Plenty of cars are prone to paint scratches and other surface damage, which, left unaddressed, can cause long-term harm to the car’s exteriors.
This is why paint jobs are one of the most common automotive services in auto body shops. As such, car repair shops that offer car painting need a suitable automotive paint booth that not only controls paint fumes and chemicals but also provides an environment conducive to better paintwork.
Two Common Paint Booth Structures
Automotive paint booths are ventilated spaces that allow painters to work in safe, hygienic conditions in accordance with workplace regulations. Paint booths have different types of ventilation and the main structure can either be open or enclosed.
Open Front Automotive Paint Booths
Open front paint booths are paint booths with only three sides. They also take less floor space, making them ideal for smaller auto body shops. And because they’re smaller, they cost less to manufacture and are therefore more affordable.
Open spray booths are ideal for testing colors, color-matching, and prepping car parts for a paint job. They can also be used for spray-painting smaller parts.
The downside of these open front paint booths is that they let in more contaminants. The opening is necessary to draw in fresh air across the work area and out through an exhaust fan, but it also means not being able to control dust and other debris from entering the area.
In addition, open spray booths don’t have heating capabilities. Heat is essential in automotive painting applications since temperature affects the way paint cures on surfaces.
Enclosed Automotive Paint Booths
Enclosed booths, on the other hand, are paint booths that are boxed in on all sides. Since enclosed paint booths aren’t subject to the open air of your garage, you don’t have to worry about dirt particles, insects, and other debris settling on the freshly painted surface of vehicles.
This type of automotive paint booth lets in air through filtered inlets and expel contaminated air through filtered exhaust vents. Unlike the open front type, there are different types of ventilation systems in enclosed paint booths, namely:
- Downward Draft Paint Booth
Also called vertical airflow, this type of paint booth lets in filtered air through the ceiling and lets it out through gratings on the floor. As such, a downward draft paint booth must be erected on a raised basement or pit.
- Side Draft Paint Booth
Side draft paint booths let in air through the ceiling and expel it through exhaust filters on the side walls. This helps draw contaminants away from the painter and the vehicle, leading to a clean finish.
- Semi Downward Draft Paint Booth
Also called diagonal airflow booths, semi downward draft paint booths let in air from above the booth and out the back exhaust.
- Cross Draft Paint Booth
The most popular paint booths are the cross draft booths, which filter the air from the front and let out the exhaust at the back. These booths are easy to operate and don’t require much work to build.
Equip Your Auto Body Shop With a Paint Booth
JMC Automotive Equipment carries both open and fully enclosed paint booths. Contact us at 800-562-4791 so we can discuss your shop’s needs and help you choose the right automotive paint booth.
