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Inflatable paint booth size

Looking at the dimensions it looks like it would be very tight. There is probably a 12'x7' interior space at the most. Maybe if the wings were on a rotisserie and you sprayed them upright rather than flat. It looks like a really good idea. If they had a bigger one it would make spraying easier.
 
I tried to copy the image but couldn't get it to work. Don't know why we can't Ctrl+V images inline like other forums.

The interior dimensions are 11.5' x 6.9' x 7.2'

The next size up is a huge jump and really too big. Although there is a square one that is 9.8' x 9.8'.
 
What kind of space do you have and what is your objective for the booth? What features of the inflatable are important to you?

I think you could build substantially larger DIY booth in your garage or workshop for much less money.
 
Shelterlogic

I also looked into an inflatable paint booth and came to the conclusion that there are better alternatives for temporary structures e.g. this 20' by 12' garage:
https://www.shelterlogic.com/shop/autoshelter
There are also smaller sizes but if you want to paint the fuselage then you need this size.

The disadvantage of the inflatable booths is that the structure itself takes up a bit of space so the usable inside area is much smaller. Also, there are not as many anchor points for securing lights etc., plus I couldn't see how to get good cross-ventilation to draw out the overspray.

For painting the fuselage, the booth needs to be wide enough for access all the way around, so 20 ft long by 12 ft wide will be adequate.
Ventilation should be high volume filtered by fitting one end wall with furnace filters, with a large extraction fan in the opposite end wall.
There must be lots of anchor points on the ceiling and walls to mount lighting.
 
If you want to see a video for grins and giggles.... some youtube videos of folks buying them and using them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1L7GMjjYAw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTs9wIAI_zQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HyAq3tLXlw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xqRkHbnE28 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qw0Kd4ssIEw

You can fold it up and keep it for future or sell it. However set up and break down is not something done fast or easy, every time you want to spray a few brackets. it takes some time and effort. On the same note you don't want to blow it up outside and leave it. Also it needs electrical power to be inflated, so if you lose power the booth will deflate. None of these are show stoppers just be aware.

You want positive pressure, filtered incoming air and overspray to be removed. I never used one but watched some most of the above videos. They seem to work and better than nothing or even make-shift paint booths.

You can make a DIY spray booth with plastic sheet, a wood frame, few box fans, A/C house filters and lots of tape. However it creates negative pressure and not ideal. Over spray can be an issue. Also plastic sheet, wood, fans, filters, tape is not free. Tear down of DIY booth may require throwing away some materials, a waste of money. The inflatable is reusable and although not a 5 minute job to set up and tear down it is more reusable.

I think they are pretty cool. Serves a purposes. Yes you can buy plastic, hang it off something, get box fans.... but a compromise. The inflatable booth seems to be a step above but no where near a professional down draft booth. ALSO DON'T FORGET ABOUT GOOD LIGHTING if you put the booth in a hanger or garage. You have so see what you are doing. Good paint booths have good lighting.

I have painted in all kinds of ad hock impromptu "paint booth" situations, including no paint booth, get floor wet (to keep dirt down) to outside. Hey I was a kid and results were OK. I don't think the largest inflatable booth can handle a whole RV fuselage with wings attached. However you can get the fuselage with no wings in easy. You can get just the wings in or just flight controls and cowl. Painting the wings off plane makes it easy to paint. I don't like painting inverted.
 
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The booth I built for painting my 6A was about 8x8x21. It was just big enough. a little more width would have been nice, but it got the job done. I painted the wings flat on a rotating fixture, but one at a time.

I built mine out of a 1x2" wood frame and then attached heavy plastic to the inside of the frame. Total cost was around $200 (plus blowers and filters). With the current wood prices, it would probably be $300.

FP30092018A0001Q.jpg

FP30092018A0001T.jpg
 
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I built one out of PVC pipe and plastic sheeting and used furnace filters and a box fan for positive pressure. It was about 12x18 feet. I was able to make light bars and hang them on the sides and ends for lighting. Less space was lost than the inflatable ones and way cheaper. When done with it, I cut it up in sections so it could be reassembled with connectors and new sheeting.

https://imgur.com/Vg97gzF

https://imgur.com/TIijzUA
 
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I built one out of PVC pipe and plastic sheeting and used furnace filters and a box fan for positive pressure. It was about 12x18 feet. I was able to make light bars and hang them on the sides and ends for lighting. Less space was lost than the inflatable ones and way cheaper. When done with it, I cut it up in sections so it could be reassembled with connectors and new sheeting.

https://imgur.com/Vg97gzF

https://imgur.com/TIijzUA

I did something similar....but I used 10' long 1" thin walled steel conduit. I hung the tubing from the ceiling....a piece of 1/8 wire connected from the tubing to an eye bolt in the ceiling. When I plug in the box fans the sides expand outward which enlarges the work area by about 2 feet.

The bottom of the sheeting is weighted down at the floor with 2x4's to keep it from blowing out. When the painting season ends, I roll up the sides of the sheeting and spring calmp the rolled sheeting to the conduit. I get back all my floor space in my shop.
 
I have never used at tent booth, but have considered it. I would not accept any less than 3' between the tent and the part to be painted and 4' would be a lot safer. You can get by with less at the ends for some parts that don't get any real paint on them, like the fuselage. You can measure your parts and add the clearance to get booth size. The over spray sticks to the plastic, but doesn't really adhere. If you rub up against it, it can break off and become airborne; Way worse than dust if it gets on wet paint.

I have painted two planes and 4 cars in my garage without a booth. Dust is very manageable if correct steps are taken (tyvek suits, proper part grounding, etc.). You will need cut and buff with this approach, but would argue that very few amateurs can get by without this step anyways.

Larry
 
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Gentlemen, I know that DIY are cheaper and I know how to build one. I'm looking for something that I can quickly setup, prime some parts, then knock down IN MY HANGAR. I thought an inflatable would be easier than a DIY to setup. If I'm dropping a lot of money, then I want the option to paint the plane in it (in pieces obviously).

I'm early in the build so I don't know how long the fuselage is or each wing and the drawings don't have dimensions.

The two dimensions of booths that I would consider are 9.8' x 9.8' or 11.5' x 6.9' (these are internal dimensions). Any suggestions on one of these two?

Thanks!
 
The two dimensions of booths that I would consider are 9.8' x 9.8' or 11.5' x 6.9' (these are internal dimensions). Any suggestions on one of these two?

Thanks!

Fuse is around 16-18' with engine mount. The wings around 9 or 10. Neither of those will work. You will need around 9-10' width minimum to paint the fuse.

Larry
 
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Inflatable Paint Booth Size For RV-7

I am building a QB RV-7 in western Colorado, painting as I go using an inflatable paint booth set up just outside my center garage door.

I have the same size inflatable booth as bkervaski above, 26’ x 15’ x 10’. For peace of mind to guard against an inflation fan failure, I purchased a spare fan, from the usual online vendors.

Individually, the RV-7 QB wings, QB fuselage and individual empennage parts fit easily in that size, but not the whole assembled airplane. As a reference, below is a picture of the full length fuselage in my 26’ x 15’ x 10’ inflatable booth, taken when I painted the interior.

I am able to assemble the entire airplane in my garage before moving to the airport, including mounting the wings, controls, etc. But there is no additional room for building a DIY paint booth in the garage. So the inflatable version has proven ideal for me. It works as advertised.

The advantages, disadvantages and other setup/takedown issues are accurately described above by gmcjetpilot.

Setup/takedown is not involved, but is not quick process either. My opinion is that you would want to have a batch of small parts large enough to justify the effort.

It appears you are considering doing this in a hangar, but if not, securing it against strong outside winds will have to be taken into consideration for the entire time it will be inflated.

My experience is that the sizes you are talking about will work for individual small parts, and even the cowling, wingtips, flight control surfaces, flaps, horizontal and vertical stab, etc.

But from my actual experience, I concur with lr172. Those sizes are too small for the RV-7 QB fuselage and the QB wings. I just measured mine:

QB wing, without wingtips is about 9ft 6 in.
QB fuselage, without engine mount, firewall to aft end is about 14ft 6in.

Feel free to pm me if you want further details.
 

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