Painters booth question

well... "back in the old days" with lacquer and enamel paint, there were three levels of thinner you could buy, fast, medium or slow based upon the temp in the garage. back then, i actually painted cars at around 55% using extra-fast drying thinner. however, all that paint is gone now and everything is water based.. which requires a lot of heat and a lot of air movement.

when i painted my barracuda last winter (in pittsburgh) with lacquer, i bought 4 electric "oil filled" floor heaters and turned all of them on high for about an hour before i painted the car. then right before i started spraying, i unplugged all of the heaters so there would be no ignition spark while i was spraying. electric "oil filled" heaters will stay warm for about 15 minutes and they cannot ignite anything if they are unplugged. i have a 2 1/2 car garage and these heaters kept the garage between 65-70 while i was spraying. i also put a large window fan outside of the garage to pull the fumes out of the garage while spraying. and of course, did the old fashioned "back yard mecanic" practice of watering down the floor before spraying.

if you are a computer geek, do some research on google on "ignition" of gases and fumes. the basic danger is when the concentration of flamable gas reaches a high "parts per thousand" concentration with the regular air. ignition can occur with either a flame, spark or a "high heat source" once the gas concentration reaches a high amount. obviously, you want to stay away from any open flame heaters. and you want to stay away from any electric device that has a spark or current "arcing" switch or possibility. another option is to use infra-red electric lights, heat up the garage with the car in it for at least an hour and check to see if the temp was between 65-75 degrees. then i'd turn the heat lights off and spray the car.

and, don't forget to wear a hood on your head and a good paint rated respirator. if your not going to wear a full paint jump suit, wear a long sleave shirt and tape up your wrists and ankles, otherwise you are going to have sticky paint on your arms and legs.

one last thing, make sure you check your paint gun to ensure it's tight and leak proof by holding it sideways and upside down BEFORE you begin painting. i always put a couple of layers of electrical tape around the cup and top section where they fit together just to be safe against leaks. another suggestion is to put some rags or something around the tires of the car on the floor so your air hose doesn't get stuck under a tire as you walk around the car. if the car is too high for you and you need a step stool for the top, that's fine - i ran the air hose over my sholder on tall vehicles.

obviously there are lots of painting tips that a person picks up over time. maybe some of the other paint experts here on FABO can share some of their favorites.
hope this helps...