Spraying Indoors??

[joez]

Hi All,

So far I have been spraying my projects outdoors, but I feel that I need to move indoors to provide the best/cleanest enviroment for finishing.

I usually spray Shellac and hope to spray Lacquers. Most projects are smaller than a coffee table but I might have some larger projects (e.g. bookcases) in the future.

What sort of setups are people using for indoor spray painting in your average 2-3 car garage??

I would have though a some sort of foldup/temporary spray booth would be ideal.

Any help, links or pics would be great.


TIA

Joe

[soundman]

Now there's a can of worms.

I've stayed with spraying out doors, but I don't do much critical stuff.

If you want a shock figure out how much air you need to moove for an effective spray booth..... then price a flame proof fan.


YIKES


I have a quote for a little fan I had considered for a "small parts hood".

12 inch fan with a 1/3 hp motor (flameproof) $887.70 inc gst.

Still keen.

a good mate picked up a similar fan second hand for about $200 & mounted it in a folding panel. He likes it, but it is far from compliant.

I have seen articles on plastic tents, I assume you just hold your breath???

cheers.

[Shane Watson]

Yeah like soundman said, its a can of worms.

Theres so much to consider. Firstly what ever you use has to have air flow through it. Both the entry points and exit points have to be filtered...And proper filter cloth ain't cheap either. Then theres the fan which soundman covered....THen the theres getting the correct volume of air flow through the booth to be effect and not overkill which will cause problems if theres too much velocity. etc etc etc......

I think you'll find most people spraying at home do so with the roller door closed and hope for the best. I know from the past experiences that results can be awsome in this environment but the amount of time spent trying to keep dust movement to a minimum is painful. But for small jobs its easy. Tables or anything with large flat surfaces is where you'll find it mroe difficult, but again results can be amazing.

If you don't spray all that much all that often and are concerned about spraying in a dusty environment then consider renting spraybooth time. This is a common thing nowadays and most if not all spray painters will hire out there booths on weekends and the prices are reasonable as well.

You'll note that I didn't even touch on the whole legal issues or health issues, cause like me & soundman said - can of worms.....Hell I had enough hassles keeping the authorities happy with a commercial booth!

[joez]

Thanks for the reply's, doesnt look like theres a DIY solution.

I'll stick to the outdoor spraying.

Joe

[Shane Watson]

Ya wanna hope your local authorities don't read this board then! Mwahahahaha!!

[journeyman Mick]

Actually I believe that as long as none of the fumes or spray mist leaves your property there EPA has no problem with it (this is in Qld at any rate). Had to make enquiries for a job I was on as there was a lot of upholstery work to be done for a boat fitout. Not a good idea to be spraying contact cement around in a shed with 30 boilermakers all making sparks. Spoke to council who referred me to the EPA. Gave the EPA all the information on what we were planning (spray contact cement in an open sided shipping container out in the carpark) and they were OK with it as long as nothing left the property. Of course laquer and paint are a lot lighter than contact cement and will travel further but if you can spray at a fairly low pressure and minimize your overspray you'll have half a chance. Personally for my own work I operate on the "tell 'em nothing, give 'em nothing" principle as far as authorities of any kind are concerned. If your neighbours can't smell the fumes they won't be complaining to council. Just like if my neighbours at my last house hadn't heard my thicknesser screaming away for an hour on a Sunday afternoon they wouldn't have called the police on me:mad: (last time I do a quick job for a mate on the weekend, mind you the copper was fine, said he didn't have a problem with the noise level as long as I wasn't doing commercial work.)

Mick

[Shane Watson]

So far as spraying paint in QLD is concerned anything over a certain litre'age per day demands a booth. I just can't remember how many litres it is. I think its two..Boundary lines don't come into it. So if your only spraying a litre or so then it ain't a concern. Two pack products are another story, they require a booth full stop no questions.

[journeyman Mick]

Unless you're a boatbuilder in which case you're exempt, it's a bit hard putting a 24M boat in a spray booth. Of course I'm sure they'll tighten up on this in the future, a mate who used to sandblast and paint boats now only paints as they have tightened up the regs on blasting.

Mick.

[joez]

I dont think I'd have any issues with the authority's I'd be lucky to average a 2 litres a month!!


I have couple of more questions though, with pre cat Lacquers how long is the shelf life? and how can I tell if its gone off??

What do you guys do with the excess (thinned) lacquer left in the gun after a job has finished?? Do you just turf it, or will it keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight container??


Thanks for all the help, these forums are the best!



Joe

[soundman]

QLD state law is fine with you spraying outside as long as you are a certain distance ( cant remember)( 10m i think) from any building.
In a workshop providing that it is less than a crertain time in any given day (can't remember) you may spray 1L of product in a session or 100mL on an article ???

local regulations vary.
I believe brisbane is trying to outlaw farting unless in a fully enclosed as standard spray booth.

The best investment is a hvlp spray gun. Properly run it will reduce your overspray dramaticaly.
the porter cable from carbatec is about $200 the star is a similar price.

cheers

[journeyman Mick]

Originally posted by soundman
local regulations vary.
I believe brisbane is trying to outlaw farting unless in a fully enclosed as standard spray booth.
cheers

Hells bells! how are they going to police that?

Mick

[soundman]

Sniffer dogs!!!!