I have been using oils and lacquers applied by brush/rag so far but would like to broaden my finishing skills. I recently purchased an Earlex HLVP spray gun system with a turbine and haven’t used it yet. I have a 200 sqft machine shop (not heated) which is sealed from the rest of the shop and house. The machine shop also has a pair of barndoors which open up into the back yard with a combined opening of 7′ x 7′. I am concerned about dust in the machine shop as well as overspray so I am considering spraying in the yard. Is this ill-advised? My other thought (more work) is to build a light-weight knock down spray booth which I could drag out to the yard or clamp to the two barn doors so it won’t blow away. I don’t have any space to build a permanent booth.
Does a spray booth need a fan? And does it need to be explosion-proof when spraying combustibles, even if the fan provides positive pressure rather than negative?
Chris @ flairwoodworks
– Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. – Albert Schweitzer
Replies
chris,
I can't respond fully for you but I can add that there are many temporary alternatives that you could cheaply make yourself.
This I do know...
You should have an explsion proof fan (that you can make yourself).
You can make this using tarps that can be pushed aside when not in use.
It can be cheap.
Check out Bob Flexnor's book Understanding Wood Finishes (2005). He has two pages on this subject that should help.
my finishing outside experience is, that instead of dust you will get bugs, grass clippings, dandelion fluff etc.
Chris:
I have been spraying outside (S. Alabama) with excellent results. However, I ascribe this to using quick-drying finishes such as catalyzed lacquers. They are dry to the touch in less than five minutes so I have remarkably few bugs and other detritus. I put up one of those expandable shelters from Walmart that you see in farmers markets.
For longer drying material, I imagine it could be a nightmare.
I would love to this in a more controlled environment but I simply do not have the space.
Regards,
Hastings
I HVLP spray waterborne finishes designed for spraying, like Target Coatings products. I do it in an ordinary wood shop about the size of a two-car garage. I don't bother with a spray booth. The finish is drying as it leaves the tip of the gun. By the time it is three or four feet away, is it just dust. The HVLP also has a much smaller overspray than than a conventional gun, and that reduces the dust. The deposited finish is dry enough to sand in five minutes, so there's a very short window of opportunity for contaminants to land on the work.
Chris ,
The largest problem with spraying lacquers outside besides the above mentioned bugs and leaves and such is the sun and the heat that comes from it tend to make the lacquer dry from the top and in doing so the material may not have an opportunity to flow out , some of the solvent er whatever get trapped depending on the material you can get bubbles and craters and other imperfections .
dusty
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