I have been reading up on archive posts about DIY spray booths etc. planning to paint inside the garage more than outside this year. I have a good DIY booth but in the past have used it only for non-solvents and for "sand" blasting...using an attached vacuum for venting.
Now I will be using some lacquer based paints and venting with a sealed motor fan and hose to the outside etc. I have read all the info on best materials for hoses, fans etc. but only find mention of using "good" pleated filters rather than the cheap fibreglass ones. I am not sure exactly what is meant....
Are the best filters spoken of still a kind of furnace filter, but just a high grade one? What brand or kind is meant?
Thanks.
Yes, a furnace filter. I use something like this, or maybe a little better: http://www.homedepot.com/b/Heating-Venting-Cooling-Air-Filters/4-5-Good/N-5yc1vZc4kwZc4kwZ1z0uhhl. I don't think brand is important.
I like to get the ones that have a wire reinforcement on the outlet side.
I don't use the cheapy blue style filters that only cost a couple dollars.
What you're actually trying to do with the filter is have it collect any particulate before it hits the fan. Anything that hits the fan will either coat the blades leading to a cleaning effort down the road, or pass through the fan and deposit itself someplace where you don't want it to, like your car or your laundry, or maybe your neighbor's car and/or laundry.
I purchase the rough-textured filter material (like kitchen scrub-pad material) that is sold at home stores and WalMart in larger sheets- the open air nature of the filter material allows lacquer-based paint spray to collect on the individual "strings"/ webbing of the material. When I have used pleated paper filters, the laquer paints tend to clog and seal the filter rapidly, resulting in shorter use time before replacement.
Cedarwoodron
My thoughts for a spraybooth are to use a range hood. It gives you multiple speeds on the fan and lighting as well. It has mesh filters that are easily modified to take a paper pre-filter. Using flex duct (dryer vent) allows using standard duct vents for a more permanent and clean look outside.
Just my opinion , but i wear a good face mask when doing non-water based paint , not one of those dust masks fron the hardware store but one that will protect from the solvents. Mine says its a "Chemical - Cartridge Repirator" Looks like a World War 2 gas mask..
Thanks for the tips. All good ideas.
I use the cheap fibreglass furnace filters, as the paper ones clog too rapidly and are too expensive to be replacing them constantly. I built the spray booth to take one-half of a standard 11"x22" filter, but since that size is no longer available, I'll modify the slip-in bracket to take a different size when my supply runs out.These filters do a decent job of catching the paint particles, and this was verified when I recently moved airbrush operations to my detached garage. Disassembly of the vent duct showed only minimal build-up on the fan blades, and that's after over 30 years of service, including commercial painting.Because my garage is a very old building (it was a house when it was built about 125 years ago) I built a small room within it, with a subfloor and finished walls to keep the critters out. I also added a screened and closeable fresh air intake - this dramatically improved airflow through the exhaust, as the former location was within a newer, well-sealed house, with very little fresh make-up air available.
I always wear a two-stage respirator when airbrushing, regardless of the type of paint being used. "Two-stage" means that in addition to removing particulate matter, it also removes, among other things, pesticides, organic vapours and acid gases. When worn properly, you will not even smell the organic solvents used in such paints. When used in conjunction with a properly-vented spray booth, the filter cartridges are long lasting and effective. When it becomes difficult to breathe through them, it's time to replace them.
Wayne
Try using both. I use cheap pleated filters with a pre filter in front of it made of what looks like the same stuff scrub pads are made of. Home depot sells the pads for pretty cheap in the furnace filter section. One pad makes 2 pre filters. The pads look like spun grass on a mesh backing. The pre filters catch most of the solids and extend the life of the pleated filter by 3 times.
Like Wayne, I use the cheap fiberglass filters. I cut it down to the size that I need in my home-made spray booth.
Mike
Ya I opt for the low price true paint booth filters that I buy here. They tend to last longer as paint builds up and actually capture the overspray
My spray booth takes a roughly 9" by 18" filter. I used to buy the cheapo kinds, but I recently had to do a mkajor cleaning on the fan impeller. This was after 10+ years of pretty heavy use.
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I am switching to pleated paper A/C return duct filters from now on. Hopefully they will be a permanent solution to a minor problem.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
doctorwayne I always wear a two-stage respirator when airbrushing, regardless of the type of paint being used. "Two-stage" means that in addition to removing particulate matter, it also removes, among other things, pesticides, organic vapours and acid gases. When worn properly, you will not even smell the organic solvents used in such paints. When used in conjunction with a properly-vented spray booth, the filter cartridges are long lasting and effective. When it becomes difficult to breathe through them, it's time to replace them. Wayne
A fit test is the best way to be sure your respirator is not leaking Volatile Organic Compounds. I was HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response) trained under OSHA standard 29 CFR Part 1910.120. I had to be fit tested yearly for the respirator I was using. The above trainers recommened against half face respirator as they do not seal as well as full face respirators.
Of course when painting the solvent based paints which use BTEX solvents, a fitted full faced respirator is best practices. BTEX is Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene suite of compounds. The old Floquil paints used to use a solvent called toluol which was based on Toluene, a pentroleum based volatile organinc compound. As always its good to review the materials safety data sheets for compounds you will be working with (MSDS).
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
My spaybooth is homebuilt and uses a vent fan to maintain airflow. I tested the setup by spraying water, and as long as I spray inside the booth, the airflow is sufficient to prevent any of the spray from leaving the booth.
I use a fiber furnace filter cut down to fit. It's supported on 1/2" wire mesh with the cut ends bent 90 degrees to hold the filter in place (the ends are pushed into the filter). The filter doesn't take care of vapors, but it catches almost all of the airborne paint, and I use a long plastic dryer duct to vent the booth to outside the garage.
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
If you can smell the solvents, your booth isn't doing its job. Either the fan moves insufficient air, or your ducting is leaking. Wearing a respirator should only be your secondary protection, especially if you're using it in living space. Personally, I have tested with water (as S&S did) and rechecked it with paint for a visual check; if any is escaping, it's way down in the ppm scale. So I don't bother with the respirator.
Re. the filter, my booth vents outside the house, and as long as I'm not painting the grass Conrail Blue, I'm satisfied with filtering. Cheap fiberglass filters, changed often, do the trick for me.
Genesee Terminal, freelanced HO in Upstate NY ...hosting Loon Bay Transit Authority, run through Amtrak and CSX Intermodal
CP/D&H, N scale, somewhere on the Canadian Shield