How to Make a Spray Painting Booth
Spray painting has become a fun and affordable way to transform so many items to make them look like new or give them an instant update, but don't risk overspray - rather make a spray painting booth.
29/05/2020
family handyman
Spray painting has been around forever. I remember when younger using spray paint on some wooden planter boxes that I made, wanting to give them a trendy colour. But the spray paint I used then is nothing like the spray paint you can purchase today. It was a weak mixture and you needed 3 or 4 cans to get decent colour coverage. Nowadays with brands like Rust-Oleum on the shelves, spray paint is great for changing the look, giving a makeover, recycling and upcycling almost anything. And you normally only need one can of spray paint to do it!
With the increased popularity of using spray paint in the home comes the need to have a place that you can set up for spraying items without spraying everything else around it. DIY and home-made spraying booths are the solution - and you can make up a spray booth to whatever size you like, depending on what is being sprayed.
Spray Painting Furniture or Large Items
When you plan of spray painting pieces of furniture you have made, or upcycling garden furniture or other large items, you can easily set up a spray painting booth using a cheap gazebo and some plastic sheeting.
What's great about having a spray booth like this is that you can spray furniture outdoors without worrying that debris like leaves and bugs are going to get stuck on the finish. I've also had an occasion or two where I was spray painting and there was a veld fire close by, with the result that my pieces were covered with pieces of flying ash.
It doesn't need to be fancy and it doesn't need to cost a lot. A couple of large drop sheets to wrap around a gazebo fastened on with duct tape, and you have the perfect spray painting booth.
GOOD TO KNOW: Unless you add an extraction fan of some type, DO wear a suitable mask when spray painting in a confined space.
Spray Painting Shelter
In certain other countries, you can purchase a tent-like spray painting booth that is specifically designed for the purpose. These tent-like spray painting booths even have a built-in extraction fan that makes it easier to work inside. Nice, but not something we can buy locally. But there is an alternative...
...If you've got an old pup tent that you know longer use, turn this into a spray painting booth for small or medium items.
Cardboard Box Spray Painting Booth
For the occasional spray painting project, nothing beats a good old cardboard box! Cut the top flaps off the box for easy access and cut a hole in the top - covered with a piece of plastic - to let in light so that you can see what you are doing. If you want to make spray painting even easier, use an old wire coat hanger to hang items for spray painting. Make a hook on one end of the hanger and a fold on the other end that lets you turn the hanger to spray your items all around.