Applying finish in the winter months ??

[T Folts]

My wood shop is in my basement and I spray finish my bows in the garage with a HVLP gun and compressor but as winter approaches I dont know what I will do to apply a finish. I have one small window in my shop but no way to vent it. I was thinking about building a spray booth in front of the window a venting it there but I dont currently have the resources or alot of extra time. Also my basement is not heated so its cool down there. So any suggestions?
Thanks
Terry

[Joey V.]

I spray FullerP in my basement and vent it out a glass block window.  I smashed one glass block in the corner and bought a dryer vent cover to plug up the now hole and sealed / glued it on with silicon caulk.  I then put a exhaust fan in a PCV tube and sealed it to the window vent with thick plastic bag to create a suction right out the vent.  This works great but I also have that area COMPLEATLY enclosed from the rest of my basement.  

The basement temp is not usually an issue because it is mostly underground right?  If that is the case it should never be much colder than 60 degrees at worst.  I would certainly build a spray booth even if it a completely plasting bag walled stick build room.  If not your whole house will stink when you are spaying. Buy some real thick clear plastic and some 2X2 pine lumber and make a little room.  You must vent that window for sure though.  You can create a bomb if you don't.  Any poly urethane or lacquer vapor can be explosive when / if ignited.  Your fan motor could (though rare) spark and ignite the fumes and spray vapor too though.  I always have in the back of my mind that if the vapor ever ignites in my basement spray room I am going to be in the middle of one heck of an explosion.......

Good luck
Joey V.

[T Folts]

Joey
I was wondering how you could make a vent explosion proof. What kind of exhaust fan do you use in your pipe?
I read somewhere if you use a oven exhaust hood they should be explosion proof.

[John Cooper]

Now you're talkin'!  Get one of those microwaves with the exhaust built in and you can have hot coffee while you wait for the finish to cure!

[Joey V.]

Well you really can’t make it explosion proof unless you buy an explosion proof fan that costs like $500 to $2000 buck!  My fan was I think $9 bucks from Home depot LOL.  This baby could in fact cause a spark and an explosion.  That is why I am a little worried each time I spray but that is the chance you take being a basement wood warrior LOL.  Now let’s say you just decide to spray in your basement with no exhaust and no make shift booth.  I bet your hot water heater and furnace is in your basement right?  Well they both have open flames to them and WILL cause an ignite if the particles are too high in the air.  A fan most likely will never cause an explosion just understand it can….  The best safest bet is spray outside or in a true spray booth..

[T Folts]

I hear ya. I have a seperate room in the basement for my shop so the water heater and furnace wouldnt be a problem. I wouldnt spray down there unless I had som kind of exhaust because the fumes would stink up the whole house, I did that last year with a spray can.

[Joey V.]

T Folts  I started to use fullerplast and you want to talk about stink!!!!!!!!!!!!  That stuff can knock your socks off even with a respirator on you can still smell it.  I am not talking a paper mask I mean a real canister respirator!

I am actually going to spray the next shipment of bows this weekend.  I am going to do a lil test.  I am going to spray fullerplast in a garbage bag and take it outside and loft it into the fire pit to see if it goes poooofffff.....  I will let ya know waht happens...

[Joey V.]

Well I did a little flammability test and didn't like the results at all.  I took a black plastic garbage bag and sprayed about a 10 second blast of Fullerplast in it and tied it off.  I then lofted it on a small fire pit.  I was 99% sure it would go pooooooffff but I never expected it to go BOOM!  Now I am being a little dramatic but it was more pooofff than I expected.  I don’t know if I will be spraying this in an enclosed area anymore.  If a flame / spark hit this stuff air born it will explode… I am going to look into finding the least expensive explosion proff small fan I can find...

[Tom Leemans]

Whatever way you go, lights should be on and fan(s) should be running before you start spraying. Put a high flow air filter in front of your fan/extractor contraption hood, so as not to allow an ignition source near the vapor. Let the fan be further downstream. You could even create some positive pressure by blocking off the entrance to the room with a big sheet of cardboard or thin plywood with a large hole with a filter over it and have a box fan on hi, blowing on the other side. Clean air pushed in, icky air pushed and pulled out. That's what I would do if I were going "cheap". I think my pulling fan would be an old squirrel cage furnace type blower sitting outside, hooked to the hood inside, via a large flex hose. Luckily though, I have a place to work with great ventilation.
And don't forget a good respirator!

[T Folts]

Tom
I have a squirrel cage from a furnace that I was thinking about using however it has the motor on the inside of the hole so that worries me. I have looked at other squirrel cages where the motor is out side off set that would move the motor away from the incoming/outgoing fumes.
I didnt think about having it outside, good idea.
My window is under my back deck so I could run a long run out to the edge and have the fan in a box away from the house. Run wiring inside for the on/off switch. I have a canister respirator, thanks
Terry