To paint/body people - advice needed on outfitting a DIY paint shop

[Minuit]

This summer, a friend and I are going to be setting up a DIY paint shop, and we want to get it right. I know nothing about setting up a DIY paint shop. I know there are at least a few people on here that do. I do really like to paint stuff, and both the friend and I have several projects in mind already.

 

We are planning on building the booth semi-permanently into the building, probably with a PVC frame and plastic sheeting... like most DIY paint booths end up being.

 

I have been put in charge of the equipment for this project, and I'm looking for quality gear that'll last for longer than one paint job before being trash, since if all goes well (and neither one of us loses interest in the process - my friend has assured me he won't) we're looking at at least six vehicles or so.

 

Paint guns - at least two, one for primer and one for color and clear. I understand that this is a HUGE matter of preference. I don't want a piece of trash, but I don't want to spend a billion dollars on a paint gun either. What's a good middle ground?

 

Air regulators for paint guns - is there a preferred model here?

 

Suits - any special considerations I need to make here?

 

Respirators - ditto

 

Booth airflow - I know a lot of people might say "box fan in, box fan out, with a filter taped to the intake fan" - I want to get it right. How much more thinking do I need to do about the airflow through the painting area to get it right? Positive/negative pressure? Airflow direction?

 

What am I completely forgetting to think about here? Any comments are much appreciated.

[Strokermjcomanche]

Many different styles of these to choose from. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224293771267?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAAAkCXwBk7ybJOpLuXbADOkP6epqZrCZCJcNtYKu2AvSNxR054OxS0o6RuOGYaVpXRJxzNNfU0eWERKBnaY7dkGi8vjdXvCfTHs%2FJLdzJvW061MSkCR%2FEPJxce24Y3r%2B1IN2CjF11rXbu%2BwXmex%2BnPUujzH%2FBdoldzTzT%2FwB00Y7x7A8ezgb4bDn8WHrtvqxM9mQQ%3D%3D&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=224293771267&targetid=1262931797162&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9015465&poi=&campaignid=12873834685&mkgroupid=120757368679&rlsatarget=pla-1262931797162&abcId=9300536&merchantid=138165827&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIicmJsJHl8AIVIm1vBB21-wo4EAQYASABEgKm0PD_BwE

 

 

 

 

i like SATA guns , I'm sure other opinions will vary . 

 

 

i've never been a paint suit type of guy, The cheap disposable ones should suit your needs just fine (  be prepared to sweat a lot LOL ) . Respirators are always a must, I normally buy disposable ones. I don't like the high-end ones, only because I feel they're like a CPAP machine as you can get sick from wearing them over and over and not sanitized properly. Isocyanates can go through your eyes as well, Eye protection is important as well

 

 Factor in a good air compressor, possibly a paint shaker, a gun holder, mixing cups, other essentials. 

[Smokeyyank]

I haven't ventured too far into the realm but my dad has painted a few cars and I've picked up a few things over the years. One thing not mentioned is you need to have a good compressor that is able to keep up. Rest won't matter if your compressor is junk. I would also make sure your "booth" is able to stay as clean and leak free as possible and try to utilize a downdraft airflow system. Keep all dust to a minimum and try to have your intake air as clean as possible. I prefer negative pressure as it get's the air out quicker so less chance for things to linger in your booth.  For paint guns check pawn shops. My dad has picked up a few guns for pennies on the dollar. He has a devilbliss and a TCP global. I would put more focus on your clear gun vs paint. Suits whatever is comfortable if you're just doing a few car's disposable would be my suggestion.   

[Minuit]

Compressor wise, I need to check with him because he might have it figured out already. Naturally, the compressor will need to be sized to the guns. Don't know if he has 230V available in the building, if not that's obviously going to be a major blocker.

 

Thanks for the advice so far.

[scaleless]

DEFINITELY positive pressure.  Negative pressure will draw in contaminated air and dust from small leaks in the booth.  Positive pressure ensures all airflow passes through your filter.  Mist the floor with water before painting, which will prevent any settled dust from becoming airborne.  You really don't need much airflow - a few box fans will suffice.  Just have one more on the intake than the outlet side to ensure positive pressure. 

I personally use Graco-Sharpe Finex sprayers.  Great middle ground between price and performance.  A 1.6-1.8mm HVLP is a good size for shooting primers, basecoats, and most clears.  With an HVLP, just about any sized compressor is adequate, just make sure you have a regulator to ensure an accurate pressure on the gun side and a filter/dryer to eliminate moisture.  I generally have a regulator on the compressor side set to 40psi and one on the gun set to my spray pressure - this will get an accurate pressure at the gun whole accounting for losses in the tube.

 

Also definitely don't use disposable N95 masks or anything like they.  They aren't rated for organic vapors that are in paint.

 

Also if you have any appreciable amount of hair, wear a hair net like you would in a kitchen.  Something like 90% of my paint imperfections are me not wearing anything on my head and I get hair in the paint lol

[OldSch88L]

You also need to get rid of any spark source; usually a paint booth has sealed neon boxes. Also take a moment to think about your fan setup, as the fumes can be flammable/explosive. Try to find something that doesn't have the motor directly in the airflow, or something brushless, or at least put a filter before your exhaust fan. Also, light switches in a booth are a big no-no.

[89 MJ]

Minuit, if you want, I can try to get some pics of my dad’s paint booth. It’s nothing fancy and he builds show cars. It’s not even sealed up 100% against the rest of the shop. 

[Minuit]

6 hours ago, 89 MJ said:

Minuit, if you want, I can try to get some pics of my dad’s paint booth. It’s nothing fancy and he builds show cars. It’s not even sealed up 100% against the rest of the shop. 

That would be very helpful.

[PCO6]

Here's my paint booth.   Lots of fresh air!     

 

[Torq_Shep]

19 hours ago, Minuit said:

Compressor wise, I need to check with him because he might have it figured out already. Naturally, the compressor will need to be sized to the guns. Don't know if he has 230V available in the building, if not that's obviously going to be a major blocker.

 

Thanks for the advice so far.

I run a transmission cooler off of my compressor into an auto drop out separator before it enters the tank. If I am spraying paint I crack the drain on the bottom of the tank while spraying so that any other condensed water comes out. I seem to drop out most of the water for way less money than a professional dropout system. 

[EvilMJ]

I've sprayed everything everywhere over the years.  You can spray in the yard if you wet the grass down lol.  I like the lphv top load cheap guns from Harbor Freight for DIY stuff.  I currently  have a temp booth made out of 2xs and plastic.  Led lights from HF on wall and ceiling - lighting means everything when you are painting.  Down draft - filters in the top of room, fan at the bottom.  Wet the floor to keep down/attract dust.  Any compressor will work if it keeps the volume you need.  NO oilers - don't use lines that have been used with a oiler for air tools.  I use disposable water filters inline and manual reg at gun.  Have a water filter/separator at tank. 

 

Just going take practice.  Have test panels to spray on until you get it setup right.  Temp, air pressure, and humidity can all kill a good paint job.  Base-coat is the way to go once you get going, but if you are just learning on old Jeeps, you may want to start with acrylic enamel.  Have a problem - spray it thick and just sand and buff it out.  Plus you can mix clear in the last spray to really make it shine.  I sprayed an old CJ with Imron semi-truck paint - it is bulletproof, but it ruined my light bulbs and made the floor sticky for a month!! lol

 

In all seriousness, you need a N95 mask at bare minimum, and a canister respirator is better.  More importantly, protect your hands when using thinners - the $#!& is terrible for your liver and sucks in through your skin.

 

Finally, watch your hose!!  I don't know how many times I've drug my hose over fresh paint!!

[EvilMJ]

4 hours ago, PCO6 said:

Here's my paint booth.   Lots of fresh air!     

 

Been there, done that!  LOVE the color - I'm thinking very seriously of repainting my MJ and or my D90 that color or a little darker like the Renegades and Charger color.  I SO hate metallic paint!

[PCO6]

15 minutes ago, EvilMJ said:

Been there, done that!  LOVE the color - I'm thinking very seriously of repainting my MJ and or my D90 that color or a little darker like the Renegades and Charger color.  I SO hate metallic paint!

 

I'm with you on metallics.  This one is single stage enamel and it's off the shelf Tremclad (Canadian Rustoleum).   It's "Gloss Grey" which I think is the same as Rustoleum "Smoke Grey".   I like the JK & JL "Sting Grey" and I think the slightly lighter "Anvil Grey" before it.  This a bit lighter than those but close. 

[PCO6]

23 minutes ago, EvilMJ said:

I've sprayed everything everywhere over the years.  You can spray in the yard if you wet the grass down lol.  I like the lphv top load cheap guns from Harbor Freight for DIY stuff.  I currently  have a temp booth made out of 2xs and plastic.  Led lights from HF on wall and ceiling - lighting means everything when you are painting.  Down draft - filters in the top of room, fan at the bottom.  Wet the floor to keep down/attract dust.  Any compressor will work if it keeps the volume you need.  NO oilers - don't use lines that have been used with a oiler for air tools.  I use disposable water filters inline and manual reg at gun.  Have a water filter/separator at tank. 

 

Just going take practice.  Have test panels to spray on until you get it setup right.  Temp, air pressure, and humidity can all kill a good paint job.  Base-coat is the way to go once you get going, but if you are just learning on old Jeeps, you may want to start with acrylic enamel.  Have a problem - spray it thick and just sand and buff it out.  Plus you can mix clear in the last spray to really make it shine.  I sprayed an old CJ with Imron semi-truck paint - it is bulletproof, but it ruined my light bulbs and made the floor sticky for a month!! lol

 

In all seriousness, you need a N95 mask at bare minimum, and a canister respirator is better.  More importantly, protect your hands when using thinners - the $#!& is terrible for your liver and sucks in through your skin.

 

Finally, watch your hose!!  I don't know how many times I've drug my hose over fresh paint!!

 

I used to paint Dupont Centari acrylic enamel almost exclusively.  Easy to shoot and work with.  I got out of painting when Dupont Imron was becoming popular, so quite a while ago.  Great paint and tough as you say but isocyanates aren't for amateurs.   

[EvilMJ]

1 hour ago, EvilMJ said:

Been there, done that!  LOVE the color - I'm thinking very seriously of repainting my MJ and or my D90 that color or a little darker like the Renegades and Charger color.  I SO hate metallic paint!

I didn't even think about that, but it is about the color of Rustoleum Smoke Grey!  We use that here at the quarry to paint conveyors.  Did you top coat it or is that just paint?  Looks slick in the photo.

 

I got where I really liked spraying urethane - flows like water, just have to be on your toes or you'll run it to the floor lol.

[PCO6]

3 minutes ago, EvilMJ said:

I didn't even think about that, but it is about the color of Rustoleum Smoke Grey!  We use that here at the quarry to paint conveyors.  Did you top coat it or is that just paint?  Looks slick in the photo.

 

I got where I really liked spraying urethane - flows like water, just have to be on your toes or you'll run it to the floor lol.

 

I paint a lot of my shop equipment grey and when I painted the trailer I recently completed the same grey last year I thought ... why not?  Next thing I knew I was tearing my LJ apart.

 

I've been doing it panel by panel and most have about 4 coats.  I have not shot a clear coat or mixed it in with the final colour coats.     I will likely buff it out but it won't require much.   The gloss is good and the finish is smooth.  I've never used ceramic waxes and I might experiment a bit with those.   Honestly, I went with enamel because I know this Jeep will get beat up a bit and I want to be able to touch it up or do whole panels easily when I need to.

 

It's not done yet; my "booth" got a bit cold last fall - lol.   The weather is good now and I'm back at it.   Here's where it stands now along the trailer that will go with it.  They've yet to be hooked up to each other.  I'm  REALLY happy with the colour. 

 

 

[EvilMJ]

52 minutes ago, PCO6 said:

 

I paint a lot of my shop equipment grey and when I painted the trailer I recently completed the same grey last year I thought ... why not?  Next thing I knew I was tearing my LJ apart.

 

I've been doing it panel by panel and most have about 4 coats.  I have not shot a clear coat or mixed it in with the final colour coats.     I will likely buff it out but it won't require much.   The gloss is good and the finish is smooth.  I've never used ceramic waxes and I might experiment a bit with those.   Honestly, I went with enamel because I know this Jeep will get beat up a bit and I want to be able to touch it up or do whole panels easily when I need to.

 

It's not done yet; my "booth" got a bit cold last fall - lol.   The weather is good now and I'm back at it.   Here's where it stands now along the trailer that will go with it.  They've yet to be hooked up to each other.  I'm  REALLY happy with the colour. 

 

 

The touch up is the main reason I don't like the metallics or even clear coat for that matter on an off-road rig.  With enamel & urethane, if you have a problem, spray a little more on and buff it out.  That trailer would look good behind my rig!  I plan on building one soon.  Thought about putting  full axle under it to match my front or rear.  That way if I break something on the trail I'll have spares - tire/wheel, axle shaft, spring, diff, etc.  I want to go a little taller and have a roof tent too.  I started the idea with my Defender - have a stripped Disco frame with suspension, the rest is pretty simple.  Unfortunately, work tends to get in the way of the work I want to do!

[PCO6]

34 minutes ago, EvilMJ said:

The touch up is the main reason I don't like the metallics or even clear coat for that matter on an off-road rig.  With enamel & urethane, if you have a problem, spray a little more on and buff it out.  That trailer would look good behind my rig!  I plan on building one soon.  Thought about putting  full axle under it to match my front or rear.  That way if I break something on the trail I'll have spares - tire/wheel, axle shaft, spring, diff, etc.  I want to go a little taller and have a roof tent too.  I started the idea with my Defender - have a stripped Disco frame with suspension, the rest is pretty simple.  Unfortunately, work tends to get in the way of the work I want to do!

 

That's exactly right about touch ups.   Good idea about putting a Jeep axle, springs, etc. under a trailer.  We have a small tear drop and an 80's fibreglass camper project that my wife and I camp in.   My plan is to build a 1 man side entry clam shell RTT for this one.   I'll be able to put 1 kayak and 1 bike on top of it for my single camp and fishing trips.  It will be a single RTT for a reason! 

[Minuit]

Just to give you an idea of the kind of things we'll be using this for - I do really intend for this setup to be capable of factory-quality work if the monkey behind the gun is working correctly. To be more specific, I intend to paint my '91 (restoration, and in original color) in this booth, and I'm a pretty tough customer, especially when it comes to paint jobs. That particular truck will be pampered, covered, and the paint will be ceramic sealed as soon as possible. We'll be doing other stuff with less stringent quality standards to dial in the booth setup (and our painting technique, I suppose - but neither of us are complete novices at painting) before touching anything we really care about.

 

@PCO6 that looks really damn good, especially considering you did it outside! If I tried that, every single bug, piece of pollen, and drop of tree sap in sight would be on my truck by the time I finished my first coat. Also, it would decide to start raining even though none was in the forecast

[PCO6]

1 hour ago, Minuit said:

Just to give you an idea of the kind of things we'll be using this for - I do really intend for this setup to be capable of factory-quality work if the monkey behind the gun is working correctly. To be more specific, I intend to paint my '91 (restoration, and in original color) in this booth, and I'm a pretty tough customer, especially when it comes to paint jobs. That particular truck will be pampered, covered, and the paint will be ceramic sealed as soon as possible. We'll be doing other stuff with less stringent quality standards to dial in the booth setup (and our painting technique, I suppose - but neither of us are complete novices at painting) before touching anything we really care about.

 

@PCO6 that looks really damn good, especially considering you did it outside! If I tried that, every single bug, piece of pollen, and drop of tree sap in sight would be on my truck by the time I finished my first coat. Also, it would decide to start raining even though none was in the forecast

 

Thanks!   Overall 2020 was a year like I hope we never experience again ... but it was a good one for painting outdoors.      I had to pick and choose a bit but the weather really didn't get in the way. I think what helped was that I did it panel by panel with the attitude that each coat wasn't the last.  If I had to do a bit more work before the next one I was OK with that.   Every once in a while though I'd lay down a coat say ... "that's it!".    

[EvilMJ]

On 5/27/2021 at 1:17 PM, PCO6 said:

 

That's exactly right about touch ups.   Good idea about putting a Jeep axle, springs, etc. under a trailer.  We have a small tear drop and an 80's fibreglass camper project that my wife and I camp in.   My plan is to build a 1 man side entry clam shell RTT for this one.   I'll be able to put 1 kayak and 1 bike on top of it for my single camp and fishing trips.  It will be a single RTT for a reason! 

Better not let her see your CC account! lol

[89 MJ]

Here is our paint booth. Plastic curtains, an exhaust fan, and a filtered air hose. 

[EvilMJ]

2 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

Here is our paint booth. Plastic curtains, an exhaust fan, and a filtered air hose. 

I've seen body shops that aren't that nice lol

[89 MJ]

6 hours ago, EvilMJ said:

I've seen body shops that aren't that nice lol

Yes, this is in my dad’s restoration shop. He has built a few magazine cars out of here, and they were painted in there. 
Only one car per year is painted in there though. 

[PCO6]

19 hours ago, EvilMJ said:

Better not let her see your CC account! lol

 

ha ha.   No, she's quite OK my "single" camping.   She'll probably like that it will be an RTT for one ... no visitors.