Over the last ten years, floor coverings have become incredibly popular for paint booth owners—especially carpets. As dirt, dust, and overspray are the bane of every perfect paint job, it’s crucial to take every precaution possible to prevent airborne particles from landing on your coating. While optimal spray techniques can help, there are specific booth setup measures that a painter can take to ensure a flawless finish. Putting down a carpet in your paint booth is one of the ways to do that!
The main draw to carpeted paint booths is a carpet’s natural ability to trap dirt within its fibers. While that may be a nightmare for homeowners, shop owners can rely on this capability instead of letting debris sit on a bare concrete floor. By trapping dirt within carpet fibers, painters can avoid any kickback during spraying or from airflow, which is what happens on concrete floors.
While some shops choose to install simple indoor/outdoor carpet—which is undoubtedly a viable option—others choose to go with a floor covering designed specifically for booths. For example, tacky mats with fibers can be rolled onto the floor and are just as efficient as actual carpets.
Pro-tip: Some floor coverings can also be applied on the walls of a paint booth. This further helps capture dirt and overspray! When applying on the walls, apply in rows from bottom to top, utilizing the “roofing” method. This creates little to no pockets for overspray to build in.
There are a few cons to a carpeted paint booth, as well. The most crucial aspect to be aware of is that carpeting, or any floor coating, is not a fix-all. They still require regular maintenance and cleaning, or even replacement, when they get too crusty with tons of build-ups. Carpets, specifically, require daily vacuuming and even sometimes throughout the day—depending on the size of your jobs, of course. Otherwise, all the dirt can build and easily enter the air by the slightest disruption to the surface, defeating the purpose of a carpet. Other floor coverings will also need regular cleanings by power washing or replacing the mats.
Another considerable drawback to actual carpets is the static they can cause, especially in cold weather. Typically, painters do everything they can to remove static from the booth, so adding carpet may be counterintuitive.
The last con of carpeted paint booths can be their effect on lighting. Some darker carpets and floor coverings can actually absorb the light, creating a darker environment for painters. Choosing a light carpet or covering color is vital so light reflects off of it and does not get absorbed.
CSG Customs & Collisions in Gallipolis, OH, specializes in high-end restoration, collision repair, lifted vehicles, and transit-style vans. They installed a custom Accudraft finishing system, including a semi-downdraft Titan booth with the height of an Italia Alto. Within the booth, they added carpet along the floor to help capture all the dirt, dust, and overspray they’d accumulate within the booth. Now, they’re ready to tackle every paint job that rolls through their door!
Regardless of your floor covering, you’ll need maintenance to keep up with it and the paint booth. Accudraft offers custom maintenance plans to fit the needs of any shop. From month-to-month to annual plans, our trained service team can perform filter replacements, light fixture inspection, bulb, and ballast replacements, and booth cabin cleaning. Contact us online to schedule your next maintenance!
