Category: Powder Coat

Why aren’t all spray booths ETL-certified?

ETL certification for spray booths is the process of a third-party firm, like Intertek, evaluating the paint booths for compliance to NFPA-33 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials.  The certifier also evaluates the manufacturer for quality control processes and potential problems with repeatability that would affect product quality.  The certifier performs quarterly audits to review materials, processes and associated factors to ensure that the product continues to comply with the published standard.  The certifier also requires the manufacturer to record and respond to Customer complaints about the listed products.

Many spray booth manufacturers of cheaper products simply cannot afford to have the personnel to support this process.  They design, manufacture and sell spray booths with little or no input from third-party firms that assess the performance and quality of their products.

Tools USA offers 7 standard spray booths and a paint mixing room that have optional ETL kits that ease the permitting process.  Obtaining this certification was complex and expensive.  Tools USA selected the 8 most popular items to be certified but could not do so for all products as some items like truck spray booths are too cost-prohibitive to sample and test when compared to the volumes sold.  Since a large number of Tools USA spray booths are certified, we can help with the testing and listing of a spray booth that is outside of the range of currently certified booths.

Tools USA is not permitted to sell any ETL kit for a spray booth or paint mixing room once the product has left our facility.  Please contact one of our salesmen if you need more information on this issue.

Choosing a company to buy your spray booth from can be very confusing, even to people with a good deal of experience in the industry.  The following notes should help you understand that differences in these groups and what jobbers and re-sellers have to offer.

1. Economy – This is your simple shop that is going to provide the basic structure along with filters, a fan and lights.  These shops are very basic with the company owner often selling and designing the paint booths.  Most of these shops have no computer-driven design or manufacturing so quality can be an issue.  These shops do not offer spray booths with well developed manuals or ETL certified spray booths.  A basic automotive paint booth in this category may sell for $6,000 with little technical or permitting support and a lower quality of components.
2. Value – This next level of spray booth manufacturer uses CAD systems to design products to nationally-recognized standards and computer-driven equipment to make high-quality components.  The paint booth designs and finishes are kept functional but compliant to NFPA, OSHA and IFC standards.  These spray booths usually have higher quality due to the technologies used by the manufacturer, larger quantities of manufacturing and technical direction from certification agencies.  Tools USA manufactures spray booths and paint mixing rooms that fit into this category.  Tools USA offers its CF-1000 automotive spray booth for $5,799 plus the optional $1,500 ETL kit that makes the permitting process and electrical contracting process much simpler.  The return on investment is dramatically better than a spray booth from either other category of manufacturer as problems and initial costs are minimized.
3. Plus – This top-level of spray booth manufacturer provides many extras that may or may not add real value to the paint booth.  Basement style floors, high-end hardware, submarine glass and insulated walls add extreme costs to the spray booth price but may not improve the quality or productivity of a spray booth.  These companies often have high administrative costs with extensive over the road sales reps and engineers.  These companies do not advertise the price of their products as their goal is to maximize the entire project.  An automotive paint booth made by these firms can cost $30,000 or more.
4. Jobbers – These firms will install a spray booth into a Customer’s facility.  They may purchase from only one source, or they may choose from a range of manufacturers based on pricing, product and availability.  Some jobbers will provide all of the permitting, fire suppression and ducting services.  They tend to be local to the Customer’s site.  Quality and dependability of the manufacturer is a significant factor as these firms will not work with manufacturers that cannot perform well on a repeat basis.   Tools USA sells many spray booths through Jobbers on a repeat basis.
5. Distributor – These firms simply sell the spray booths made by other companies.  They are very similar to Jobbers, except that they do not perform any of the installation or permitting tasks.  Tools USA also sells many spray booths to distributors.

So here are the questions that you should answer before choosing a plan to get a spray booth into your shop:

Do I take my chances on buying the cheapest paint booth that meets my needs?

Do I spend an extravagant amount on features that do not improve productivity or quality?

Do I buy from an experienced manufacturer who has invested in product design and testing and up-to-date manufacturing processes?

Do I buy directly, or do I need some level of assistance to get the spray booth operational?

Do I buy directly, or is there value in working with a paint booth distributor?

This is a daunting and ongoing question that most paint coaters ask.  What are your options?  What are the positive and negative features of each?  Which is best for your application?

Wet Paint is a material that is often sprayed onto a surface be means of air-powered sprayguns.  This is a proven process with many suppliers, materials and a significant workforce of experienced coaters.  The paint can be solvent-based as in oils or thinners.  Water-based paint is being required by many environmental-focused areas to reduce air-borne volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) from release into the atmosphere during the spraying process.  Common applications of wet paint include most all automotive exteriors, items with multiple colors and extremely large or heavy items.  Textured finishes require at least two coats.

Powder coating is a process of spraying a dry film over a surface and baking the item to cure the film into a durable coating.  Powder coating is a process that is much easier to perform once key requirements have been met.  In the spray process the powder is drawn from a bin and through a gun while being electrically charged.  The part being powder coated is also charged or grounded so as to attract the powder to its surfaces.  This charging is a key requirement to the process and greatly aids the coating evenness and the speed of applying the coating.  Surfaces have to be prepared in a manner to aid this charging and the application of the coating.  Curing is usually a simple process of raising the coating to 300-350º for 15-30 minutes.  The gloss, surface texture and color are designed into the powder and are consistent from one spray operator to another.  Powder coating is a newer process than spraying wet paint, but there are a number of groups and websites that expedite the learning curve.  Common applications are lawn equipment, furniture, cabinets and tools.

Tools USA manufactures products for both of these application processes and can answer any further questions.

This actually is a very common question even from people who have been painting for years.

A spray booth:

– provides exhaust filters and air flow that moves overspray-laden air away from your parts being coated so that you can see clearer and work more quickly

– provides the overspray-laden air (toxic and combustible) to be filtered and vented out of your shop which greatly reduces the potential for fire or explosion

– filters the incoming air to remove dust from sanding or other processes to help produce a cleaner finish (requires intake filters)

– provides lighting onto the object being painted

– provides a structure for containing and suppressing a fire

– provides a process for expediting flash-off and curing if used with a heated air-makeup unit

OSHA code requires a spray booth or spray room with proper ventilation and fire protection for ANY spray operation of combustible materials beyond the simple spray can per day of touch up tasks.  Worker’s comp insurers generally require a spray booth for production-level painting.  Tools USA provides cost-effective paint booths designed to exceed OSHA and federal spray process requirements.

We never hear customers who have bought their first paint booth say “I wish that I had never bought a spray booth and had just continued to spray in the open area of my shop.”   Buying a spray booth is an investment with significant rewards in efficiency, quality and safety.