Spray Booth Design AMTS-SWP-0028-A-2008

AMTS STANDARD WORKSHOP PRACTICE

_________________________________________

Spray Booth Design

Reference Number:

AMTS_SWP_0028_2008

Date:

December 2008

Version:

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 Spray Booth Design AMTS-SWP-0028-A-2008

Contents

1 Technical Terms ................................................................................... 3

2 Scope ..................................................................................................... 3
3 Primary References .............................................................................. 3
4 Spray Booths in General ...................................................................... 3
5 Advantages of using a Spray Booth ................................................... 3
5.1 Health and Safety ........................................................................................4
5.2 Temperature and humidity control...............................................................4
5.3 Dust control ..................................................................................................4
5.4 Over-spray control .......................................................................................4
5.5 Controlling of the curing prosess .................................................................4
6 Construction of a Spray Booth ............................................................ 5
6.1 Walls.............................................................................................................5
6.2 Lighting.........................................................................................................5
6.3 Flooring ........................................................................................................6
6.4 Doors and door seals...................................................................................6
6.5 Airflow...........................................................................................................6
7 Types of Spray Booths......................................................................... 7
7.1 Regular flow booth .......................................................................................7
7.2 Reverse-flow booth ......................................................................................8
7.3 Cross-draft booth .........................................................................................8
7.4 Down-draft booth .........................................................................................8
8 Air Filtration Systems........................................................................... 9
8.1 Wet filtration system.....................................................................................9
8.2 Dry filtration system ...................................................................................10
9 Spray Booth Maintenance.................................................................. 10
9.1 Avoiding dirt in the spray booth .................................................................10
9.2 General guidelines for operating a spray booth ........................................11
10 Drying room ........................................................................................ 12

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1 Technical Terms

2 Scope
The purpose of this document is to discuss different types of Spray Booths, their operation and
maintenance procedures.

The document covers the following:

• Advantages of using a spray booth
• Construction of a spray booth
• Types of spray booths
• Filtration systems
• Spray booth maintenance
• Drying room

3 Primary References
[1] James E. Duffy “Auto Body Repair Technology” 4th Ed, Thompson, 2004.
Zonda

4 Spray Booths in General

A Spray Booth is a dedicated facility to provide a clean, safe, well-lit, and well ventilated
enclosure for the purpose of spray painting. The booth isolates the painting operation from dirt-
and dust-producing activities and at the same time confines and exhausts the volatile fumes
created by spray painting.

A spray booth’s basic function is to provide the following:

• An environment that is easy to clean and keep free of contaminants.

• An enclosed room separated from the rest of the manufacturing operation that will only
admit and release filtered air.

• A room that has enough space to manoeuvre the required parts and provides space for the
painter.

5 Advantages of using a Spray Booth

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The advantages of using of spray booths rather than a normal room or space are numerous and
include the following:

• Better consideration of Health and Safety

• Accurate temperature control
• Dust control
• Over-spray control
• Control over the curing process

5.1 Health and Safety

A correctly constructed spray booth will remove any paint or harmful particles from the air
contained within the booth before releasing it. This will ease the effort of controlling harmful
substances. Anyone present in the booth whilst the spraying process is underway should
adhere to the safety rules in place.

Refer to SWP 1 on Health and Safety for cautions on the handling of hazardous substances.
Care should also be taken to provide the necessary warning and PPE signs on all the entrances
to a spray booth.

5.2 Temperature and humidity control

In some cases temperature and humidity control can be implemented to ensure refinishing
occurs at the optimal temperature and humidity for the paint system being used.

5.3 Dust control

Dust control is the primary function of any spray-booth. Therefore care must be taken in the
construction of a spray booth to ensure that only filtered air enters and leaves the booth.

5.4 Over-spray control

Risk of over-spray onto the part or onto other surfaces near the spraying process is totally
removed, as the fouled air inside the booth is filtered to remove any paint particles before being
exhausted.

5.5 Controlling of the curing prosess

The curing process can be controlled by using portable ovens or lighting systems to increase
the temperature of the paint. This will decrease the curing time and increase productivity.

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6 Construction of a Spray Booth

Spray booths may be constructed by composites manufacturers provided they adhere to all
safety regulations and the basic functions of a spray booth are provided.

Modern one- and two room spray booths are scientifically designed to facilitate proper air
movement, provide adequate lighting and safely enclose the whole painting operation. In
addition their construction must conform to safety codes.

6.1 Walls
Because water is often used for cleaning a booth, its walls should be constructed from a
corrosion-resistant material or be protected from corrosion due to moisture and solvents. The
surface should also be easy to clean, minimizing time spent on cleaning.

6.2 Lighting

Ample lighting must be provided. The lights should be positioned in such a way that no
shadows are cast on parts being painted. Fig 5-1 shows the recommended position of lights in
the booth.

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Figure 6-1: Position of lighting in Spray Booth

6.3 Flooring
Metal grating used for the flooring of a booth will ease cleaning of the booth as well as provide a
drainage channel for water when the booth is cleaned.

6.4 Doors and door seals

Seals on the booth doors must be properly installed and periodically replaced to prevent any air
leaks. Heavy usage and temperature extremes will quickly destroy these seals, causing leaks
and sudden loss of pressure. It is good practise to put a coloured light on the door, indicating
when spray painting is in progress. A sudden pressure drop when the door is opened will cause
turbulence in the booth resulting in dirt particles rushing in, ruining the paint job.

6.5 Airflow

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The air in the booth has to be replaced to prevent the build-up of volatile fumes. At least five
cycles every minute is needed in order to remove the fumes and the particles from the booth
satisfactorily. This is based on a booth with dimensions of 7.0 x 4.0 x 2.65 m. A larger booth
will require less airflow and a smaller booth will need higher airflow to sufficiently remove fumes
and paint particles.

7 Types of Spray Booths

Four types of spray booths can be distinguished according to the ventilation system being
employed:

1. Regular flow booth

2. Reverse-flow booth
3. Cross-draft booth
4. Down-draft booth

7.1 Regular flow booth

The regular flow booth as shown in fig 6-1 was once considered the standard in spray booth
construction but has been replaced to a great degree by the downdraft airflow booth. In this
type of boot the air flows from the front to the back of the booth. The main benefit of this type of
booth is that any particles that enter the booth are removed directly through the entrance.
Although this type of booth is effective it has been replaced with the down draft booth.

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Figure 7-1: Regular Flow Spray Booth

7.2 Reverse-flow booth

This reverse flow booth is the same as the regular flow booth with the flow being in the opposite
direction.

7.3 Cross-draft booth

Cross draft booths causes the air to flow from one side of the booth to the other. The problem
with this method is that the air on the on side of the part being sprayed flows toward the surface
while there is almost no air flow on the lee side causing build-up volatile vapours.

7.4 Down-draft booth

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The down draft spray booth forces air from the ceiling down through the exhaust vents in the
floor. The downward flow of air from the ceiling to the floor creates an envelope of air passing
by the surface of the part being sprayed. Fig 6-2 shows the air movement for a downdraft
booth.

Figure 7-2: Air intake and exhaust system of the downdraft spray booth

8 Air Filtration Systems

The most important safety feature of spray booths is the air filtration system. Currently there are
two common types in use:

• Wet filtration systems

• Dry filtration systems

8.1 Wet filtration systems

The principle of a wet filtration system is the movement of air through or over a body of water to
entrap any dust particles or paint. A wet, or “wash”, filtration system has a higher initial cost
than a dry filtration system. There can also additional costs associated with waste disposal.
However, the exhausted air that emerges from a basic wet filtration system is just as clean if not
cleaner than the air released from a quality dry filtration system.

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8.2 Dry filtration systems

Dry filtration systems come in various configurations and use different filter media (paper,
cotton, carbon, fibreglass, and polyester). These systems mechanically filter out particles of
paint and dirt by trapping the particles as air flows through the filter. Some are also coated with
a tacky substance so particles will readily adhere to the surface of the fibres.

9 Spray Booth Maintenance

Regardless of the type of filtration system being employed by the paint shop, spray booth
maintenance is a prime consideration, not only from a convenience standpoint but also because
it is essential to achieving quality paint jobs. The most effective filtration system will not be able
to function optimally if it is poorly maintained.

9.1 Avoiding dirt in the spray booth

The first task in learning how to avoid dirt is to understand where dirt comes from. Any
contaminant that is brought into the booth can be a possible source of dirt. The following are
potential sources of dirt:

• Incoming unfiltered air

• The part entering the booth
• The painter
• The equipment and supplies

Incoming air:
Unfiltered incoming air is a prime source of dirt. Contamination may be caused by dirty filters,
imbalanced air pressures and booth doors left open. A slight positive difference in pressure
inside the booth will prevent particles from entering the booth. The booth should only be
entered when the fans are running. The resulting positive pressure will help keep dirt particles
out.

A booth manometer or booth pressure gauge can be used to indicate the pressure inside the
spray booth. A high booth pressure indicates an airflow restriction from the clogged exhaust
filters. Low pressure indicates a booth air leak, for example booth doors that are not completely
closed.

The intake filters should be checked daily to ensure they are clean and operate effectively. An
easy way of judging a filter’s condition is with the use of a manometer. A large pressure
difference between the air flowing into and out of the filter will indicate a flow restriction or
clogged filters.

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The seals on the doors must be completely airtight to ensure that a positive pressure inside the
booth is maintained. Durable materials should be used in the construction of the seals.

The part entering the booth:

Ensure that all parts entering the booth are thoroughly cleaned before entering. Dust that has
not been removed from the part will be blown into the air once the spraying process starts,
ruining the paint job.

The painter:
Any person entering the booth must be cleaned of all dust and contaminants. The undersides
of shoes are key sources of dirt and the wearing of shoe covers will prevent dirt from being
carried into the spraying area.

The equipment and supplies:

Equipment used in the booth should be stored in a clean, filtered storage room when not in use.
This will prevent dust build-up on the equipment, and will reduce the required cleaning time
before each use.

9.2 General guidelines for operating a spray booth

This section will describe, in short, some of the general guidelines for the efficient operation of a
spray booth.

When operating a spray booth, keep the following in mind:

1. The manufacturer’s recommendations for the minimum velocity needed to properly

exhaust spray vapours should be followed. If the recommendation is exceeded,
turbulence cancels out the screening performed by the filters. If the velocity is too low,
the air will not move fast enough in order to remove overspray and airborne dirt before
they cause paint defects.

2. Paint arresters are a high-consumption item requiring frequent changing. Be sure to

check filter resistance daily on a manometer. When paint accumulation becomes
serious, the velocity will decrease, and air movement will be rendered too slow.

3. In dry filtration systems, the filters must be periodically inspected and replaced.

4. Be sure the water in a wet filtration system is kept at its proper working level and that the
correct water additive is used, if applicable.

5. Maintain air-line filters. Dirt from compressed air lines often causes blemishes in paint
jobs.

6. Booth walls should periodically be washed down, as well as floors and any wall-mounted
air controls in order to remove dust and paint particles.

7. A spray booth is no place to store parts, paint, trash cans, or work benches. They
should be kept in a separate storage room.

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8. All preparation procedures before painting should be done outside of the booth. Ensure
that no sanding or grinding operations are performed in or near the spray booth under
any circumstances. The dust created by these operations will spread and ruin not only
the present job but also many future jobs.

9. Water is an inexpensive and very effective way of containing dirt.

10 Drying room
A dust-free drying room will speed up the drying process and increase the volume of refinishing
work that can be handled. The drying rooms of more sophisticated paint shops have permanent
infrared or sodium-quartz units for the forced-drying of paint. These oven-like units can speed
up drying time by as much as 75% which may well be worth the investment.

There are two types of drying equipment:

• Near drying equipment
• Far drying equipment

1. Near-drying equipment

Near drying equipment usually consists of a portable bank of lights that can be positioned to
give an optimum angle of radiation. Because drying equipment uses lamps as heat sources,
this type of equipment is easy to handle and the radiation angle can be easily varied.

2. Far-drying equipment

Far-drying or sodium-quartz equipment affects paint drying by means of heat radiation from the
tubular or plate-type heater. The heat source is either gas or electricity.

Drying can easily be accomplished in a separate drying chamber attached to the back of a
downdraft system or conventional drive-through booth. This configuration achieves the highest
production because both the painting and drying operations can be performed simultaneously.

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