Car painting is one of the main activities of tuning studios or even ordinary repair shops. However, for proper application of paint, special equipment and an appropriate room are required to ensure high-quality adhesion of the paint to the metal. But is it possible to equip a garage for painting cars yourself? We will now try to answer this question.
Paint box, why is it needed?
Regardless of the make and model of your car, it periodically needs repair work, and this applies not only to minor repairs, but also to larger-scale activities. So, for example, paintwork vehicle Over time, it fades, wears off and loses its former attractiveness, which is why the car owner begins to think about the issue of repainting his iron horse.
Considering the fact that the cost of performing this task by specialists from specialized workshops is by no means small, we have to look for alternative solutions. The most attractive option is to set up a paint booth with your own hands in your own garage, which, although it will require certain financial investments, will fully pay for itself. Moreover, such a paint box may be useful to your friends, and from there it’s not far from opening your own business.
Arrangement requirements
Where to start? First of all, you need to clearly understand that any dirt and dust are the enemies of painting. Therefore, the garage, which is often a warehouse for all unnecessary things in the house, should be thoroughly cleaned. However, this is not all the requirements for the selected premises.
Room size
If you need a camera for one-time use, then the dimensions of the garage should only fit the dimensions of your car, but this value should not be less than 4 by 6 m. At the same time, the drawings of a more or less professional paint booth should include a utility room and underground, therefore the overall size of the room will be slightly larger: length - 9 meters, width - 7.5 meters, and height - 3.5 meters (or at least not less than 2.8 meters).
What should the material be like?
Just desire and the availability of a suitable room are not enough to make a full-fledged spray booth with your own hands. At a minimum, it is still necessary to select the right material for its creation. Often, in order to save money, car enthusiasts use lining, but given the high probability of fire, it is better to discard this option immediately. As a good alternative, experts advise using metal elements and non-flammable insulating material.
Ceiling
From a technical point of view, a standard rectangular ceiling will be convenient only if corner lamps are installed around the perimeter of the chamber, which, as a result of installation, will cut it at an angle of 45°. If the design of the paint booth does not provide for the installation of such lighting elements, then, in order to avoid the formation of turbulence and dust collection, the corners of the chamber must be rounded.
The entire surface of the ceiling should be occupied by a filter through which water can enter the room. clean air. In the case where the height of the garage is not enough to comply with the specified requirement and the design of the exhaust pipe, you will have to come up with a connection to the roof.
The floor in the painting booth also requires special attention. Therefore, if there is an inspection hole in the garage, it must be covered with homemade metal gratings, and boards must be laid under the sheathing, and so that the acute angle is directed towards the doors of the room. An air duct pipe, which is the basis of lower ventilation, is led out of the pit. In cases where the floor is solid, you will have to either dig a rectangular hole, or lay two trenches (a depth of one meter will be enough), or equip another floor in the form of a flooring 15-20 centimeters high. The ventilation outlet to the street is also laid underground, not forgetting about the wedges.
The most important point This stage of work is the competent design of the holes that will remove exhaust air outside. If you ignore this requirement, then “dead zones” may appear in the paint booth, which contribute to the emergence of paint suspensions and the creation of turbulence in the air space of the chamber. Such situations have a bad effect on the fresh paint of the car, so for the full operation of the exhaust system, the trenches are supplemented with engines that extract air from the chamber.
Walls
The paint booth installed in the garage also differs in certain characteristics of the walls. First of all, they must be sealed, fireproof and easy to clean.
If your garage has a metal frame, then it must be coated with a primer and installed inside a sandwich panel. The outside of the room is also sheathed with metal, treating the joints with silicone sealant.
In the case of the main walls of the room (brick, cinder block), the actions performed will be slightly different. First of all, the room must be insulated with mineral material and finished with moisture-resistant plasterboard, and after that it will be possible to apply white powder paint or install a special fire-resistant (up to 500°C) white plastic lining. The white color of the walls ensures correct color rendering and greatly facilitates the process of painting cars.
Often walls are covered with a matte film with a magnetizing effect (enough to paint 10 cars). It is easy to clean and has excellent properties in terms of attracting and retaining dust.
Pay attention!If the walls of the selected room “shine” (stainless steel or tiles give a similar effect), then they should be made matte so that they do not reflect anything and do not blind the master when working. For example, the surface of the walls can be coated with powder paint, which has a protective fireproof layer.
Remember the lighting
Proper lighting in the paint booth greatly influences the final result of the work performed, which means you need to choose only high-quality lamps. Based on the stated technological rules, the illumination of the room must correspond to 600-2000 lumens, and the light dispersion is carried out in such a way as to ensure its uniformity. For spray booths, it is recommended to use one of three types of lamps:
luminescent;
Incandescent lamps;
LED.
Fluorescent lamps are good for maximizing visibility and completely eliminating unnecessary shadows. Often the most effective option Their placement is installation under the ceiling and on the side walls, although while painting the car the master will not have the opportunity to clearly see the lower part of the vehicle. Such lamps can boast a fairly long service life (up to 20,000 hours), cost-effectiveness and high efficiency. However, they also have their drawbacks, which include a delayed start, the need to dispose of damaged lamps, a low level of environmental safety and a weakening of the light flow as they are used.
The more familiar incandescent lamps can also be used to illuminate the paint booth, but only those types that have a vacuum flask. Flasks filled with gas are not suitable for use in venues painting works for security reasons. The most convenient to use are lamps with a tinted surface and a mirror reflector.
The advantages of incandescent lamps include affordable cost and ease of maintenance, but there are several more disadvantages. In particular, these include: low reliability, significant thermal radiation, low light output and efficiency.
LED lighting elements are the most preferred option when creating a DIY paint booth. They have a high color rendering index and efficiency, low power consumption, durability and vibration resistance, high level environmental safety, long service life (up to 50 thousand hours), resistance to high temperatures and the absence of flicker in the light flux they produce. The only but significant drawback of such lamps is their fairly high cost.
Heating and drying
When converting a garage, you should also think about the heating system. If you plan to use the spray booth frequently, then you will have to spend money and install a heat generator, but for the sake of a couple of paintings this solution will not be practical. To quickly dry a painted car, it is better to use an infrared heater for household use, especially since it is much more economical than conventional heating elements.
If your choice is still on air heating, then you can assemble a heat generator based on an old cast-iron boiler intended for liquid fuel. Whatever your paint booth is, it should also include drying.
Today, heat generators can operate on fuel, gas or waste oil. Taking into account the needs of the camera, you can choose heat generators of various powers, with an automatic timer and other functions. In addition, infrared lamps are often used to dry painted cars. They are quite simple and easy to use, and can also provide the required effect at low physical and financial costs.
When creating a spray booth, it is also necessary to take into account the uniformity of the supply of thermal air flows.
Ventilation
No spray booth can do without good ventilation. Together with the filter, it ensures air purification inside the box and promotes the sedimentation and removal of paint mist. Depending on which ventilation system is installed, there are two main types of chambers: single-engine and twin-engine. In the first case, air is pumped from above, and the mist of paint under pressure falls down, being discharged from the room through a special hole. In the second option, two motors are already used: one is a discharge motor, and the second is a suction motor, which ensures the removal of air to the outside.
Pros and cons of a homemade paint box
If you have the desire and financial resources, building a paint booth with your own hands is not very difficult, but is it worth doing? The advantages of such a box include the following:
- the ability to independently select drawings and diagrams for creating each working camera system;
Saving money at the initial stage of construction;
Possibility of combining high-quality and expensive ready-made devices with cheap or homemade system elements;
The ability to simplify the operation of individual systems or replace them with more efficient ones;
Relatively cheap maintenance of homemade spray booths (no need to purchase expensive and original consumables or parts).
Flaws similar creations are expressed in:
- lack of guarantee of high-quality operation of the spray booth as a whole;
There is a possibility of design errors and various defects, which will be accompanied by additional material costs;
The need to expend effort and money to debug the operation of various modes;
The impossibility of installing a fully automated control system and security system (of course, this is only if all the equipment is not purchased as a set).
Don't forget about safety
In a separate order, it is worth remembering about safety precautions when painting a vehicle in a spray booth. Of course this type activities cannot have a positive effect on human health, especially since inhaling paint harms the lungs, and its contact with the skin and mucous membrane of the eyes often causes irritation. Therefore, you should not skimp on protective equipment, and before you start painting, put on a special suit, gloves and a respirator. Also, before work, it would be useful to check the serviceability of the ventilation system and electrical wiring insulation, and all sources of open flame should be removed.
Interesting fact! Domestic car enthusiasts prefer discreet tones of cars. Thus, black and white cars are in greatest demand, and silver models are in third place.
Greetings everyone. Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!!!
I don't know if this topic is needed, if not, delete it.
Since painting my first model, I have used a regular delivery box. The option is cheap and cheerful, but... the problem is that the suspension did not go away and settled all over the glazed balcony. I worked in a respirator mask with Jeta Safety 5000 filters.
The mask is gorgeous. There are no smells, but... even with the balcony door closed, all the cocoa eventually seeped into the apartment, which caused righteous anger in my wife and caused me a lot of problems myself. And even then I began to think about a full-fledged paint box, but the price tag and the quality of their workmanship could not overcome my toad and I started looking for options for homemade boxes on the Internet.
As a result, I found drawings that suited me and based on these drawings I sculpted my own version. Drawings of the original source are attached. I can't say exactly where I found them, since quite a lot of time has passed. I can only say a big thank you to the author.
Save to AlbumSave to AlbumSave to Album The concept remains the same, but I changed the dimensions a little. To be more precise, I increased the width to 60 cm. I did this for the simple reason that 24 scale trucks can be quite long.
A sheet of white plastic, 5 mm thick, was used. The dimensions, in fact, are designed for the same thickness.
The fan installed Awenta WGB 125, using a flexible air duct, brought the emission of poop out of the window through a sandwich panel.
In addition, I added LED lamp LLT SPO-108 18W 160-260V 4000K 1440Lm 600mm IP40. It turned out pretty good. Lighting and ventilation are turned on simultaneously using an old switch from some kind of lamp.
I hope my experience will be useful to someone to save a normal amount of money.
Let's see what happened on the slides.
Surely everyone knows that after an accident, the car is first straightened and then painted. The car painting process takes place in a special paint booth. One such box costs from $15,000, and not every car service center can afford it.
And the operating principle of the box is quite simple - supply and exhaust ventilation. Moreover, the same fan that blows air drives it through the heating elements to heat it up.
There are three main operating cycles in the paint booth.
- To clean the air from dust, air is taken from the box itself and, after filtering, it enters the box.
- The actual painting of the car. At this time, air is taken from the street and heated to 30-35 degrees.
- Drying the car after painting. The air is taken from the box itself, and after filtering, heated to 60 degrees, enters the box.
- Rent a garage measuring 4 x 6 meters - about $40/month.
- To cover the walls with plastic clapboard, or better yet, with metal corrugated sheets – about $500.
- Install fluorescent lamps (at least 10) – from $60.
- A heat gun and heating elements are installed on top. The air from the heat gun goes through the duct to six points under the ceiling. Cannon – approximately $450, air duct – $15/linear meter.
- Raise the floor by about 10-15 cm. It is advisable to weld a grille from fittings, under which there will be a fan that extracts air from the box. Fittings – about $300 + labor.
Total: if you buy equipment and materials from the manufacturer, and also do everything yourself, or with the help of smart friends, you can invest $2,000.
But there is also a more expensive option. You can use infrared lamps instead of air drying. In this case, drying will occur much faster, but you will have to invest a little more.
How to find clients?
Your clients may be various car services and service stations that are not able to purchase a paint booth for themselves. Also single masters. And also car painting specialists from various car services, who take on additional work (it goes without saying that their bosses will not allow them to work in a car service). This way, you will simply rent out a paint booth to everyone in need. Believe me, there are quite a few of them. You can visit car repair shops yourself and personally offer your services to painters, you can advertise in the newspaper, or you can write about your service on various automotive forums.
How much can you earn from this?
Typically, renting a paint booth for one car costs from $30 to $50. Using air drying, you can paint 2 cars in a day, and when using infrared lamps, 3-4 cars. Electricity is usually paid separately. You will also need to buy a compressor with a receiver of 250 liters or more, which it is advisable to give for free. And, for example, a spray gun can be rented for $25. The cost of a good spray gun starts from $600. You will also need a person who will clean the box, wash the spray gun and work with the client. Of course, you can do this yourself, but you can hire some responsible pensioner who lives nearby.
So, if the box is not fully loaded, for example 1 car per day, you will receive:
- + 30 auto. x $30 = $900
- + spray gun rental 15 x $30 = $450 (assuming that not everyone will rent it)
- – room rental $40;
- – staff salary is $150.
Total net profit is $1160. Even with such a load, the payback will be 3 months. You can calculate it yourself if the box is more loaded.
And finally, some advice from us.
- Before renting a garage, be sure to talk to the head of the cooperative and explain for what purposes you will use it (you may have to pull out a separate cable for yourself);
- You shouldn't rent a garage in a cooperative where there are a lot of people. You don't need extra eyes, and you'll get more electricity.
- When you can afford it, buy the garage in which you organized the box and the one next door. Between them you will need to put a door and a window. So that there is a place to rest while drying the car. And your employee can’t stand on his feet all day; it’s also possible that the painter will come with the client. A window is needed to monitor the drying process.
Good luck in this business!
I’ve been looking at store-bought paint boxes for painting models for a long time. In terms of functionality, if you can still somehow come to terms with it and pick something up. The prices completely discourage all desires.
That's why I also looked at homemade boxes. But what’s interesting, and rightly so, I think, is that everyone makes boxing for themselves. Someone has one aspect, well done. Someone else has it. Well, there is nothing that would be good for the soul, so to speak. That’s when I thought, well, what, I can’t do it for myself. Just what I need.
I began to proceed from my tasks.
1. The box should not be very large and not small. Such that it would be possible to paint ship hulls on a scale of 200-100.
2. It must fit freely into the dimensions of my workshop (storage room).
3. Well lit.
4. Have a rotary table for painting small parts.
5. Have a series of clamps to hold parts while painting.
6. Have intense suction from the paint spray area.
7. So that, if necessary, it is possible to remove purified air into the atmosphere.
8. Easy to replace filter.
I thought and crossed out. Figuring out what materials I have to build. The result is a rather interesting design, and most importantly, compact and easy to assemble. Maybe not exactly beautiful, but functional.
I sat down at the table and drew up the assembly radii (so that nothing would touch anything) of the paint box.
The result was a painting box with the following assembled dimensions:
Length – 500 mm, width – 400 mm, height (thickness) – 100 mm.
I needed the following materials:
1. The first piano hinges are almost 500 mm long, and the two short ones are 200 mm long.
2. Aluminum corner 10x10 mm, about 2 meters.
3. Double switch, for light and motors – 1 piece,
4. Two Tidar electric motors 120x20x25 for 220 volts - 2 pieces
5. Two connectors for connecting the cord and connecting the compressor.
6. Fluorescent lamp, I used NavigatorNEL – A2, 220 v, W 8.. But, if you wish, you can also use an LED one.
7. Narrow pieces of 4 mm plywood.
8. And several different sheets of plexiglass.
9. Handle for carrying the box.
10. Inspection hatches for plumbing 2 pcs.
11. Various fasteners. I used M3 screws and nuts of that rating.
Step 1. Assembling the case.
The assembled body should look like this.
I made the base of the painting box from 5 mm thick plexiglass, well, I had something like that. Size 500 x 400 mm. On the opposite side of the base from me I secured an aluminum corner, taking into account that the back wall made of plywood would still rise. I did the same on the sides of the base, only the side walls were beveled and did not reach the end of the base. But the width was the same as the back wall. I attached piano hinges to the back and side walls with screws.
I screwed transparent plexiglass (box lid) of the same size as the base to the long loop. Through an aluminum corner I attached a front plane made of 4 mm plywood to it. Equal in width to the side and rear planes attached to the base.
And, from the front surface on the sides, there are two oblique planes, made of plywood. Which, when closed, complement the sides of the base. I screwed trapezoidal side walls made of transparent plexiglass to the side piano hinges. IN open form The paint box body looks like this:
When folded, the trapezoidal side walls have the following positions.
Next to the front board under right hand the double switch crashes.
And, in the right oblique (small) side panel there is a connector for a plug for connecting a compressor, and a connector for a cord. In this case, I used the connector and cord from a fluorescent lamp. We bet who has what.
The case turned out to be of decent volume and quite light.
Step 2: Install fans.
I selected the fans so that they had a minimum height (thickness). Well, that’s understandable. And, naturally, the other characteristics would also satisfy me. The choice fell on TUDOR fans. I bought them.
I made markings on the box cover and started cutting out holes for installing fans.
Step 3. Arranging the box.
To make it easier to carry the box, a handle was installed on the front panel.
I installed stops on the side trapezoidal walls to hold them in a vertical position.
I installed a reflective box on the back wall of the box.
It has a dual purpose. The first repels the paint spray upward to the hood filters. The second is the enclosure housing for storing the electrical cord of the box.
Close to the plywood side walls of the box and the reflective box, on the left and right, I installed plumbing inspection hatches, making small bases to increase the volume.
To make it easier to lift the hatch covers, I glued small bosses taken from used old gas lighters to their valves.
These hatches are designed to store parts holders while painting them.
On the left are holders with teeth, on the right without teeth with flat jaws. They (the holders) are made of so-called “crocodiles”. Which are attached to an aluminum wire, allowing them to be bent in the desired position. The holders are mounted on a turntable. The design, which I will give below.
Next, I cut the lid of the box in line with the front panel, since it protruded a lot. WITH inside On the front surface where the fluorescent lamp is installed, the free areas were covered with silver foil for better reflection of light. I installed boxes for wires and wired and connected the fans to the switch. One switch turns on the lights, the second turns on the fans. On the top of the box lid, opposite the lamp, I painted it.
On the front side, underneath, I pasted a strip of plexiglass. Possibly from plywood. It is designed to concentrate the light of the lamp on the painting table, and also to prevent the light from shining into the eyes.
I installed a holder for an airbrush on the right trapezoidal wall.
With the arrival of winter, the number of painting jobs I do has sharply decreased. Before that, I used the airbrush exclusively on fresh air- on the loggia. I didn’t want to deal with paint in the room, and the line of models for painting grew longer. At some point I decided to make a painting box with my own hands, which would allow me to carry out work in the apartment.
The basic requirements for boxing were as follows:
- ease of manufacture from scrap materials;
- possibility of extracting air from the working area;
- built-in interior lighting.
As a basis for the box, I used a ready-made corrugated cardboard box, which was purchased at the Leroy-Merlin store. Two sockets along with light bulbs, an electrical cord with a plug, as well as a sewer corrugation, which I planned to use for air exhaust, were also purchased there. To create air flow, I initially wanted to use a fan of suitable size, but then I came up with the idea of using a vacuum cleaner for this. It already contains a set of filters that should theoretically retain the paint suspension. The most important thing is that aerosol paint vapors will be removed from the work area and will not enter the respiratory system. All that remains is to figure out how to pair the vacuum cleaner hose and the purchased corrugation. We will also need adhesive tape, electrical tape and a utility knife.
Let's start making the paint box. We assemble the box.
We assemble the lower part of the box completely and secure it with tape.
We cut off the short flaps of the upper part and one long one. We shorten the second long sash - we need it to create an exhaust area.
Tape all corners with tape for strength.
We strengthen the ceiling of the box with one of the cut sashes and cut out a hole for the corrugation in the center of the roof.
We install the corrugation and secure it by winding electrical tape.
We assemble a garland of two parallel-connected light bulbs. The length of the wire between the lamps should be slightly less than the width of the box.
The paint box is ready.
We connect the vacuum cleaner hose and check the efficiency of the hood. To do this, you can use matches or a burning candle. Advice: do not stretch the corrugation - it creates an unpleasant whistling sound when the vacuum cleaner operates.
Checking the box in operation.
As I already wrote, I made a mistake with the initial installation location of the light bulbs. I had to move them to the front part of the roof box. I sealed the holes in the back wall of the box with tape.
Now everything is great - you can paint it.
In the future, you can cover the inside of the box with white paper - this will improve the lighting.
