Paint Booth
 

Hey all, I'm looking to start putting together sort of an 'at home' paint booth. Basically what that means is I'm looking to get a decent air compressor and paint gun that I can use to start learning car paint. I'm going to be putting a new fender on my Alero here shortly and I'm going to keep the old one to practice on. I was looking at a compressor that is 2.5 HP, 10 Gallon, and 125 PSi, the question is will this be sufficient for a starter's painting setup?

Should be ok for small parts like fenders and such.

If you want to paint a whole care you'll need a bigger one though.. I've got a 60gal w/ something like a 5hp in it. Got it for $250 on craigslist.. so there's still good deals out there.

From there get the best filter/dryer system you can afford.. the dryer and cleaner your air is the less chance of contaminated finishes you'll get.

Make sure you get good lighting, too. I have 8 fluorescent fixtures in my garage.. 2 overhead, 2 on top of each long side, and 1 on top of each short side, and while it's pretty bright, it's still not enough and I run into dark spots when painting sometimes. The more light you get the better you'll be able to see, which is super important when shooting clear.

Finally... don't leave anything in the garage you don't want to have a film of clearcoat on it while you paint. This includes parking cars directly outside of the garage. You'll have overspray drifting that will leave a dry feeling finish on anything it settles on.

Good luck.. it's a fun hobby.

Thanks for the response. I'm planning on getting an apprenticeship at a local body shop this summer, and at the same time start building a tool collection of my own.

^^^^^ i wish you the best of luck i do, but beware it is a cut throat trade, if your roostery and arrogant your work better show it, your name goes from shop to shop so does your work insurance adjustors know you from shop to shop

there are times i effing hate it!!!! insurance companies are getting to the point i dont even want to fix cars anymore, but i love what i do,, down sides are the physical part, your knees, hemroids, carpel tunnel, tennis elbow, arhritis, paint sickness when im done with my day i feel like a truck ran me over-----------------especially when your on a frame rack ALL DAY LONG!!!!

in the custom and restoration end of the trade, that is what i suggest getting into as i did my apprenticeship building hot rods and metal shaping, custom painting, and so forth, thats my true passion, but ya still have the same problems oh forgot to mention HEARING LOSS!!!

the tool end of it i have to date over 20k and i need a bigger box cant afford another 2k for a addition to my big ass box, matco i perfer, strap on sucks balls!!! mac is good, cornwell is decent but the tool guys can be little bitches, if ya dont pay them on a regular basis, some guys dont care they know your good customer and will pay next week

some guys cry like a little baby if ya miss 1 week, never mind the thousands i spent with you in the past yrs and they cry like someone took away their bottle!!!

spray guns
todays high solid high film build products need air movment, so i recomend going with a sharpe finex gun, great gun the cars ya seen on here i painted with a sharpe

base coat=1.3-1.4
primer-1.4
clear-1.3-1.4
sealer-1.3
thats what i use and it works fine dont have a problem, i will say make sure ya have a good drier system before you paint to remove contaminets before it hits the gun and use a small filter at the end of your gun too just for precation

lastly, protect your body!!! wear gloves, wera a effinn mask!!! when you weld, bondo work , and paint work , get a good creeper, any sign of pain go see a doctor

and when you have 20yrs in look for something else to do lol

Thanks for all the info bdyman, I was really hoping you would chime in. I'm very careful about my body so a respirator, long sleeves and some good gloves are definitely in the works. I'm not sure if I'll actually pursue a career in body work, but I'm really into classics and am a board member for my local car club.

Classics restoration and custom work would definitely be an ideal job for me. How much would I be looking at for a good drier and filter system?

the restoration end of the field is great, but beware if your just the shop bitch and or apprentice you will get laid off
be a sponge learn all you can, us old guys can teach you allot if your willing to learn

my drier system came from sharpe and i got it for 150 bucks

Sounds good. I know a shop here in town that does excellent work, and it's a big enough town with few enough shops that if I get an apprenticeship there I doubt I'll get laid off for lack of business.

Elaborate please.




Hemorrhoids???

im just goign to take a shot in the dark and say that insurance isnt paying enough to for the amount of work it is needed to fix the car? thats just what i got out of it.

nah man if your not safe u can get paint poisening, its horrible, u get the runs like a mothereffer. and u feel like total shit. word to the wise, isocyanates. theyre in just about everything in the autobody field. look it up study it and protect yourself from it. just my .02

ohhh so wet behind the ears, thats what i always think but in the automotive field ya never say never, when a shop is dead and slow and your the low man on the totem pole, and your the apprentice ya damn skippy your getting laid off!!!

paint sickness really sucks, the runs, headaches, upset stomach, nausea, it effin sucks!!! thats why i stopped production painting and just paint here and there due to paint sickness

insurance compaines arent paying shit anymore, most companies out there are using aftermarket parts to save cost, and we get effed, cutting hours on a job that we need to fix the car, and when ya work commission your pissed!!!

thats why we have to book over a 100 hours to make any money, and in the restoration and custom end of it the highest you can go is 30 a hour, some of the tech working for troy tripainer are only making 20 bucks a hour

so i love it but i hate it too

yes hemmoriods!!! even laying on the concrete for 5 mins, screws up your bung hole, im lucky i dont have them allot of friends of mine have them

Wouldn't using a good respirator and keeping your skin covered help/prevent paint sickness? Also I must say 20 bucks an hour sounds mighty fine to me, the best pay I've ever made was 7.75/hr

How old are you?

I'm 19, I've only ever worked part time before. Right now I'm in college for chemistry and I hate it, lol.

Ahh i see im right there with ya just turned 21 apr 2nd lol although i graduated from itt already but chemistry is fun.. at least it was in high school haha

Chemistry is ok, college sucks hardcore.

nope!!! the solvents enter through your hair, eye balls, any part of the skin and or hair that is exsposed enters your body, your 19 lol 20 bucks a hour isnt shit in this field, your better off working on commission make allot more money

and water base uses a water bourne solvent, so is the clear and the primer and the sealer etch prime nothing really special about water bourne at all

i just started doing autobody and painting about a month ago with a local shop....its definitely hard work, but if you can listen well, and follow directions well, then you have a decent start...every nite my arms feel like they could fall off, ive sanded through my pinky and ring finger on my right hand almost every day now by wetsanding with 1500, no matter how fine the grit it will still strike blood if ya rub it long enough lmfao, but all in all, its fun, and i love doing it, and even if you are halfway serious about wanting to do it then give it a try, but like everybody has already said, PROTECTION..take that first hand from somebody who fell 14 feet from the top of a street sweeper while spraying the top without a respirator on, didnt realize anything until i woke up on the floor, not fun. ALOT of money goes in to doing this but you can make alot in the end. never realize that until i started doing it and learning how much certain things cost to buy and how far some of the paint will or wont stretch, and at like 150+ a quart sometimes....it aint cheap, but dont let it deter you.

No joke. From a medical standpoint, Isocyanates can cause Small airways Disease. Its an incurable respiratory disease similar to bronchitis, but MUCH worse.

TAKE EVERY NECESSARY PRECAUTION FOR YOUR HEALTH. (i know you said you care) but double/triple check your ventilation stuff, replace your respirator when necessary...etc