Two of the most important components of successfully running a paint booth are efficiency and quality. Being able to get the most out of your paint booth is key for body shops and collision centers, as they’re expected to complete projects quickly while providing a consistently excellent product. Maintenance is a huge part of determining whether your booth will run at its best or not, and one of the most important parts of the booth to keep up-to-date is the filtration system.
While it may not look like a big deal on the surface level, working with old paint booth filters can cost you a lot of money down the road. For starters, clogged filters aren’t able to suck up all of the dust and debris floating around the paint booth. This means that the contaminants that aren’t being extracted by your filtration system are probably going to wind up on your fresh coat of paint, forcing you to give the product an extra layer to ensure a smooth and flawless paint job. Furthermore, old filters put an unnecessary burden on the working parts of your paint booth, which can cause your equipment to break down over time.
When Shopping around for a Filter
When it comes to changing out the filters for your paint booth, not just any replacement will do. After all, the purpose of filters is to protect the sensitive mechanical components in your paint booth from harmful contaminants. For this reason, you’ll want to select filters that are excellent quality and able to withstand heavy use.
Some of the things that you’ll want to look for when selecting filters are:
- The thickness of the filter
- The way the filter is designed
- The filter’s fiber composition
- The loft rating of the filter
When you start shopping around for new filters, make sure that you choose one that can give you the balance you need to run your paint booth at its best. This means that you must find a filter that’s able to block out harmful contaminants while still being able to give your equipment the airflow that it needs to run at its best.
Making the Right Selection
Choosing filters for your paint booth isn’t something that should be done on a whim. Many people make the mistake of underestimating the important role that filters play in preserving the life of paint booths. Everything from the quality of the finished product to the speed at which jobs are completed is influenced by your filter, so it’s critical that you keep your filters clean and up-to-date.
If you’ve been working with paint booths for quite some time, then you probably have a good idea of the different types of filters found in the average booth. If you’re working with your first paint booth, it’s critical that you take the time to learn about the different types of filters and their different functions.
Here are the types of filters that you can expect to find in your paint booth:
1. Air makeup filters
Your air makeup filters are located in the air makeup unit of your paint booth. These filters play an important role in protecting your paint booth from contaminants that could cause damage to your air system and other working parts. By blocking large particles from entering the air system, your air makeup filters ensure that the air pressure in your spray booths is at optimal levels.
It’s important that you choose quality air makeup filters with high loft ratings, because air makeup filters are important for ensuring the longevity of your paint booth. They also come in a number of different styles, including pads, panels, reusable aluminum filters, and bag filters. When it comes time to change out your air makeup filters, make sure that you choose a filter that fits properly and provides adequate airflow. In fact, if you ever experience airflow problems with your paint booth, the air makeup filter should be the first place that you look. More often than not, the solution is as simple as changing the filters.
2. Intake filters
Did you know that a speck of dust that is barely visible to the naked eye is enough to completely ruin an otherwise pristine paint job? Contamination is a real problem with some paint booths, and redoing an entire paint job because a little debris can get expensive – which is why paint booths utilize intake filters.
Intake filters are designed to extract all of the contamination in the paint booth so that you get a clean and smooth finish every time. In the case of downdraft paint booths, intake filters also help pull dust away from the objects being painted so that there’s a minimal risk of smudging, streaking, and spatter.
The thing to know about intake filters is that there are a number of different types, and each type is optimized for a specific kind of paint booth. So a filter that works with a crossdraft booth may not be the best choice on your downdraft booth. Since intake filters are your first line of defense against imperfections, it’s incredibly important that you get a filter that’s designed especially for your kind of booth. The best way to do that is to consult your paint booth manufacturer before replacing your first set of intake filters.
3. Exhaust filters
The third type of filter is the exhaust filter. While it doesn’t play much of a role in the quality of your finished product, this type of filter is just as important to maintain. The job of exhaust filters is to ensure the air leaving the paint booth is clean and free of any dangerous chemicals and vapors. Working for extended periods of time around a paint booth with poorly maintained exhaust filters can put your health at risk.
In addition, exhaust filters are also in place to protect your fans from overspray buildup. To successfully do this, the filters that you choose must be durable enough to handle extended exposure to paint without needing to be changed.
Maintaining Filters For Your Paint Booth
One of the reasons why it’s so important to perform routine maintenance checks is because your paint booth filters have a lifespan, and when you use it beyond its recommended usage, you’re putting your paint booth at risk. This is why you want to choose high-quality filters that can last 60 more hours, especially if you run a high-volume body shop that does a lot of painting throughout the week.
Good maintenance habits are important because they can help you correct minor problems before they turn into something major. Running a paint booth with old and worn-out filters decreases the amount of airflow in your booth, effectively increasing overspray and contamination. This, in turn, creates a layer of build-up on your fans and spray nozzles, can lead to excessive wear-and-tear down the road. A good way to get around this is to contact your spray booth manufacturer to find out when your spray booth is due for a recommended service. Your supplier will be happy to tell you how frequently you need to change your filters, and many of them will also send a technician down to do the job for you.
What to Know about Buying Filters
Because filters are so important in determining your paint booth’s longevity, it’s imperative that choose proper filters for your paint booth. In addition, every paint booth is built a little differently. What works on one type of paint booth might not necessarily work on another. For this reason, you should always consult your paint booth manufacturer before replacing filters for the first time.
If you’re searching for new filters for your paint booth, don’t take the risk of using third-party filtration. Accudraft is one of the leaders of paint booth technology, and when it comes to filters, they’re a name you can trust. Moreover, now that online shopping has been added to the Accudraft website, buying filters has never been easier. If you have any questions about the type of filter that needs to be replaced on your paint booth, don’t hesitate to contact one of the friendly associates at Accudraft for assistance. They can help make sure that you put the right filter on your paint booth, so that you can get your workshop running smoothly and without any problems.
Contact Accudraft to Get Started
Is your paint booth not performing as nice as it used to? It might be time to toss out those old filters and replace them with something newer and more effective. Accudraft is happy to help you find a set of filters that are durable, hardy, and able to withstand the daily wear-and-tear of high-volume body shops.
When you choose Accudraft, you’re guaranteed to get top notch customer service and an unbeatable product. They sell a wide range of paint booths for all types of operations, from cars and trucks all the way up to airplanes and buses. Whatever your goals are, Accudraft can help you meet them efficiently and effectively.