Hi All,
I was hoping some of you can help me decide on what I need for a paint booth. I work for a small packaging design firm and have taken over as shop manager. Part of the plan to build the shop out further is to add a paint booth as I have been using spray paint and a small plywood enclosed area to try to contain overspray. I have been looking online and am thinking of getting an open face free standing bench booth from Paasche(model FABSF-5-T3). Does anyone have any experience with these or tips on others they think are a better product for the money?
Thanks in advance
I’ve used a slightly smaller version of this and really liked it. Filters were easy to take care of and the ventilation was good enough to pull airborne paint in (fumes still filled the area). I had no idea they were that expensive.
Get a nice turntable too.
Thanks for the reply. I haven’t been able to find anyone’s opinion on one of these. I was actually surprised because this one is less expensive than a lot of the others I have seen and is entirely made in the Chicago area from a good brand name.
Do you think a good turntable makes a huge difference? I do have a cheap lazy susan floating around the office that I have used for other things.
Smooth rotation is the key to a “good” turntable. A lazy-susan ( I never could figure out why they decided to pick on Susans) make a good one until the bearings start to get clogged with over-spray and dirt … easy enough to clean and/or replace (cheap). The problems with lazy-susans, as I see it, are that they are too close to surface they sit on, making low angle “shots” difficult; they are larger in diameter making them awkward to use at times; and they do not rotate freely if you want to spin the object (i.e. when applying clear coat, etc.).
Go ahead and post the name(s) of the manufacturers of the equipment you are considering.
The other sites I was looking at were toolsusa.com which is standard tools and equipment co. and paint booth technologies. One thing I really didn’t like is paint booth technologies wants to charge $1,175 for an ETL listing. Which from what I understand, the booth is already certified and they put a sticker on it! Their booth is also $700 more than the Paasche but I don’t know if the extra 1/4 hp is worth it.
If anyone knows a reliable local vendor in Ma. I would be interested in talking to them as well.
Thanks again
I’m curious… why do you think you need an ETL listed booth? ETL is simply a third-party evaluation of a manufacturer’s compliance to product safety requirements; i.e. “Yeah, we agree, they are building what they say they are (OSHA, UL Approved, CSA, etc.) .”
Unless your local Fire Marshal requires ETL (which I would find even more curious (even dubious)), or perhaps your Insurance Carrier (which I would not at all find curious (more like odious)) I don’t see much to warrant paying an ETL adder. If Paint Booth Technologies were serious about touting (marketing) their compliance with UL/CSA, etc. all of their products would be ETL listed, not just the ones that they can con a customer into paying for. (call me skeptical, no really, go ahead… I am skeptical). Their website states. “All Paint Booth Technologies Products comply with all OSHA & NFPA Regulations.”
I tend toward long-established companies when purchasing. Paasche has been around since 1904, and they’re still in business, so they are more than likely actually doing what they say they are. Their website states, “Conforms to OSHA, NFPA and EPA Regulations” so I would take them on face value.
OSHA 1910.94 covers general Ventilation requirements
OSHA 1910.94 (c)(1-8) specically covers Spray Finishing Operations (near the bottom of the page)
OSHA 1910.107(a) {Spray finishing using flammable and combustible materials} dictates paint booths compliance regs.
edit - I just re-read your original post. If you’re currently using a paint booth that is constructed of wood (flammable), you are not in NFPA, or OSHA compliance to begin with… Our local Fire Marshal would have had a field day in your shop. Just sayin’…
No doubt the fire marshal would have a ball. I do at least keep everything in a fireproof cabinet. I agree about paint booth technologies it smells fishy to me. And unless the insurance company asks for a sticker there’s no way I would tell the company to pay for it. It just seems asinine. And I definitely like to use brands that are made in USA and have been proven over time. I think your last post settles it for me why mess with people I don’t know when I already use paasche sprayers.
Thanks Lmo and Ryan
Our local Fire Marshal would have had a field day in your shop. Just sayin’…
Easy for me to spout this off, but if you’re shop is in a sizable community, or if you have neighboring businesses you should probably play [edit] nice and check into applicable codes and regulations before you get too much further into this. In our area an Installation Permit is required by the Fire Marshal before a paint booth can be installed. Something you may want to check into before you go to the expense of installation. Nothing like busting your butt to do a nice job, and then having to tear it out again because it isn’t “to code”.
You may want to try googling “used paint booths” too.
Re: ETL, found this too > http://www.paint-booths.com/whatisETL.htm
And > Bench Booth
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I don’t know if you can get it in a bench top model, but a down draft booth is the way to go. We have 2 at our shop. A large 15’x30’ down draft and a smaller 15x15 cross draft booth. The parts that come out of the down draft booth are significantly cleaner, but it could just be due to the size and condition of the smaller booth.
Also, I don’t believe you need a fire safe room for your paint unless you’re stocking a few hundred gallons of paint, primer, catalyst, etc.
I have a question…what do you need out of a paint booth? I’m not asking why you need one, but rather how big are the item you will be painting? What else will you be using it for? Spay mount? I ask this mostly because you mentioned you were a pkg firm. Because of this I think you could get away with a small booth. Even if you Are doing hard packaged goods, unless you are doing industrial pkg, they are not going to be massive. Keep this in mind while doing your search
J
Edit: they do come in handy when spray mounting boards.
Thanks for the further responses. I work mostly with prototypes for injection molded parts but often find myself have to finish 10-15 parts at the same time for consumer tests. Sometimes we use spray mount for labels and other purposes. Also we often build SLA bottles up to about a gallon and the occasional medium sized(3x3) display for a client to demo the product.
Thanks for the note on the regs, we have the commercial contractor who built out the office dealing with it and he works closely with the landlord and inspectors so I will make sure he knows what to look out for.
I would definitely like a downdraft booth but I haven’t seen one in this style or size. You would think it would be easy having all that space underneath the bench to work with. I think you may have just created a new style of spraybooth that I would love to have.
Thanks again everyone
Great info, I’m looking into this stuff for my new firm as well.