Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 19

Thread: Need ideas for a cheap spray booth

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529

    Need ideas for a cheap spray booth

    In my last house I made a spray booth contraption of our 2x4’s and that would hang off the open garage door. It worked okay, but was far from smooth.

    I’ve moved and have a need to spray a 8’ x 2’ desktop, which is probably about the biggest project I’ll spray. So I’m looking for a cheap and easy spray booth setup and need some ideas.

    Currently my thought would be to buy a pop up canopy (easy up style) and add poly walls to it with Velcro/clamps/something else.

    Any other thoughts? I thought about a big camping tent, thinking the mesh walls would block debris but not all of the wind.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
    Posts
    1,719
    I just finished spraying my second batch of Plantation Shutters.

    My first batch, I built a temporary spray booth out of 2x4's and covered it with a heavy duty plastic.

    This second time, I built the structure out of 2" PVC pipe and just used Tee and Elbows. In a few places I used PVC adhesive, but left it to the point where I could disassemble it and store it for future use. This one, I covered with a lighter weight plastic drop cloth, covering the 4 walls, ceiling and floor.

    I made it 10'L x 8'W x 7'H.

  3. #3
    Why bother with a spray booth? A clean room will do just fine. Spray your finish, let it flash off then vent with a fan. Plenty of finishes get sprayed on site without a booth.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    Quote Originally Posted by johnny means View Post
    Why bother with a spray booth? A clean room will do just fine. Spray your finish, let it flash off then vent with a fan. Plenty of finishes get sprayed on site without a booth.
    I’ve got a basement shop with only one small half window. Spray in there would kick up too much dust. Garage, basically the same thing, and outside too much wind and too seasonal. I don’t mind spraying in winter in the garage because I can keep things inside them bring out to spray and back in soon. So, no clean room available.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    NE OH
    Posts
    2,615
    Looked into this a little a while ago. For not much more than just a pop up canopy, you can get one with three sides enclosed, so you wouldn't have to fuss with separate poly. My thought was I'd add a fan or two in the back wall with filters in front to get enough air flow to minimize overspray settling on the work. I haven't had to do it yet as the weather has been nice enough that I spray outside, but when winter comes I may need to take the plunge.
    --I had my patience tested. I'm negative--

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    I use poly hung from nails in the floor joists to make a temporary spray booth in my basement shop. My DC fan is the exhaust and an open window supplies make-up air. I've used this arrangement for about 8 years now and it works really well for the shellac and waterborne products I use. No way I'd spray solvent based products, however, besides shellac. The booth is about 8 x 10 ft so I can spray house doors lying flat, and similar large projects. 1200 cfm is not nearly enough, but somehow it is as I've never had a problem with overspray.

    John

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,876
    I picked up a free dome tent with no poles at a yard sale. staked the corners down and tied the top to a tree branch. I reached in through the open door and used it for a sandblast booth.
    Bill D

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    1.5 hrs north of San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    842
    From an idea in a spray-finishing book,
    Mine is a knock-down spray booth of 1-inch foam insulation panels connected together with Velcro straps. Mine is 8 feet wide (two panels) and 4 feet deep with a top -- easily extendable -- not quite 8 feet high to fit in my garage. I took a 36-inch belt-drive "whole house fan", and reconstructed it into a round duct of flashing with the motor outside of the duct and the belt through a slot in the suction side of the fan. It is very easy to assemble, and it disassembles into a 5-inch thick stack, except for the ducted fan.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 09-05-2020 at 6:26 PM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    3,655
    rigid foam insulation and duct tape; whole house ventilation fan aiming out a window in the back. Not good for flammable solvents obviously, but keeps the overspray off everything in the shop and vents the fumes pretty effectively. I still use a respirator. (Actually much like Glenn's picture that I just looked at more carefully)

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    I recall seeing plans with rigid foam board. I’ll look into it more. Definitely cheaper than a pop up tent. More to store though.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    Turns out rigid foam board is expensive - $15/sheet or so. And if I need even at minimum 6, that’s almost $100. I’d rather stick with a pop up canopy at that price.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Wenatchee. Wa
    Posts
    769
    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    Ive used this system (single fan) for years. Carefully taped the panels together so that they can be folded as a unit and store it above the garage door. Takes 5 minutes to slide down and set up.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,647
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Turns out rigid foam board is expensive - $15/sheet or so. And if I need even at minimum 6, that’s almost $100. I’d rather stick with a pop up canopy at that price.
    Exactly why I use plastic sheeting. Cheap, and easy to store.

    John

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Kansas City
    Posts
    2,652
    Harbor Freight has a couple of framed - plastic things that might work. I dont have opportunity to look right now, but I've seen them in the past and thought that would be a good use for them.

    I used shower curtain liners on sections of conduit in a pinch before, but it would be nice to have a better set-up

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •