air make up units are a large expense but cure capabilities are not that much extra cost wise. The cure capability will allow you to raise a booth to about a 160 degrees and bake the coating reducing product dry time by up to 50%. If you have a small shop or large paint booth or need the ability to turn product completely, or are worried about paint odor from a drying product impacting your facility, then an air make up unit can be a great idea. Consider an air make up for your paint booth if you have a large paint booth, a small shop, or if you want to be able to accelerate product dry time significantly. Photo credit: By Sebog6 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

24 How to Install, Calibrate, and Maintain a Manometer for a Spray Booth What is a Spray Booth Manometer and Why You Need One A manometer is a visual gauge that allows the paint booth operator to have a visual way of confirming when their paint booth filters may need changed. In many areas it is a requirement and can result in an immediate fine. The gauge itself is very affordable and will save you from dealing with legal penalties. For it to be of benefit, it must be properly installed, which is what we will cover in this article.

25 Manometer Placement and Installation A manometer will need to be placed on the side of your spray booth between the exhaust chamber and the painting area of the booth. The reason being that their will be two hoses that will come off the top of the manometer one will plug into the "high" side and the other into the "low" side. The high side hose will insert onto a bulkhead fitting that has to feed into the spray booth in front of your booth filters. The low side hose will insert onto a bulkhead fitting that has to insert into the booth behind the filter bank into your exhaust chamber. The bulkhead fittings will be included in your manometer package typically. In addition to the bulkhead fittings the manometer will have a level on it. Make sure to install the manometer level with the spray booth otherwise you may have inaccurate readings with your manometer gauge. Manometer Calibration Once you have installed your manometer you will need to fill it with gauge oil. The trick to filling the manometer is to go slow and make sure you have the gauge adjustment knob fully backed out. Try not to ever overfill the gauge because then you may have trouble setting the gauge to a zero reading (will cover zero reading shortly). Once you have enough gauge oil it is time to calibrate the gauge. To calibrate the manometer set the gauge so that it reads zero without the booth on. You will then want to ensure the booth filters are new and turn on the spray booth (DO NOT USE OLD FILTERS REPLACE THEM). With the booth running the gauge should have increased (if not their is an issue with your installation). The new increased pressure difference the gauge is reading is the "clean benchmark" which you should mark with a green marker. This represents the pressure difference when your filters are brand new. From this mark you should move up the gauge about 0.4 Inches of water column (not physical inches) and establish a second mark which will be your dirty benchmark (or when your filters should be changed). Ultimately the visual gauge of the manometer is helpful but if your air in the paint booth seems to have overspray hanging it is usually better to go ahead and change your paint booth filters. Manometer Maintenance Their are a few important things to do to keep your manometer operating well. First is to make sure that the bulkhead fittings remain open to the inside of the paint booth and exhaust chamber. If paint builds up on the bulkhead fittings you will not receive a correct reading from your manometer (this is easy to fix with a pick to remove the coating over the top of the bulkhead inside the booth). Second

26 you should reset the booth to zero when it is not running at least every couple weeks so that your manometer reading is not incorrect. Third from time to time you will need to replace the gauge oil in your spray booth manometer as it will evaporate over time. By following these tips and advice for a spray booth manometer you can install and maintain a well functioning manometer which will help with code compliance as well as knowing when to change your spray booth filters to maximize the life of your spray booth fan. If you need a Spray Booth Manometer we carry them. Photo by Sebog6 (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

27 How Big of A Spray Booth Do I Need? The size of your spray booth is important to consider because the larger the face opening of a cross draft or the footprint of a downdraft the more air the spray booth will remove from your building and require to replace. In addition to removing more air, there are additional costs with extra spray booth space that comes with the need for additional sheet metal and lighting. To be able to have a booth ideally suited for your product finishing needs consider the following rules. 1. Ensure you have a minimum of 3 feet on all sides of your product to be painted, ideally you should have 5 feet. 3 feet will allow your painter to move around the product and spray comfortably. A smaller space around the product will result in the operator having to hold the spray gun in close to their body which can result in difficulty with production as well as finish quality. 2. If you have a large product the ideal placement in the booth will vary. With a cross draft booth you want to minimize the width and height of the product. This can often mean a long booth but the reason for minimizing the width and height of the product is that it will reduce the air exhausted from your building. Additionally it will require less heat if you are using make up air to replace air that is removed by your booth. For an example, if your product is 14 wide x 10 long x 8 tall then you would place the part in the booth length wise and need a 10 wide by 8 tall booth x 14 deep. To understand the air exhaust difference consider the following the 10 wide x 8 feet tall booth would require 8000 CFM while the 8 tall x 14 wide booth would require an additional 3000 CFM above the smaller booth. This can be critical especially in smaller shops where excessive air being exhausted creates a lot of issues. Conversely if the paint booth is a downdraft booth there is not much you can do to minimize the air needed because the air flow is determined by the floor print of the booth (length x width). 3. Multiple Products or Single Products If you are going to paint multiple products you will need enough room for each product. Additionally it can often be best to not line products one after another in a cross draft booth. The issue

28 with lining products in a line in a cross draft booth is that there is a chance that overspray would go from your product onto the next product. If you paint your product from the entrance of the spray booth to the exhaust filters this typically is not an issue. However if you are concerned with finish quality, then it may make sense to consider a wider booth so that no product is lined up one after another but each has its own place in the booth. By considering these three important aspects about your paint booth before buying a paint booth you can ensure you will buy the right booth size for your needs. If you are working with a company on a paint booth they should cover these types of questions to best ensure your paint booth is ideal for your product finishing needs.

29 How to Maintain Your Vertical Air Make Up Unit for Your Spray Booth Air make up units are important for Spray Booths. They help replace heated air to prevent negative pressure on your building, increase temperature in your booth for baking of your painted product, prevent shop temperature from dropping due to shop air being exhausted from your spray booth to rapidly, and also help maintain a cleaner finish by reducing any dust entering your spray booth. With such an important role in your finish work it s critical to think about properly caring for your air make up so that your production, shop status, and finish quality are not adversely effected. With that in mind will discuss proper steps and how often they should be done to ensure your air make up runs for many years without trouble. The ultimate resource for your air make ups maintenance recommendations will be supplied by the manufacturer. However as a general overview of steps to take for air make up maintenance consider the following on a routine basis. To ensure operator safety ensure you have disconnected power both at the spray booth and at the air make up unit itself outside. 1. Air inlet filters these are filters that are metal boxes at the base of your air make up unit they should be checked every 3 months (or sooner in dirty environments). Primarily you should be looking for excessive blockage of the filters pathway. Proper care can include a simple washing of the filters with the water flowing against the direction of typical air flow or replacement of the filters if they do not improve after being washed. 2. Fan unit At the top of your air makeup is a squirrel cage style fan with a shaft through the middle and bearings at the front and back of the air make up. To properly maintain the bearings you should grease them with lithium grease about every 6 months. Be sure to never over grease the bearings as this can cause damage to the seals and lead to bearing and potentially blower failure also If you use grease other than lithium grease you may contaminate your finish. 3. Pilot Light and pilot sensing rod On one side of your air make up unit is a pilot

30 lighter with a pilot sensing rod directly above the pilot flame. You should remove your pilot lighter to check and ensure there has not been excessive wear. If you ever receive issues related to pilot light problems you should also check this same mechanism. If things look excessively charred or the gap between the pilot rod and sensing rod are too great consider replacing the rod and light. If they appear in ok condition, utilize light body sandpaper to essentially remove the top layer of contaminant from the pilot and sensing rod. You can reinstall this component when you are done roughing and cleaning the surface, making sure to check again every 6 months or so. 4. Flame Burners near the base of the unit slightly above the air inlet filters are burners which provide the heat for the make up air to be heated properly. These typically sit inside a v shaped metal trough and at the base are small holes for gas to be released for ignition. The walls of the trough serve to distribute the gas for proper ignition. The main things to check at the base of the trough are if all the gas holes are free of any clogs. If they are plugged you should utilize a broach that is smaller than the hole to properly remove any blockage, making sure that you do not alter the gas hole. Additionally be sure to lightly sand the walls of the trough to a roughened state. This will allow the flame to be dispersed properly for the long term. This should be done every 6 months as well. 5. Spray booth fans while checking your air make up unit it is also a good idea to check your spray booth exhaust fan. In particular you want to ensure that there is not excessive overspray on the blade. As little as 1/8 of overspray can cause a fan to fail due to imbalance during operation. If excessive overspray has collected consider removing the overspray with light sanding. Ultimately the best course of action is to follow your air make up manufacturers recommended guidelines. That being said the above guidelines will satisfy the majority of your air make up maintenance needs.

31 Important Things To Consider about Spray Booths There are a lot of ways to apply coating whether it be in the field, in an open shop, in a spray area, a prep station, or a spray booth. Each has its place and purpose, but in this case we will restrict our discussion to spray booths. The most important thing to consider when thinking about how you will apply a coating is whether it will be done safely. To know whether you are following proper safety concepts it is good to follow both OSHA guidelines and NFPA guidelines. In the context of spray applications NFPA 33 is the guideline that most pertains to spraying coatings. When you are evaluating whether your spray environment is safe NFPA 33 should be the go to resource for code compliance, any spray booth you purchase should state they meet all national codes that are pertinent to spray regulations including NFPA 33. Additionally it is important to consider if the area is designed for preparation or spraying. The difference between the two is that a prep area is limited in the amount of spraying allowed in a given time frame. That being said once you know your booth is code compliant and allows for spraying to the extent you need to spray what else should you consider? First is air velocity. Air velocity ensures that overspray is carried away from your target to the filters. This allows for a clean spray finish as well as a safe spray environment. For proper spray booths we typically recommend air velocities of at least 100 CFM for a cross draft booth and 50 CFM for a downdraft booth. These air velocities allow for proper paint overspray removal while not being excessively strong (though this number can vary slightly from the 100 and 50 CFM mentioned). Second is protection from dirt. If finish quality is a primary concern for your use of a booth you will want to consider if the area can be isolated from the rest of your work environment. Contaminants like dirt and oil can quickly ruin a quality paint job. If cleanliness of finish is important you should consider options like filtered doors so intake air can be kept clean or an air make up unit which provides positive pressure to the booth reducing the amount of dust/ contaminants in the spray

32 environment. Third knowledgeable field representatives. A good field rep will ask you questions concerning what type of coating you will be spraying, is accelerated dry time critical for your production, how large is your facility, where can we fit a duct run, and many other questions. The purpose of these questions will be to help determine if your building is properly sized to handle a spray booth, how it could be possible to reduce product dry time, and how will an exhaust duct be able to fit into your facility. If you have these three factors and code compliance all wrapped up it should be safe to say you have a great solution for safe spraying.

33 Save Money on your Spray Booth Operation Electricity is not that expensive but over time every little bit adds up. That is why it is important to always consider ways to reduce your electric bill. One often overlooked area for improvement of electric costs is your spray booth. A booth can have 0 to almost any number of lights and each is a source of electric use. Booths come by default with standard T8 bulbs which are 30 percent less efficient than LED bulbs. If you run a booth 16 hours a day 7 days a week 360 days a year this adds up significantly (about a 168 dollars a year in electric savings alone). Additionally a quality LED bulb lasts about 50,000 hours vs 20,000 for a regular T8 bulb. This saves both time and money as the bulb will last longer saving time on bulb replacement as well as on cost of continually replacing bulbs. To best evaluate whether switching to LED bulbs could save you significantly check out this free calculator here.

34 Things to Consider When Choosing a Paint Booth Filter Often times you look at the price of a spray booth filter and figure it is just a material to trap overspray. While catching overspray is their primary purpose, it is important to consider a few other factors when choosing a spray booth filter. Below is an overview of factors that are important to consider when choosing a booth filter that are often overlooked. Operator downtime A spray booth filter should come with a test sheet. These sheets should show the approximate amount of material that the booth filter is proposed to hold. The more material a filter will hold the longer it will last between filter changes. This allows for increased production as well as cost savings as operators are able to produce more product in a given time. Disposal fees Booth filters are often considered hazardous waste and require a disposal fee cheap booth filters will be disposed of at a greater frequency than a filter with a greater media holding ability. The end result is a reduced rate for filter disposal. Overspray containment A quality filter will reduce the amount of overspray leaving your spray booth stacks; paint leaving a booth stack can cause overspray to paint cars in your factory s lot or a residential neighborhood nearby which can be problematic. Booth fan life Impact If overspray is consistently moving past the fan of your spray booth overtime overspray will build up on the booth fan and can cause the booth fan to operate incorrectly, in the worst scenario this can cause your booth fan to fail completely.

35 When you purchase booth filters consider these factors to ensure your choosing a filter that is truly the best price in the long term, sometimes it may be a low cost filter and other times not. EPA Requirements A final area to consider is if the filter meets EPA requirements for spray booth filters.

36 How to Know if You Need an Air Make Up Unit for Your Paint Booth What Air Make Up Units Are Air make up Units are air replacement systems for spray booths. They provide heated air to the booth that is equal to the air that is removed due to your exhaust fan running. Air make ups can also be equipped with advanced controls to allow for the booth to add a bake cycle to your painting process. Having air to replace the air removed and the potential to have a low temperature bake cycle is nice but it is also quite expensive, often it can cost as much and even more than the whole spray booth itself. With cost in mind when do we know if it is necessary or worth adding heated make up air to your paint booth, that s what we'll cover in this post. Variable 1 Is there a need for increased production in your manufacturing process Often your painting operation can be the bottleneck for your facilities production. The key variable is what is the dry time for your product and how much space do you have for your product to dry. If you do not have space for an item to dry in open shop air due to needing floor space or if you want more product done in shorter time heated air with a bake cycle can be just what is needed. To know the potential production increase you can read your technical data sheet for your coatings. WIthin this sheet will be a section that states the difference in dry time when using room or ambient temperature vs a bake temperature (this temperature is typically in the mid to low 100 degree range). The difference in these times is the difference in dry time and hence indicates the change in production. If your original dry time is 4 hours unheated and 2 hours heated you can essentially double your production.

37 Variable 2 - Air available in your shop We recommend having enough shop air to run a booth at least 20 minutes before you deplete the air from your building. This is so that you can have your shop doors closed and operate the booth without worry about busting a window from too much negative pressure. Additionally the increased workload on your heaters of your building that would be required to re warm the building to ambient temperature is high, an air make up is designed for high production of heated air not maintaining a steady state which is typically what a regular shop heater is designed for. To know how long you can run the booth before running out of heated air you calculate the cfm of a booth by taking the width x height x 100 for a cross draft or length x width x 50 for a downdraft, this will give you the approximate cubic feet a minute draw of the booth. You then calculate the cubic feet of your building by multiplying width x height x length. Take the cubic feet of your building and divide by the cfm draw of your spray booth the result is the number of minutes before you would deplete your building of all air. As stated if that number is less than 20 (20 minutes) you should consider an air make up

38 How You Can Increase Production up to 80% if Your Using Solvent Based Coatings Where in your production process do you tend to bottleneck? Most manufacturers have a step in their production process where product often ends up piling up resulting in less work being able to be shipped or charged to a customer. Far too often this area happens to be the painting process. It is not hard to see why either, paint can take upwards of 6 hours without any assistance in drying. This means that even though the rest of your shop may be able to produce 4 of an item a day, the paint shop can only handle one or maybe two at a time. The result can often be significant loss of profit as your wait for your paint shop to finish doing its job. While this is a bleak picture it doesn't have to be, the solution for solvent based coatings is adding heat and a bake cycle to your finishing process. Caution is needed when the term heat is used though, this heat cannot be created by a flame near the end product. So the solution is heated air that is brought into your paint booth. In addition to helping accelerate dry time a heated paint booth also allows for operator comfort during cold months of weather. It also prevents you from removing all the hot or cool air from your shop due to the fan of your spray booth pulling all the air from the building. We generally recommend that a building have enough heated air to withstand a minimum of 20 minutes of the booth running before it evacuates all air from the building. If your booth will remove all your air faster than 20 minutes, heated air for the booth is essential. This is because if air is removed faster than 20 minutes it can create excess negative pressure on your building as a whole and realistically you will not want to paint in cold months. While it is all good to consider the benefits for operator comfort and safety of your building the best benefit to most is the increased production. To know just how much time a bake cycle on an air make up unit can reduce your finishing process you have to review the technical data sheets for your coating. Within the technical data sheet their is a section that usually states the dry time at room temperature

39 and at an elevated temperature (typically around F). The difference between the two numbers (room vs elevated temperature) will provide you the increase you can expect in production. Once you know the numbers difference you can then calculate how much more money can be made selling the increased number of your products a day, assuming your market tolerates an increase in product availability. Then you can compare that increased production to the initial and ongoing costs of an air make up unit with a bake cycle. Primarily the air make up will have an upfront equipment expense as well as an ongoing gas supply expense. It is important to work with your gas company to determine the ongoing costs of using the booth and they will help you based on the air make up size, hours of operation, and other factors. With this information you can then evaluate the cost and benefit of investing in increasing your production ability.

40 Ensure a Clean Paint Booth for Painting Booths are important to ensure two things operator safety and environmental cleanliness. Today we will cover how to maximize a booths cleanliness for painting and to do so there are four important factors to consider. Booth placement - If you are given the responsibility of laying out a facility or are considering adding painting to your facility it is important to consider the placement of your spray booth. Ideally your booth is isolated or at least far away from sources of potential product contamination. Some typical places where contamination occurs is having the painting area too close to sanding, machining, sandblasting, or any other activity that creates dust, metal shreds, or other contaminants. Booth Style - Booth cleanliness is also a matter of the type of booth. The biggest advantage to booth cleanliness comes when you add air make up capabilities to a booth. This prevents you from bringing shop air in for your booths operation. By not introducing shop air you prevent any dust or contaminants from being pulled into your booth by the exhaust fan. Booth Accessories - If you do have a booth that uses shop air it is important to utilize high quality intake filters. By using a quality filter you will prevent more dust from entering than if you use a budget intake filter. A quality filter will have a sticky tac as a final preventive measure against dirt. Operator technique - If their are filtered doors on your booth but the operator doesn t keep them closed during spraying then the benefit of the filter doors is eliminated. Similarly if the operator doesn t cognizantly try to control booth traffic to a minimum having to many people in and out of the booth can result in excess dirt in the booth and eventually your finish. By thinking and improving these four areas of booth operation you can increase your chances of having a top quality finish.

41 Why are Spray Booths Different Prices A lot of times customers will ask why a spray booth by a certain manufacturer is higher priced than another. Often they will ask isn t a booth just a metal box with a fan? How could there be any difference in the booth? While at the most basic level a booth is a metal box with a fan there are other factors that go into the difference in price. 1. Sheet Metal Assembly one way a company is able to offer a booth at a lower price is to assemble the panels so they are larger in size. This reduces the number of cut outs the company is required to make out of sheet metal. The issue this causes is that the booth with larger width panels can be weaker structurally than a booth with a larger number of smaller width panels. This means that if you eve have to get on top of a booth (which can often happen for changing a light or servicing a fan) it may not be safe. Additionally, the fasteners that hold the sheet metal pieces together have an effect on the quality of the booth. The best fasteners are true nuts and bolts inserted through pre punched holes. These fasteners provide the greatest stability as well as allow for easy disassembly if a booth ever has to be moved. Other methods like zip screws are most convenient but the tradeoff is the quality of the construction. 2. Fan Quality The fan is the backbone of a good spray booth. Without its proper operation the booth will not adequately exhaust paint fumes from the working environment. A good booth company will provide a fan with a warranty and beyond that you will see the companies fan operate years without a hiccup in performance. 3. Features- When considering a booth there are a lot of options in today s market. You can install a booth that allows a painter to finish a product and then bake the product in the same booth, all the while maintaining a comfortable work temperature. Booths can also be auto balanced to balance air into the booth with air leaving the booth so that you do not lose shop heat during cold months, in Pennsylvania this is important to consider. These advanced features require an air make up unit as well as a PLC (Precision Logic

42 Controller). These advanced features are not available at lower priced booth manufacturers. 4. Company Support Does the booth supplier stand behind it s product? For example almost any booth startup is never a perfect experience there are always small issues that come up whether it be with electrical, mechanical, or in complex booths software issues. When these issues arise does the booth company have a support staff to service and solve those issues. With all this in mind make sure to research where you will be getting your booth from if you are at all concerned regarding the booth s quality, longevity, and support of its operation.

43 Spray Booth Types and there Uses In the world of spray booths there are primarily three kinds of booths that you can purchase each with an assortment of options that provide various additional benefits. When it comes to design though, you can have a downdraft, cross draft, or modified downdraft booth. Cross draft booths are typically the best price however they sometimes do not allow for the finishing environment to be as clean as a downdraft or modified downdraft. They are typically best suited for industrial environments where finish quality is not the top concern. Cross drafts cost savings are because their is not a need to alter the floor under the booth. While with a downdraft you typically have to alter the floor under the booth. However, if you plan a booth installation prior to erecting your building the floor can be built in advance which allows for the downdraft to be installed at a similar cost to a cross draft booth. Options that can be incorporated into a cross draft are extensive from lighting options to air make up units, to spray booths with bake features. Downdraft booths are the best option when finishing environment cleanliness is the top concern. Downdrafts differ from cross draft booths because the air comes from the top down through the floor and is then exhausted out the back or top of the booth. Cross draft booths on the other hand have air move horizontally from the front to back of the booth. The reason down draft booths are cleaner is that air movement keeps dust away from the product being sprayed where a cross draft booth has air moving across the surface of the object being painted which can lead to dust in your finish. While the product may come out with a cleaner finish, it does cost more due to needing a pit in the ground for exhaust to travel out. Modified downdraft booths are in theory a way to achieve a downdraft like finish without having to dig into the floor of the booth. While it is true they will allow for a cleaner finish at a better price than a cross draft booth, the issue is that spray often is directed toward the legs of the operator. This happens because spray is directed at the target but then is being pulled toward the outside of the wall

44 behind the painter causing their legs to often be covered in material. Within the context of all booths options exist for an air make up unit. The reason for the air make up unit is to supply warm air back into the booth. If you choose for a booth to run off of air from the shop the price is significantly better, however your shop ends up losing most of its heat which is a problem in the winter time. A cold booth can lead to slow or incorrect drying as well as operator discomfort. Air makeups eliminate the cold air that results from running the booth and can also be outfitted to heat the booth to a baking temperature thereby reducing paint setting time. With all of this about booths in mind we always recommend consulting with a booth manufacturers rep to find out what would work best for your situation

45 Spray Booth Maintenance Maintaining your spray booth is essential to ensure safe and effective spray applications. Booth maintenance can be broken into three main subsections. First is filter maintenance, second is gauge maintenance, and third is booth interior maintenance, and fourth is booth equipment maintenance. Filters are designed to stop overspray from exiting through the spray booth's exhaust and causing objects outside the building to be painted. Filters should be replaced based on two cues. Visually if the air in a booth is becoming "lazy" which means you can visably see paint hanging in the air it is time to change the filters regardless of what a measuring device like a manometer may read. The other reason to change filters is if a properly calibrated manometer reads that the filters are resisting airflow to much, which is an indication that they are becoming less effective at stoping spray. A properly calibrated manometer is essential to proper booth monitoring. To calibrate a manometer you start by replacing all filters in a booth with clean filters. You then go to the outside of the booth and with the fan off set the manometer gauge to read 0. Next you start the booth up and note the position of the gauge oil and place a green mark. This represents your clean benchmark and is the place your pressure is with completly clean filters. You then look at the manometer and move up 0.4 inches of pressure on the gauge, not actually measuring 0.4 inch but using the gauge markings. So if your clean bench mark shows at 0.1 you would then place a secondary mark at 0.5, this second line represents when you should change the filters and is best marked in red. In addition to filter maintenance, booth coating and booth paper are important considerations for increasing the longevity of your booth. By using booth coating and paper you benefit by having a brighter working area and eliminating spray coating the walls of the booth itself which over time can ruin the spray area. Finally it is important to maintain the booth exhaust fan as well. Within the factory manual for your booth will be a maintenance program that outlines all the important and vital activities that should be undertaken to manage your booths fan

46 or other important components. As always if you have booth problems like the fan running incorrectly or you notice air not moving consult a professional to help find the source of the problem. By following these tips you can have a booth last for many years and help provide a quality finish for your product while keeping your facility in compliance with fire safety codes and regulations.

47 Need Additional Help? Call us today for a free Consultation on your booth project. Will help you in better knowing what might be the right optionf or your application. Contact Us