Work in Progress: Assembling my new paint booth!

Hey Doc!

Go to Ebay and search TCPGLOBAL or model car paint booths; something like that. You'll see a lot of the TCPGLOBAL types; I'm not sure why they vary in price. Mine has the hose included and the vacuum cleaner type attachment for venting out a window. I had to buy the little stand with the flexible arms and alligator clips for $15.00 extra. It works about 500% better than no unit at all! However, it's maybe 10-12" at most on the very inside, although it flairs out at the top exiting the main paint area. The clip together sides are a hassle so I just taped them to stay. I use newspaper on the sides to keep the paint from spreading everywhere and the filter can be removed and cleaned (although I dare say with what?) Maybe paint thinner. I'm sure hardware stores stock replacements too. I've had great luck putting lots of smaller parts on the clips for priming/painting; I'll be trying it on a real car body shortly! I shoot you a link tonight!

Aristol: love your signature. I'll keep my religion, money and guns, let them keep the change. Anyway, For the price of $90.00, sparing your family (and yourself with a paint mask) the possible damage of inhaling paint vapors is well worth the price. Again TCPGLOBAL is the company I used. I've used it for priming bodies now and with a little more sanding, I'll be ready for my 1st real base coats, misting VERY carefully.

www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Hobby-Airbrush-Paint-Spray-Booth-Kit-Exhaust-Filter-Extractor-Set-Model-/190815239288?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6d797c78

Pretty good idea! Did you not get a revolving disc about the size of an old 45 rpm record with it? It was for setting a body on top and turning while painting for better coverage. I think the extra 14.00 I spent on the 6-8 clip extensions for holding parts was worth it. I just shot my first base coat last night on the inside of my Ford T-bird pro stock. Up until then, it had only been for priming/sanding and primer/sealer use, along with painting chassis's and engine parts. A engine really stands out when you spray paint the assembled block, blower (if you are using one) and valve covers with separate tones of Tamiya metallic paint. Really makes funny cars and dragsters stand out as opposed to painting parts by hand.

Nice job and congrats on your new toy!

Don't be CM thinking-hard-smiley-emoticon ... Every silver lining has cloud. I worked harder on the primer/prep for the Iaconia t-bird you sold me than any other build (gee, that's all two of them). I had about 3-4 sets of instructions to go from and chose a set from a prominent builder on MCM. I don't think the instructions are faulty by any means and the initial paint job is complete with about 4 coats of paint and no runs whatsoever. The body was washed after the primer sealant was applied and I cleaned it with alcohol and lint free model clothes iIn lieu of brushing it with tooth paste.

However, I think the motor on this booth is low on power. I still ended up with more than a few spots of dust and lint/dog hair. Short of shaving my dogs or wearing a hazard suit, I don't know how to fix that. I'm searching the hobby sites for recommendations now on what grade of sand paper/stick to use for removing the dust, if I need to shoot another coat of paint after sanding/washing or just add decals and clear.

BTW, if you didn't read my update, the car will stay one color "revvin red" and I'm hoping to get decals made - Billy "the Kid" Glidden for both sides, a rear window decal saying "Reach for the Sky" and a crew sticker with "Mom, Dad, and Billy. Since Bob's son Billy was a big Mustang racer and did some pro stock, I think it would be a neat idea. What about you?

Anyway, I'm humbly proud of myself for conquering my painting fears after the "four body Nova tragedy". I think I can do this now if I just use patience and prayer!

Great idea, JBailey! How long can I wait after the paint is totally dry before I have to apply the clear coat? I'm ordering custom decals which might take a week. Should I shoot the clear as soon as it's dry and put the decals on later with decal set? Tks.

Thanks jbailey. I really want to order a couple of custom door decals for each side and I've got more than enough spare sponsors decals as this is a race car build, albeit my own interpretation. I sprayed the car with 3 mist and 4 coats of Testors "One Coat" revvin red. It turned out more like a metallic strawberry with the multiple coats, but I wanted it deep and for once it didn't run! It's been covered in the booth over 4 days now.

I was told that if the surface was fine, you could shoot your first mist coats of clear in 1/2 hour after you final base coat, otherwise I had to wait until it was totally dry before attempting any surface corrections. I need to fix some settled dust and a few nits, so it's more than ready. After that, wash, dry and use the same misting process for the clear, then 2-3 coats of clear if desired.

JB: some good news. Both the T-bird and Mustang are done with their basecoats and the Shoebox Ford is ready for its outer body to start mist coats and wet coats. I fixed the dust specks on the T-bird after a quick prayer by using a circular wet sand with 3600. Since I'd never tried this before I was nervous and these metallic Testors paints look weird when you're correcting mistakes.

Got it done and dried, wiped with alky and re-misted the areas lightly. I shot 2 extra coats on the whole car for an even surface. Here's where it got weird again. After letting everthing dry for what I thought was a reasonable time (almost a week), I warmed up the Testors One Coat clear and started the first of several mist coats. It immediately spit out several small bubbles on the roof and as I move my spray to the driver's side, it left patches where it appeared to react with the paint. I stopped there and let it dry several days.

I sanded out the clear mistakes and re-shot problem areas just like I did with the dust nits. It looks great now. However both the Mustang and the T-bird both have a slight textured appearance despite the nice paint. Can you recomment any clear product other than Testors? I've heard good things about Tamiya and to be honest, I don't know a thing about what polishing or waxing would do. My custom decals have arrived and Jeff at FiredBird requires a "clear gloss" with a 24 hour drying time before applying decals. I just don't know what that is. I wouldn't mind having a glossier surface over the entire bodies but I'm not risking another complete paint job...

thinking-hard-smiley-emoticon

I bought the really cheap booth but didn't need the disk. In another life part of my job was welding. I had a disk laying around that I had cleaned up and got turning again. I mounted a board on that and it works great.

Read more: jerryscherrys.freeforums.net/thread/1720/work-progress-assembling-paint-booth?page=1&scrollTo=20722#ixzz31Oc8nykN

Sorry If I gave the impression it was motorized.  It has to be turned by hand but it turners very easy.  Just go to a welding supply store to pick one up, or ebay is cheaper.  I found one for dirt cheap there.  heres the link Thay also come in hand for those of us who like to make vertical wind generators better known as VAWT'S.  They have a million other use's around the house and the work shop.