Painting Booth in Garage - necessary?

[Scott Bernstein]

I am building our kitchen cabinets. I am several weeks away from finishing, but trying to plan ahead. I intend to apply GF Enduro Conversion Varnish in the interior of the boxes, and GF white pigmented polyurethane to the doors and drawers. I've acquired a 5-stage turbine HVLP system for this. My question is if I set up some kind of spray booth in my garage to protect all my woodworking equipment from overspray, can I just make three sides? So if I spray towards the open garage door with the paint booth walls behind me and to either side, is that adequate? Also will I end up with conversion varnish and poly all over my driveway? Should I make a 4-sided booth with a filter & fan with the exhaust aimed towards the open garage door?

SB

[Jim Becker]

Since you are using waterborne finish, the issues you are dealing with are overspray/suspended particulates and temperature. The former is all about keeping things clean, so if your garage is used for storing stuff (it's not a bare room that's easier to clean) then making a temporary booth will allow you to control where the dust from spraying the finish can get to. I spray IN my shop and don't have any kind of containment. There is a small layer of "dust" over everything when I'm completed, despite using an air cleaner, etc., even with the doors open in warm weather. So shop cleaning ensues after the deed is done. The second aspect is temperature. The finishes need to be sprayed with temps in the rage stated on the container...typically at least 68ºF and up. It's easier to accommodate that in colder months if you have a smaller space to heat up...and a temporary booth would qualify for that.

If you exhaust to the driveway, there may be a small amount of particulates that make it past your filter but that will get washed away by the rain...it's dry before it even gets to your fan.

[John TenEyck]

GF's Conversion Varnish uses a catalyst that can cause serious heath issues. You do not want to be using that in an uncontrolled space. You need a 5 sided both with outside exhaust and you need to be fully suited up with an organics respirator to use that stuff safely. I would seriously reconsider using that GF product if you won't have that setup. TC's EM-8000cv presents a lot safer alternative for a conversion varnish.

Personally, I would question the need for conversion varnish of any type on cabinet interiors, with the possible exception of the sink cabinet. Even that can be protected from water and chemical drool with a plastic tray.

John

[Frank Drackman]

I spray in my shop without containment.

Only water based & almost always from Target Coatings. I clean the shop the day before & run my air filter overnight. Just before I spray I wet mop the floors. After I spray I leave the shop for a bit to not stir up any dust.
I am very happy with the results.

[Scott Bernstein]

Thanks for the advice. Yes, the sides will be from floor to ceiling and I’ll exhaust to the outside. There will be plastic on the ceiling also. I will be wearing my 3M industrial PAPR with full organic/HEPA filtration, plus a tyvek suit and gloves. The PAPR has tyvek hood that comes down over the shoulders. So i dunno...that seems like better than average protection. I wanted the best finish i could find.