EAA Sport Aviation - August 2010

The inside cabinet of the booth is painted white, and a 2-foot twin-tube fluorescent fixture was installed in the top of the cabinet. It’s important to have good lighting when painting, and the use of this fixture along with the white walls works well. I usually repaint the walls every few months as they will collect paint specks. A switch on the outside of the booth controls the light fixture and the blower.

While I usually use spray cans to paint, I do have a compressor, which I keep on the lower shelf to supply compressed air to my airbrush and small paint guns. Other features of the booth include screw-in hooks in the top of the booth to facilitate hanging small parts from wire for easy painting. I also created a Lazy Susan-style rotating table using a ball bearing plate from the local hardware store. This makes it very easy to rotate the part you’re painting without having to pick it up. I also use sheets of paper to line the floor of the booth and change these out every few painting sessions. This helps to keep the booth clean.

There are some other things to think
about if you decide to tackle this project.
When the exhaust blower of the booth is on
and removing air from your booth and shop,
the performance of the exhaust system will
suffer unless you have some sort of fresh air
intake. In my shop, I installed a 6-inch fresh
air intake pipe with damper, essentially a
“reverse dryer vent,” on the shop wall far-
thest from the booth to help facilitate
airflow. In addition, the components of this
booth are not “rated” with regard to fire or
other hazards. When painting, there are
paint dust and fumes that can possibly
ignite. You must take care to minimize
exposure of any of the working electrical
parts to these materials. I will say that I
have used this booth year-round for the
past nine years without any issues.