New DIY fresh air/supplied air paint system.

[240sHorTy]

I'm not sure how many of us on this forum are into DIY painting but...

I've been getting a little gunshy lately about the whole isocyanate thing with all the catalyzed paints so I spent the better part of today planning and building my homemade supplied air system. ' Very' roughly follows the design thats out there (don't recall the website) using t3 aluminum sheet. I substituted some 2" by 10" and some pegboard that I had lying around to make the box cause it just looks 'way cooler' than that trashy aluminum... ... or because it was way easier, or because I don't have the means to bend sheet properly.

Well anyway, threw this together in a couple of hours using two $12 bathroom fans, various PVC connectors and tubes, sump discharge tubing, and an old AOSafety activated charcoal canister respirator. Didn't expect too much. Finished the mechanical and electrical stuff and tried it out. I was pleasantly surprised. It provides a pretty decent flow of air thru the 24' tubing.

I used the two 50cfm fans instead of the one 80cfm used in the aluminum example. Actually saved a few bucks buying the two cheaper ones. Brought those together with some 3" tubing and 90 degree bend with a side outlet. I have only tested it in the bathroom by playing with some solvents in the sink. Didn't smell anything, so that's gotta be a good thing. When its all there, I'll probably drop a top on it with a smallish furnace filter to keep the... *COUGH* *COUGH*... bugs out.

Just posting to say if anyone else was thinking of trying this out, give it a shot. I think it will work well and give a little extra peace of mind. I recommend you think of how you could improve it and use your own design, as this one is far from perfect. Or maybe you can tough it out and risk breathing some of that San Quentin chamber gas thru the charcoal canister.

[240sHorTy]

Definitely need to run a 90 degree bend rite off the mask and run the tubing down my back. As it is it is right in the way of my painting hand.

Going to paint a few parts shortly, may opt for a full respray. I'm trying to decide on paint brand. FinishMaster says that I can't get my code in Nason, and Dupont Chromasystem costs 500 for base and clear. So now I'm looking into either Valspar, Matrix, or PPG's Omni line of paint. I'd like some input on these choices (or others) from anyone with experience. Tracking down pricing as we speak.

Thanks for any input.

-Steve

[240sHorTy]

I guess no one has any experience using any of these paints??? Particularly how they are for color matching, ease of use, and durability, and last but not least PRICE.

-Steve