# Paint storage and ventilation in dedicated paint room



## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

I know yet another shop topic from yours truly. You will have to forgive me as there is a lot to consider when building out a shop and sometimes one thing affects another. On to the topic:

We plan to portion off part of our shop (about 10'x 12') as a dedicated paint/stain room. To that end, what would you suggest as the best way to ventilate? Do the fans motors need to be explosion proof? Since we do plan to heat and cool the shop at least part of the time, I was thinking that it would be wise if the ventilation system for the paint room be self-contained (IE: have both air draw in from the outside thru a vent and fan forced discharge out another vent). That would eliminate us losing expensive heated or cooled air out of the main shop.

Related topic, what are you doing for paint/stain storage? I was thinking just shelves in the paint room with a small exhaust fan that ran 24/7? I don't plan to keep anything like gasoline in the woodworking shop as I have a separate shop for tractors and mowers that has an exterior lean to where we store that kind of stuff (although I wish we had 500gallon tanks at today's prices!!).


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

The blower motor requirements vary, ideally explosion proof if you are spraying.

For spraying, ideally you should have the temperature controlled, but with mix adjustments you can use outside air vented through the room (this is what I do).

A good spray booth design has downdraft flow, but cross flow is good. Lighting, filters, etc. are critical.

Since you don't explicitly mention spraying, I'll stop on that topic since the parameters are complex, but best to design for it versus a retrofit.

Storage generally means keeping your finished at room temperature, sealed containers. Shelves (sturdy) are fine but cabinets do better at keeping dust off. keep your strainers, masks, and finishing tools/equipment in a cabinet that can be closed for the best protection (I use an old, stripped out refrigerator).


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

Are you trying to set up a business? I think your question is for an engineer that is an expert in the field. Your insurance company will be involved sooner or later and may be able to offer assistance. I don't see this as a lumberjacks question…too much liability here. (There was another person looking to set up a shop for a business and was trying to use this site as an electrical engineering resource at no cost to himself.). I may be reading this wrong, but I really think you need a professional for this.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

OSHA regs pretty much require paints and solvents to be stored in a metal paint locker. Open shelving is inappropriate for opened container storage. Too easy for a fall to splatter a can.

The good news is that the locker can be in the main shop instead of a dedicated room.

Grainger is a great source for this type of safety gear.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 There is HUGE difference between paint/solvent storage in home shop, and storage inside a business location.

+1 Discussing detailed mfg rules for business side of wood working, is generally beyond scope of LJ forum advice. There are too many local variations for some one 1000 miles away to help. Plus no one is going to accept any responsibility or liability if the advice goes against local laws.

Generally speaking:

The definition of business is easy: Do you derive any income from the wood shop?
Yes, it is a business.
No, it is NOT a business.

In non business home shop: only your home owners insurance really cares where and how you store paint and hazardous materials. No one monitors if you have explosion proof wiring or appliances. And no one is going to police your facility UNTIL there is accident, when the police/fire department writes a report detailing your activities.

If the accident report shows you have exceeded storage limits for your zoned property, local building code, or local EPA regulations (5+ gallons in some states); will be in serious trouble. Ignorance of law is not a valid excuse. You are required to know and follow your relevant local, state, and federal regulations for hazardous materials.

In a business location, you have to deal with: state/federal EPA limits on volume of hazardous materials, EPA documentation and reporting requirements for use/disposal of hazardous materials, plus provide properly monitored explosion/spill proof storage. You will be audited by local fire, building, and electrical AHJ to relevant NFPA/IBC/NEC and local zoning codes; or be required to hire expert professional engineers/auditors that are bonded to ensure liability for not meeting regulations is covered. If you have employee's; also must follow relevant OSHA safety laws as well.

One can certainly run a wood working business from home, hiding from the gubermint the income and activities. Many folks get away with this all time. But as soon as you have an accident, and/or folks learn of your hobby turned business; you will be in serious trouble, maybe even go to jail.

So it is your best interest to know and follow ALL the regulations. 
That is not something you will learn on LJ!


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

Wow I don't even know where to begin.

Things are vastly different in rural Arkansas compared to California that's for sure!!!!

We are NOT starting a business. We have a large shop because I worked 40 years in the oilfield and have the funds to build it!! Woodworking is a hobby that I am just getting into to keep me busy in retirement! I may occasionally build something for a friend but that is a long way from a business venture.

I was a chemical engineer for those 40 years. I know a thing or two about hazardous chemicals. I am NOT looking for that kind of advice here!! I was only asking what you guys do for paint booths as we are going to build one into our shop.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

It sounded like a business plan was evolving through your many questions. It may be rural Arkansas, but your insurance company will still care, even if the local authorities don't. And being an industrial electrician for over 40 years, I know a lot about class 1 div 1 and class 1 div 2, but I don't have the degree to allow me to give advice for the electrical install, even if I can do it safely and properly. Enjoy your new shop, I would like something like that myself.


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## Sark (May 31, 2017)

I converted one of the rooms in my house to a dedicated spray booth and drying area. This had a pretty big 4'x8' high filter area, suction provided by a smallish (1HP?) explosion proof motor, and the exhaust was through a 12" diameter hole cut into the outside wall.

Since it was a home based business (literally and figuratively) we used primarily non-toxic water-based finishes. It worked great for a number of years, then we were able to afford to rent a shop in town and had a very large commercially made walk-in spray booth with a 3hp exhaust blower for our finishing.

My 2cents worth: If you're blowing lacquers the motor should be explosion proof. The modern water-based finishes (Such as General Finishes or Target) are really quite a good alternative to lacquer and are far less toxic and less smelly to boot.

If there is a sufficient air flow over the work through the filter and out the shop, then a non explosion-proof motor works just fine…but I can imagine worse-case scenarios where you blow yourself to pieces, and why take the chance?

Good air flow requires a lot of air. (The 3 HP motor would suck the 12 foot high doors open, so we had to leave the smaller door open to get enough draft.) So I think your idea of isolating the spray room from the rest of the shop is definitely in order. I suggest that the incoming air be filtered. Nothing fancy…just use rectangular filters available at any HomeDepot. Any fan will suck in dust and that will show up on your finished product.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 Large 1HP+ exhaust airflow for spray room, needs serious outside air intake vents; preferably filtered with several large 4" thick plated filters to ensure low intake restriction.

+1 Officially, your electrical wiring in spray room should met requirements of NEC section 500-517 and NFPA 70, often called Electrical Requirements for Hazardous Locations.

Flammable storage requirements should met: 
OSHA 1910.106
NFPA 30
NFPA Fire Code 1
International Fire Code (IFC) mostly in Chapter 57

Unofficially:
Can you make a red neck spray room using 20" box fan(s), with pleated filters duct taped to them, in a window or door? 
Yes.

Another popular DIY option is whole house attic exhaust fan, with 12-18" deep plenum box and a wall of filters in front of it.

Will regular fans catch on fire or cause an explosion? 
Possible, but doubtful thanks to high particle concentrations required for combustion. The automotive body shop forums have documented would have to use 2+ guns spraying solvent based paint at same time to create dangerous conditions. And when that happens, add more fans and airflow. Making it hard for single person spraying to create an explosive environment with REASONABLE ventilation.

Whats best way to store flammable solvents at home?
Buy used flammable storage cabinets at industrial auctions, or online. Generally cost is 30-50% of new.
My *********************************** shop uses sheet metal storage cabinets sold for holding office supplies. These are dirt cheap at used office furniture store.

How to deal with HVAC air loss when ventilating spray finish fumes?
Open some windows, and turn off the HVAC; understand spraying in controlled temp/humidity is expensive; or setup self contained spray room ventilation. Preferably to draw fresh outside air from typical up wind side of building, and discharge to the wind down side; far enough apart the dirty air is not recycled.

Be safe, not sorry.


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

All the talk about ventilation os great but when I submitted my plans for a shop to the county permit dept. I had a room in the drawings I designated as a paint or spray room. The plan reviewer was kind enough to warn me that even if it wasn't commercial and I left that designation I would be required to install a fire sprinkler system. The room immediately got renamed a sports room for fishing and hunting gear. As it turns out that is actually how I use it today.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

> install a fire sprinkler system. - LesB


+1 Building a spray painting room properly is a slippery slope. 
When you add sprinkler, also have to follow NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. :-(0)


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## 1thumb (Jun 30, 2012)

Don't just worry about the regulations. Bad ventilation in a spray room is bad. Overkill the ventilation.


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

I'm oilfield. We tend to overbuild everything LOL…..


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

some questions just turn things into rocket science.
rj in az


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

I think the answer involves if you intend to spray or not. If you are spraying lacquer or oil based finish, you need to plan very carefully.

I do small finishing jobs, non spray in my shop with just a window exhaust fan. For big jobs, I finish in my garage with the doors open and some fans for circulation.


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## CommonJoe (May 8, 2021)

Since you are not finishing on a daily bases I would consider how you portion off the painting area. 10×12 doesn't seam big enough to me but maybe it is for you. If you could make some roll down walls to use only when finishing that would keep more available space for other things. Those are just my thoughts on the room size. If you have positive air flow, you're pushing the air out a different vent, then I wouldn't think you need an explosion proof fan. If it were negative flow, then fan is pulling the air out of the room, then maybe you would want explosion proof.
I open my garage door and let my fans blow the air out. Flammable storage cabinet for all solvents.

PS: In my younger days I worked at a shop that had a big hood, like in a commercial kitchen, that vented to the outside where on the outside wall there was a squirrel cage that had a motor off to the side with the belt to the fan.This sucked the air out and because the motor was mounted off to the side it wasn't explosion proof.

The room was about 20×30 It had 2- 4' wide doors with filters in them that drew air in from the shop. (not what you were wanting, but what it was)


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## OzarkJim (8 mo ago)

10×12 is big enough for our occasional use for the most part and we have our choice of a concrete area outside or large drive in bays with two roll up doors if not. The 10×12 is primarily for staining cabinets one at a time or small projects. Having it available will eliminate having to setup an area every single time we want to do a small part. Sort of the same reason most folks don't like multipurpose woodworking machines?

We do have HVLP spray guns that will be used. I think most of our work will be with water soluble simply because I don't like to smell chemicals (I worked with them for 40 years and I'm rather sensitive).

One thing for sure I didn't expect this thread to blow up into a legal discussion….....


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

one might grab one of those portable 10×10 portable fabric carports, with enclosures, set it up near window or door opening and set up a fan one one end, also a good place to store finished stock till ready to deliver or storage period.

good luck, oughta be a hoot to see how it works out
rj in az


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

> grab one of those portable 10×10 ….


LOL, I do majority of my spray finishing large stuff outside, under a commercial 10×10 EZUP canopy. Have 3 side walls that attach to frame with Velco. One has a cut out for plywood frame holding a box fan for exhaust. Only recent pictures I can find are after removing the sidewall(s), and cleaning most drop cloth protection.

Rustoleum Professional Safety Red on 7' tall Lumber cart project:









Mazda Black Mica car repair:









Weather is near perfect for working outdoors from Oct-May. AZ has zero wind in early morning most days before everything heats up in summer. Current house has narrow side yard, and only need one side wall to block occasional breeze; haven't used all sidewalls in many years.

PS - Check your local zoning laws.
Just after filling my neighborhood with particularly 'stinky' automotive 2K clear coat fumes last year, firefighter neighbor friend smelled my activity, and stopped by with bad news. My city council idiots banned nearly all spray painting in residential zoning. He also claimed I could relax, as only Fire Marshall or building inspector could approve a zoning ticket/fine, and they had to catch me actually spraying paint. Which means it's easy to hide small projects. 
The ban includes any non rattle bomb spray painting that involved hazardous solvents, including automotive repair, and furniture finishing. Even latest 'green' WB finishes are not allowed, as they contain small amounts of dangerous solvents that require a respirator (if you read the mfg paperwork). The only exception is spraying LATEX on houses. Local painters complain that spraying WB enamel on outdoor metal work is now illegal, and were seeking further exemptions for commercial businesses. The new law was copied from latest California clean air rules to reduce residential solvent use. 
Living inside city limits can be a real PITA. 
Won't be allowed to make/fix anything fun in a suburban home, if this trend keeps up.


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