Alan Mikkelsen
01-17-2006, 10:09 PM
I've been thinking a lot in the last year or so about starting to spray finish some of my projects. I was having an Amish neighbor do some finishing when I needed a pre cat conversion varnish. I finally got around to building a dedicated spray booth last month. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, so I didn't want to post any pictures until I had 'tested' it. :D :D .
Well, I've sprayed a couple quarts of Target USL lacquer, and a gallon of pre cat conversion varnish (Target also) through it. I think it passes with flying colors. Here's a description of the booth and some of the design challenges and criteria: I already had a fan installed high in the part of my shop that the booth was going into. It could evacuate all the air in a 24x24xcathederal ceiling in about 3-4 minutes. I decided to build a ductwork with some scrap pieces to direct air from the booth to the fan, instead of cutting another hole in the wall.
Another limitation is that my dust collector sits next to the spray booth. I know this is a big no, but really don't have a choice in the matter. Additionally, I have high quality bags on the collector. Also, I can't have the booth set up permanently.
OK, I built the duct work, then framed in a 7'x7'x7' booth that folds up when not in use. I also put to use a cutting table that I had tacked together for working with some expanded metal. I am able to use 2x4's to hold projects on the table. I also made a nail bed and a lazy susan large enough to finish chairs on.
Everything seems to work very well, even though I only have a single furnace filter. A gallon of spray in one day only produced a minor amount of dust on the floor and none on the shelves on either side of the filter. Here's some pictures. The project is a cherry breakfast nook in a new Craftsman style home. I'll post some installed pictures later. (hope to install it on Friday.)
Well, I've sprayed a couple quarts of Target USL lacquer, and a gallon of pre cat conversion varnish (Target also) through it. I think it passes with flying colors. Here's a description of the booth and some of the design challenges and criteria: I already had a fan installed high in the part of my shop that the booth was going into. It could evacuate all the air in a 24x24xcathederal ceiling in about 3-4 minutes. I decided to build a ductwork with some scrap pieces to direct air from the booth to the fan, instead of cutting another hole in the wall.
Another limitation is that my dust collector sits next to the spray booth. I know this is a big no, but really don't have a choice in the matter. Additionally, I have high quality bags on the collector. Also, I can't have the booth set up permanently.
OK, I built the duct work, then framed in a 7'x7'x7' booth that folds up when not in use. I also put to use a cutting table that I had tacked together for working with some expanded metal. I am able to use 2x4's to hold projects on the table. I also made a nail bed and a lazy susan large enough to finish chairs on.
Everything seems to work very well, even though I only have a single furnace filter. A gallon of spray in one day only produced a minor amount of dust on the floor and none on the shelves on either side of the filter. Here's some pictures. The project is a cherry breakfast nook in a new Craftsman style home. I'll post some installed pictures later. (hope to install it on Friday.)