New paint booths commonly sell for well-over six-figures these days. With the added capital investments required for specialized tools and equipment for advanced auto materials and ADAS technologies, it’s important to maintain that investment for as long as possible. There are several types of products that are available to protect the paint booth, however, there’s another available feature to consider that contributes an additional benefit – booth cleanliness.
The dirtier the paint booth, the more likely it is that dust and dirt will get into the base or clearcoats. Booth cleanliness becomes even more important with shops that have cross-draft booths or spray water-borne base coats.
- Cross-draft booths actively carry particles across the booth, making it easier for any loose dirt to contact fresh coatings.
- Water-borne coatings require greater flash times between coats. Shops can bypass this by force-flashing the coats with blowers, but these blowers also stir up any loose particles and contaminants.
Shops that use either of these methods should look for a booth protection solution that can also reduce the number of particles in the environment. With so many different offerings, it’s hard to tell which may be best for your shop – but there are a few distinct differences between each of the categories.
