As some here know I'm trying to be a better painter for my projects. I've posted about my progress in other threads. This new thread is to ask if any one here has used a tent of sorts for a bug and tree fluff free environment.

Unfortunately I have no space inside (garage, shed or house) to have a solid sided and well vented (by fan) space. I have been using the driveway for now as my "booth" and thankfully this last time I sprayed (a few days ago) just missed the first big pollen bloom But as the spring and summer continue the air born crap will only increase. So once again I find myself thinking of collapsable/pack away options.

I have an 8x8 event tent that i have used for brazing years ago and have tried that recently with a couple of velcro attached walls to better control the breeze direction. For the wind this was OK but otherwise has zero filtering of air born stuff. I have seen event tents with screen/mesh side walls as well as versions with floors and ceilings too (for camping or road workers typically). These can be relatively inexpensive to approaching $2K . Unfortunately the only tent size I see these screened enclosures are for 10x10 tents. I have no problem "trading up" in size if they do the job. But no way will I buy something, contaminate it with paint stuff and then find it is not working out.

So I ask here if anyone has experience with painting in a tent. Or what other enclosure options others have found to work well enough. Here's a link to one version of a low cost screened in tent. Lightweight Screen Accessory for Canopy | E-Z UP and a much more costly one Portable Industrial Work Cube 10' x 10' | E-Z UP Andy

There are spray tents, they aren't expensive https://www.wagnerspraytech.com/product-series/shelter/

Hmm, disappointing that the largest one is only 5' 5" tall at the peak, much less than that where you'd be "standing" (kneeling?)

Andy, if you have the 10x10 canopy already, couldn't you just surround it with cheap plastic "drop-cloth"?

During a time when forest fires made breathing the air here unhealthy, we had to stay indoors. We had several 20" box fans with high-efficiency filters taped over them so they were actively filtering the indoor air. You could use one or more of those pushing air into your enclosure, ideally with the air-escape points narrowed enough that you have positive pressure inside, so the only air coming in has to pass through the filter. Just tape the plastic sheet to the box fans

For a door to enter the space, they make stick-on zippers for just that purpose: hang your plastic sheet, stick on the zipper where you want it, then slit the sheet down the middle of the zipper. Works like magic if you remember to put the zipper on right-way-up. I watched my contractor do it wrong during a home remodel, zipper pull at the top so you pulled it down to open, didn't work! He had to unstick the zipper and do it over which was really difficult, but it's super easy if you start it right, zipper pull at the bottom when closed.

The only time I actually tried the plastic sheeting hung in a square as a "booth" was in 1976 or '77 at Santana, when we had prototype #1 done but no spray booth yet. We just hung plastic sheet from the ceiling to make a room within a room. No zipper, didn't know that trick, so you had to lift the edge of the sheet and climb under it. They had me paint the frame, though I had zero painting experience, I think because they knew it was going to be nasty and I was low man on the totem pole. I had no respirator whatsoever, so I tried to go in and hold my breath while I was in the "booth", but I still had metal-flake blue snot when I blew my nose later. And that was Imron, famously carcinogenic (though no one told me that at the time!) Shoulda reported them to OSHA...

Thanks, yes, I've seen the ads for these types but for a frame and painting in general I see issues. Low height, lower than I am even. One sided venting only is another. Now as an after spraying "safe spot" to dry in sure.

My 8x8 event tent was about big enough for a frame and me, not much extra room though. It has vertical walls and an overhead height well over 6'. I wouldn't want to have to use a smaller space.

One issue is how to hold the frame during spraying. Most will hang it from above, being able to rotate it about is vital so you can stay roughly in place during the spraying. I use a portable park repair stand with a "L" shaped crane of sorts that I hang the frame from. The top of the crane/extension is around 65" usually. If the enclosure was strong enough one could hang the frame directly. My current tent could support the weight but I haven't yet made an attachment point for the clip and swivel that hangs in the right spot. And I likely won't as the Park stand and extension beam work well enough. Andy

I have been noodling on the paint question for a while and despite recent attempts, I'm still a long way from a solution. I was considering creating a booth out of plastic tubing (or alum tubing?) with sail cloth forming the walls. I'm sure there are all sort of challenges to overcome but i saw something similar for a car paint booth on YT that sparked the idea. I wouldn't glue the tubes into the joints so it could all come apart and pack up tightly when not in use. If i remember correctly, there was zipper for a door like a camping tent. it was an interesting idea but the whole painting thing is a big rabbit hole that i'm not prepared to enter at this time. I'll watch how you approach it Andy!

Mark- Thanks for the experience description. I have been the victim of the low man "volunteering" method too My first compressor powered spraying was about a year later than yours. We used Imron and the shop roof for the work. No mask but learned to stay up wind as much as possible. Ran the air hose down the building's side and into a window and used a big "production sized" DeVilbiss suction gun (the pot was a quart!). Funny how excited one gets when one doesn't know what they are doing...

One of the challenges with a tent is the amount of light or interior brightness, especially if a cloudy day. One of the anticipated advantages of a screen or mesh side wall is the light penetration increase. My 8x8 current tent has solid white walls and canopy for just this reason (and now it is rather dirty and has at least one wall with a sooty torch burn through). As I look at commercially available 10x10 tents that are intended for working inside of (like this one Portable Industrial Work Cube 10' x 10' | E-Z UP ) I see a lot of solid and colored surface, not the best for seeing fine surface details on a frame being sprayed. I really wish I could get an in person look at these things. When i was a kid we had a store for outdoors stuff. They had an entire floor (of the old warehouse building) for camping tents and had one of each set up and assessable. That was cool! Andy

Didn't Imron use isocyanates? You could have had your own little Bhopal reenactment. Isocyanates don't affect everyone the same way. Some companies that spray bed liner used to have almost no protection for the workers. It usually worked okay for most people, but some workers would end up with essentially untreatable asthma. It usually takes a couple of days of spraying.

I have thought about hanging plastic sheeting in the garage in my wife's parking spot. She's a very forgiving person. There are car-sized inflatable painting tents, but they cost real $$. And one I saw was basically a party tent with sides and a floor. That would be nice, but it was almost $300.

I've watched a bunch of inflatable paint tent vids and I come away with their not scavaging the fumes out very well. Just recently I see ads for an additional extractor box that attaches against one of what are the usual side window vents. Ads mention no motor, fan or filters come with the device... although just that mention suggests they're also needed. So a want was noted and at least one brand is offering an additional option to help the problem.

My wife is also generally understanding but one of the rules is her car goes in the garage when she's home. I try to do my painting on her in the office days thus have only so much time before everything needs to be packed up and cleaned out. This is why I am looking for some solution that is breakdownable. Andy (who just laid down decals on the unicycle paint job)

I could probably rig up something on my side of the garage. Ventilation is a problem though.