Official Luthiers Forum!

Currently i am doing my spraying outside... with all of the attendant frustrations. Bugs, dust, wind... did I mention bugs???
I have put aside some $ for a dedicated spray room & would really appreciate some input from you guys who have gotten to this stage.
I am (tentatively) planning about 10' X 10' with a closet along one wall for hanging the pieces while they dry / cure.
On an adjoining wall there should be a bench for mixing etc. with a cupboard above for storage.
Is an 8' ceiling OK, or should it be higher?
How do you arrange your filtered air inlets & exhaust outlet?
I assume that the walls should be made of something that can be hosed down???
Do you find a bank of directional lights best? or is a more spread out light source better?
Any info or pics you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance!
Dan

Daniel, heres a link to instructions on how to build a spray booth inside your garage: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Paint-Booth-in-Your-Garage

_________________
A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

first of all you have to determine what your exhaust needs are. are you going to be spraying nitro or other voc rich finishes, or sticking to the waterbourne finishes, or using both. if the answer to the first or last is yes, then you really should have an explosion proof fan. there are many who will tell you otherwise, but for your safty, your shops integrity, and your insurance validity, you really should. the bigger the the booth, the bigger your fan needs to be. there are published figures on the fan requirements to deliver adequate exhaust velocity for booth volume.

i just use cardboard or craft or rosin paper for surfaces which have to catch overspray, and change it out as needed.

to avoid the need for explosion proof lighting inside the booth i use heavy plastic sheeting(available on ebay) for the walls, as well as having light switches outside the booth.

there are also published figures available for the amount of filter area required for make up air based on your exhaust fans capacity. the inlet filters should be as close to inline with the exhaust as you can get it for the best extraction. you really don't need 10'x10' unless you are doing a lot of guitars at once. especially with nitro, after an hour or so the surface will not adhere to dust, etc., and they can hang to cure outside the filtered area.

My lacquer dries to the touch in about 5 minutes. No need for a drying closet.

I agree that 10' by 10' is probably way too big for guitars. You don't need a mixing bench in the booth; you can mix up the materials outside of the booth and carry them in.

One thing to think about is where is your make-up air coming from. Is it directly from the outside? If so, then yes, you need to filter it. Also, humidity and temperature will be a factor. I draw my make-up air from my home's interior, so the air is already conditioned and filtering is not necessary.

My spray room is 6 x 6 but I have to tell you that if I had it to do over again it would be 12 x 12 min. you want you gun 8 to 12" from your work, your arm at just past half extension and room to walk 360 deg around your work. No this is not a must by any means, but like I said if I had it to do over. Take a look at pictures of Tony's white room when members post them. Notice he gave himself plenty of room to work. If you are building the room yourself the cost per SQFT is is worth the convenience. too much room is beter than too little. Trust Me

when i mentioned the need to filter make up air it was based on the air being drawn from the shop, which despite dust collection, air filtration, compartmentalization, is still dusty air. even though it is air conditioned.

there is a huge difference between the one at a time hobby builder's space requirement and a professional finishing shop's requirement. and the bigger the booth the more the fan costs. i either hold or the neck on a handle and rotate it in the air flow funnel. i've never felt the need to be able to walk around a guitar. if i was spraying a dining table or an armoire, perhaps, but not a guitar. ni have also used a lazy susan to do small pieces.

Thanks for your input guys!
I will normally be finishing several instruments at once, so (Thanks Michael) I'll go bigger than 10 X 10. I am currently using polyurethane as well as nitro finish. The dust free time is 30 minutes for the polyurethane, so a closet will be a must for me.
I like the idea of a throw away material on the walls. Good one!
I do want to build with the future in mind... There is no-one in my area offering guitar finishing service, & I may want to fill that niche sometime down the road.
Thanks for the link Ricardo. I'll check it out.