How Big of A Spray Booth Do I Need?

The size of your spray booth is important to consider because the larger the face opening of a cross draft or the footprint of a downdraft the more air the spray booth will remove from your building and require to replace. In addition to removing more air, there are additional costs with extra spray booth space that comes with the need for additional sheet metal and lighting. To be able to have a booth ideally suited for your product finishing needs consider the following rules.

1.  Ensure you have a minimum of 3 feet on all sides of your product to be painted, ideally you should have 5 feet. 3 feet will allow your painter to move around the product and spray comfortably. A smaller space around the product will result in the operator having to hold the spray gun in close to their body which can result in difficulty with production as well as finish quality.
2. If you have a large product the ideal placement in the booth will vary. With a cross draft booth you want to minimize the width and height of the product.  This can often mean a long booth but the reason for minimizing the width and height of the product is that it will reduce the air exhausted from your building. Additionally, it will require less heat if you are using make up air to replace air that is removed by your booth. For an example, if your product is 14’ wide x 10’ long x 8’ tall then you would place the part in the booth lengthwise and need a 10’ wide by 8’ tall booth x 14’ deep. To understand the air exhaust difference consider the following the 10’ wide x 8 feet tall booth would require 8000 CFM while the 8 tall x 14 wide booth would require an additional 3000 CFM above the smaller booth. This can be critical especially in smaller shops where excessive air being exhausted creates a lot of issues. Conversely, if the paint booth is a downdraft booth there is not much you can do to minimize the air needed because the air flow is determined by the floor print of the booth (length x width).
3. Multiple Products or Single Products – If you are going to paint multiple products you will need enough room for each product. Additionally, it can often be best to not line products one after another in a cross draft booth.  The issue with lining products in a line in a cross draft booth is that there is a chance that overspray would go from your product onto the next product.  If you paint your product from the entrance of the spray booth to the exhaust filters this typically is not an issue. However, if you are concerned with finish quality, then it may make sense to consider a wider booth so that no product is lined up one after another but each has its own place in the booth.

By considering these three important aspects about your paint booth before buying a paint booth you can ensure you will buy the right booth size for your needs. If you are working with a company on a paint booth they should cover these types of questions to best ensure your paint booth is ideal for your product finishing needs.