What Are the Different Types of Small Spray Booths?

There are several types of small spray booths that are constructed with the same basic principle as the larger versions. Often used in manufacturing or home hobby painting, the small spray booth's main purpose is to draw fresh air into the booth and expel paint fumes while drawing the over-spray away from the object being painted. Filters, fans and ventilation are the key components used in the design and construction of small spray booths, whatever the intended purpose.

One of the most basic designs in small spray booths is the three-sided, open-end paint booth. This type of paint booth is easy to use in a manufacturing setting and allows easy adjustment of the object being painted. These small spray booths draw fresh air through the open front panel by installing an exhaust fan in the rear of the booth. The fan draws fumes and over-spray away from the painter and into an exhaust system that carries the toxins to another filter and expels the filtered air into the atmosphere. This type of small booth is the least expensive and offers the least amount of protection from foreign objects being drawn into the booth and landing in the wet paint.

Another type of paint booth uses four closed sides, however, one side is accessible via rubber gloves engineered into the side panel. These small spray booths resemble sandblasting cases, where the user views the object being painted through a viewing window in the front of the booth. Rubber gloves connected into one panel of the spray booth allow the user to both manipulate the object being painted as well as to operate the paint gun itself that is contained inside of the spray booth. A fan draws air out through a vent in the rear of the booth, sending fumes through a filter and into a ventilation system. The main advantage of this paint booth over the open-ended booth design is the elimination of the possibility of debris being drawn into the booth through an open panel.

Some small spray booths are not intended to be used on a tabletop or bench and are actually miniaturized versions of the booths used to paint automobiles. This type of smaller paint booth is commonly used for customized painting on smaller components, such as helmets, motorcycle fuel tanks and fenders. It is also used on bicycles and other smaller objects. Often no larger than a walk-in closet, the small spray booths feature heating components as well as improved lighting and excellent ventilation to avoid over-spray problems on the painted parts.