Caring for Your Outdoor Paint Booth

Keith Zralka
July 25, 2022

The outdoor paint booth is well known for its remarkable space-saving attributes and it may also be built to fit virtually any dimensions. This sort of unit also presents a wide variety of options when it comes to customization including moving your mixing room outdoors, putting it overhead, integrating a drive-thru configuration, or even adding a second work bay to your booth’s side. Still, it is important to note that your outdoor spray booth is a capital investment for your company. It lets your team deliver top-notch paint job finishes in safe working conditions. For this, it is always very prudent to incorporate a regular care and maintenance regimen into the day-to-day operations of your spray paint booth to guarantee this. When your unit can run at peak performance and efficiency at all times, you can be able to cut down on your booth’s operational costs and ensure health along with safety compliance.

When you fail to take care of your paint booth, it will in the long run greatly impact your team’s productivity and your paint shop’s repair costs will be bound to escalate. Such a state of affairs will make your outdoor paint booth be more susceptible to breakdowns, which in turn, will result in costly downtime and exorbitant repair fees. Also, dust and debris accumulation will significantly impair your unit’s paint job overall finish quality, and this will give rise to the necessity for more reworks.

A well-maintained spray booth will be the difference between business success or regular appointments with the repair technicians. Additionally, it could mean the difference between normal shop operations or a complete disaster. This is indeed the reason why safety and not performance should always be the key factor to consider in the context of spray paint booth maintenance. A unit that is not cared for can create the perfect recipe for fire hazards along with other dire short-term and long-term adverse outcomes.

Filters and fans

Virtually all paint booth manufacturers out there are unanimous in saying that paint arrestor filters ought to be replaced no less than one time per month. However, this given schedule tends to vary from one end-user to the next depending on a number of factors. This includes the volumes of substrates you finish in your shop, the kind of spray system you use, external atmospheric conditions, and the materials sprayed (high-density materials create lesser overspray). Many outdoor paint booth manufacturers tend to base their recommendations for when you should replace your unit’s filters on how often they are in use (hours).

Since filters happen to play a key role in a spray booth maintenance needs, fan motors are often overlooked. This can cause fan motors to glaze, harden or slip, which if left unchecked, will cause an airflow loss. Spray paint booth manufacturers typically recommend you to make belt inspections after every three to six months, while a replacement should be made once annually. Should your outdoor paint booth have a heated makeup unit, never make the decision of overlooking its combustion blowers. Make sure to have them serviced on a regular basis and ensure you take them apart every now and then to clean them.

More outdoor paint booth maintenance tips

Ideally, paint booth maintenance should always be conducted when the unit has been powered down. Ensure the main switch of your unit is turned off and locked. The equipment to be found in your booth, mainly the generator can make it very hot. So make sure your paint operators allow the equipment to cool down prior to commencing any maintenance runs. Lastly, limit access to your spray booth to only the paint operators who should change into their painting gear within the unit.

ZPar International is a foremost manufacturer of diverse top-notch standard and custom paint booth offerings including the outdoor variety and more that integrate a variety of high-performance and cost-effective airflow patterns. We also offer a variety of powder coating and abrasive blasting solutions including numerous equipment and accessories.