guys i bought a house. it has 3 buildings side by side. i am going to sheetrock in one of them and add muliple air ports and outlets. and probably put a light on 3 walls and 2 lights on top. building is only 8ft x 9ft x 8ft tall. i am wanting to start painting some of my motorcycle parts so by the time i get ready to do my 51 i would be able to go to my girlfriends dad and paint my truck. can you guys tell me what else i would need to make this a decent enough paint booth?

 

I'm not sure gyp board is a good choice for a paint booth. It can be sealed with epoxy paint for dust control, but not very durable. Proper air flow will be the biggest challenge tho. Check out the typical downflow booths available.

 

If the building doesn't have heat and moisture control, don't use drywall, it will bow and sag. I'd use OSB (that's what I used in my garage) and paint it with white gloss epoxy or Glidden Sealer primer. Put up with drywall screws and you can take a panel down to get behind it to run electricity or air piping as needed. Don't forget the ceiling! You want as little places for dust to settle as possible. Plastic sheeting can be used as a temp ceiling cover, use batten strips to seal it around the edges. You need good even lighting for painting, strip florescent tubes in a continuous run around the top of the walls, with a couple down the center should be adequate. Finally you need good ventilation and lung protection. For painting small parts like motorcycle tins, a salvaged furnace squirrel cage fan blowing out a window can be used, but you'll also need a filtered intake about twice the size of the outlet low and as far away from the exhaust as possible. Pleated paper furnace filters can be used.
Make sure you use a breathing mask is rated for the type of paint you are using and change the filter(s) after every use. If you are using an isocyanate catalysied paint such as Imron be sure to use a pressurize outside air supplied mask. The best paint job in the world isn't worth dying over.

 

i was planning on doing all 4 walls and ceiling. i started running all of my wiring last night. once i get it all into place i am going to run my air through my walls as well with hard piping and leave my self a few air ports through whatever i use on the walls. and seal it up nice and tight.

will a regular shop light work? or do i need the explosion resistant lights?

 

Regular cheap single bare bulb strip fixtures will work, mount them to the walls near the top. Leave no more than 1/2 the length of a bulb between fixtures (i.e. no more than 24" between 48" tubes) closer would be better.
If using hard pipe inside the walls, be sure to pitch the main lines 1/4"/ft towards the end furthest from the compressor for drainage. The last drop should be an elbowed off drip line with a drain valve. All supply drops should be made with Tees off the main pointed UP, looping the supplys up above the main then down, Tee the take off fitting off the supply finishing with a vertical 12" drip leg below the take off. NC is very humid most all year round, so there will be substantial moisture buildup in the lines especially if you are running your compressor hard. drain your compressor tank and lines regularly. Standard soldered copper water pipe works well for air lines, 3/4" for mains, 1/2" for supply drops. You might want to reconsider running your air lines inside the walls tho. Surface runs would be safer, you won't accidently run a screw or nail into a pipe and they can be easily modified when you find you really need a drop someplace you didn't put one originally. There are some nice and reasonably priced plastic air line and push fitting setups on the market that are real easy to build on. See here: http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...er=air%20lines Eastwood sells a similar kit for a higher price. NOTE: DON'T use plastic water pipe! It will deteriorate and fails with explosive force shooting out sharp plastic shrapnel.

 

In the last 40 years I've built 2 shops that had rooms set up to paint in. I use a filter bank on the entrance end and an explosion proof anti stat fan on the other end. They were both hung with sheet rock and taped and finished. I use a series of 8 foot double tube fluorescent lights. I painted the walls pure white to help with lighting. There are no switches or receptacles in these rooms. I don't run my fan continuously during paint work.

I've personally never had a problem with sheet rock. (my families business) Yes it damages easily, but also repairs easily.

 

would a fan like this work? i dont feel i need anything real big due to the tiny tiny size of the room i will be painting in.

16" 1/20 HP 1170 CFM 1550 RPM Medium Duty Exhaust Fan wall mount 115/1/60 | Fastenal

 

It should work fine. I would suggest that you consider getting the shutters and the weather hood. The shutters open with the fan on and automatically close when it's off.

 

I would suggest if you plan to wet things before painting to use the green sheetrock along the bottom