Our distributors get questions all of the time about different features that come with standard paint booths. One option that many manufacturers, like Accudraft Paint Booths, offer is single skin versus dual skin paint booths. We will break down the difference between the two and whether or not it makes sense to invest in one over the other.
As the name implies, the main difference between dual skin and single skin paint booths is in the construction. Naturally a dual skin paint booth is multi-layered and hence a little more expensive. So why would you ever buy a single skin paint booth?
Single Skin: One layer of steel walls contains standard single skin paint booths. It does not do a good job of deflecting or retaining heat and is really inefficient for high volume shops. However, if your shop uses a paint booth for small objects, not vehicles, or is a low volume shop, single skin paint booths may make more sense economically generally speaking.
Dual Skin: Of course a dual skin paint booth is made of steel walls that are two layers thick. Additionally, many dual skin paint booths like our fully loaded Accudraft Italia Paint Booths include flame retardant insulated materials to reinforce the steel walls for better air and debris containment within the booth.
Use caution when buying a dual skin paint booth. Not all insulation materials are created equal. In fact some materials like Styrofoam often used in Chinese manufactured paint booths create a fire hazard and are a code violation.
It’s not always obvious that the material is Styrofoam. Other names that are versions of Styrofoam and also illegal and dangerous include:
If you are one of those weighing the benefits of single skin versus dual skin paint booths because you want to save on costs, you’ll be glad to know that both perform equally well. However, there is a slight advantage to using a dual skin paint booth versus single skin when it comes to performance.
Single Skin Limits Heat Control: You lose a bit of your ability to regulate the heat outside of your booth with a single skin paint booth and outside temperatures will have a greater effect on the temps inside your booth.
For instance, if you live in a cold climate, it’s going to take more heat to keep the temperature up inside of your paint booth. In hot climates and summers when the temperature outside of your paint booth reaches into the 80s and 90s, the heat generated within your paint booth will radiate out inside of your shop
Dual Skin Enables Better Heat Control: With a dual skin paint booth heat temperatures inside of your paint booth which can reach upwards of 150° are contained within your booth. The thick insulated double-ply steel walls keep the heat inside resulting in less heat escape and better heat control within and outside of your booth.
If you operate a high volume shop, the heat generated from multiple single skin booths can create a hazardous work environment and an unbearably hot shop front. Though heat loss has limited effects on your curing time, compounded in high volume shops it can add up to thousands of dollars in energy costs.
Like for all of our most asked questions, our Accudraft distributors are ready and able to help answer some of your most complex questions. They are well versed in all of our manufacturer specifications and thoroughly knowledgeable about how each of our paint booth features operate.
If you have specific questions about whether or not a dual skin or single skin paint booth is best for you, feel free to contact a local Accudraft distributor in your area. Or simply fill out our online contact form and we will get back to you with a specific answer.
Regardless of which type of paint booth works best for your shop—you cannot get a better-built paint booth on the market than our top of the line Accudraft Paint Booths. Learn more about our products and then talk to one of our representatives today.
