Paint booth size

[Kahle76]

It looks like I'm ready to start painting and only 3 months behind schedule. The plan was to build a larger booth in the unconditioned section of my shop and paint last fall on nice days. Well....it's cold here in SE MO and I need to build a smaller one in the heated section that's just 20'x36'. I will still need a portion of this area to do prep work, sand, layout Etc. Would a 10'x20' work?

Thanks,
Mike

[airlina]

It looks like I'm ready to start painting and only 3 months behind schedule. The plan was to build a larger booth in the unconditioned section of my shop and paint last fall on nice days. Well....it's cold here in SE MO and I need to build a smaller one in the heated section that's just 20'x36'. I will still need a portion of this area to do prep work, sand, layout Etc. Would a 10'x20' work?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, it is doable in that size area (that was the size I painted mine in) but it can be a bit of a challenge. I made rotating jigs for the wings and fuse during my build , and used them in the booth as well. You have to be very "hose aware" in an area this small or just when you are about finished with a wing,you will drag the paint gun hose over the finished product and say fiddlesticks or something to that effect ! Bruce N199CL

[rainbird]

I painted a RagWing storch which is a little larger than a kitfox in one of those tents to park a car in. It was 10x20 and it worked fine. You have to paint the wings one at a time but I found that no problem. I just set the wing on sawhorses and painted the up side. When dry I turned it over and painted the other side. Painting the fuse was also done in stages painting the up surface. This process saves a lot of headache fighting runs. I can paint a vertical surface just fine but why make it more difficult. Some thought about using a car tent I used a blower pushing air through a furnace filter into the tent. The air then escaped through the gaps between the panels and through the wall window screens. This worked quite well an overspray was not a problem.
About painting in your heated shop. Make sure there are no spark sources in there. Polytone paints and solvents are explosive!!! I'm sure you don't want to blow up your shop and burn your plane. I plan the paint during the warm part of the year so I don't need any lights or heaters no spark sources. Painting can be one of the most enjoyable parts of building a plane. Take your time and enjoy the process.

[Kahle76]

Thanks for the info. I have both wings and the fuselage on independent rotisseries which should help with the space issue. Planning on putting some casters on the rotisseries.

[n85ae]

The Lowell screened Gazebo idea is the slickest Idea I have ever seen ... To
heck with indoor painting, I would seriously do it that way if I had to start
over.

Jeff

[Kahle76]

The Lowell screened Gazebo idea is the slickest Idea I have ever seen ... To
heck with indoor painting, I would seriously do it that way if I had to start
over.

Jeff

I would love to do that, but I need to start painting so I can get as much work completed before spring when my yard work picks up at our retirement community. I agree with you. Nothing better than a screened tent outside.

[colospace]

Glad to hear the gazebo idea works well. I used Oratex, so I don't have a lot of painting to do, but of course I have the cowl, flaperons and wing tips to do. The main reason I went with Oratex was to avoid building a paint booth in my garage and struggling to get sufficient lighting. I plan to use Stewart Systems paint so I don't think the neighbors will get riled up. The previous painting I have done outside reveals that while the sun provides plenty of light, it is not always were you need it to get that glare on the wet paint surface. I'm thinking that I will still use some supplemental lighting. Sometimes Harbor Freight Aviation has their screen rooms on sale, so I'm watching their ads. Even with the turtle pace I manage, I expect to be painting when the weather warms.