DIY Spray Booth: Tent?

[Keith Downing]

Finally caved in this week and ordered a bunch of the General Finishes to start spraying instead of using the polycrylic that has been a pain in the arse. Also plan to try to spray some projects with the water based paint we had left over from repainting a couple of rooms in our house. But nothing flamable.

I'm going to need a spray booth area setup outside since our shop us full.

I was planning to do a DIY spray booth with 3/4" pvc and plastic walls, probably some type of filtered fan as well.

My better half (fiance) brought up the idea of using one of our old tents with a fan for venting. Seems like a decent idea, but I'm wondering if there's an obvious downside I'm missing. I've been searching here awhile tonight and I've found a lot of DIY booths, but no mention of anyone ever trying a tent (other than those manufactured as spray booths like this: https://www.amazon.com/HomeRight-Shelter-C900038-Portable-Painting/dp/B011L3DVVO).

Anyone ever tried this?

[Marc Jeske]

That tent is awfull small.. would probably need a lazy susan and not do big pieces.. and you would have to stay outside.. no room around your workpiece.

A canopy is not sufficient ?

Bugs?

Anyway.. maybe some ideas below - Marc

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?261221-Large-DIY-Spray-Booth-How-To

[Keith Downing]

That tent is awfull small.. would probably need a lazy susan and not do big pieces.. and you would have to stay outside.. no room around your workpiece.

A canopy is not sufficient ?

Bugs?

Anyway.. maybe some ideas below - Marc

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?261221-Large-DIY-Spray-Booth-How-To

Thanks for the reply Marc.

Maybe I confused you in my post, but that link was to what I'd seen others recommend in the forums the last few years.

My (fiance's) idea was to use an old tent our family has, which is much larger and could possibly work great.

My concern was more along the lines of, is a traditional camping tent made to withstand over spray? Will it react poorly to the chemicals over time? Or is there some other reason I shouldn't use one?

[Jim Becker]

Since it appears that you're using water borne finishes, there's a much smaller likelihood for damage. Overspray from water borne finishes is largely small particulates..finish that's dried in the air after "missing" the workpiece...which is why I run my air cleaner when spraying in my shop. There may be an accumulation of finish down under the spraying area, based on how things have worked in my shop. (the concrete in that area is now "very smooth" :) )

The way I see this, if the tent you intend to use is large enough to comfortably do the work, you can provide the high level of lighting necessary to "see" what you're spraying properly and you can deal with ventilation necessary to keep the air clear (you still need to wear personal protection) it could work.

[Keith Downing]

Thanks Jim, sounds like a promising solution so far then.

[William M Johnson]

Check eBay under wedding tent. I bought one for this purpose and it worked great. The best part was that a 10 x 10 tent was about $35 shipped. They have windows so you get some light through them. For $35 I couldn't afford to store it when finished. To the trash it went. BTW a 20 x 20 was only about $10 more.

[Sam Murdoch]

I have done just that. Bought a 20' x 10' tent and a 24" dia. fan from Harbor Freight. One of those portable garages/party tent for about $ 100.00. The length was good for spraying at one end and leaving a long side for drying racks. The big fan was cheap enough and I set up a 1/2 sheet of 1/4" ply with the right dia. hole cut out, covered with two layers of furnace filters. Keep the fan up off the ground the same height as your spray table. With the waterborne I was not concerned about flash fires though after 2 kitchens of cabinets I did make a mess of the fan. Still runs fine but covered with over spray. The filters can only do so much. Proved to me that the fan was doing the job.

My tent was mostly roof so I cut a 20 foot tarp in half and hung each half along the sides. This helped control the air flow and eliminated insects on my finish.
I also used a lumber cover/tarp on the ground. The tent set up was a good temporary solution. The logistics of spraying in my "shop annex" was challenging but I couldn't of done it otherwise short of renting a facility.

Good luck.

[Keith Downing]

Thanks guys, sounds like it's worth at least trying it out!

Will report back with any problems I run into.