Paint booths are designed to protect the painter from fumes, the environment from pollution and the item being painted from contamination. A good paint booth supplies ample space to work, effective control of fumes and fire hazards and adequate lighting to do a good job. A paint booth for someone who works on tiny objects can be little more than a box, while automotive paint booths need to accommodate cars.
Components
A simple paint booth consists of walls, a fan and some filters. This basic design can be expressed in any number of sizes and levels of complexity. The walls may be made of temporary plastic or the paint booth may be a permanent installation in a furniture factory or automotive body shop. For a small home paint booth, the fan can be a standard window fan, while industrial installations have large industrial fans for drawing in fresh air and driving out fumes. Filters are placed in the exit vents to capture toxins that would otherwise escape to the outside atmosphere.
Cleanliness
A paint job can be ruined by anything that's in the air, including bugs, pollen, dust and impurities that can barely be seen with the naked eye. Attempting a sensitive paint job outside is an exercise in risk, because a breeze can come up at any time and fill the wet paint with all manner of debris. A paint booth provides a controlled, interior environment free from dust and debris. This is particularly important for shiny finishes, like those used on cars. A light coating of dust settling into the wet automotive paint is enough to ruin it.
Pollution Control
Many paints contain environmentally hazardous materials. Allowing overspray and fume from these paints to circulate freely is irresponsible and dangerous. In a paint booth, fumes and spray are captured in filters as the air passes to the outdoors. When these filters are saturated with toxins, they are disposed of at hazardous waste facilities that deal with paint, finishes and other unsafe materials. Because of consumer concern about the safety of some of these substances, many companies are beginning to introduce safer paints to the market.
Safety
The two primary threats to a person who is painting are toxic fumes and fire. If a spark or open flame is introduced when paint is being sprayed, the result can be an explosion. Each tiny speck of paint suspended in the air is flammable, creating an inherently unsafe situation if it is not controlled. A paint booth helps to isolate these flammable particles from any potential hazard. Painters who work inside of paint booths wear respirators and protective clothing that covers their heads, bodies and hands. Keeping fumes separated from fire and from lungs is critical to successful paint booth use.
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