Need to spray paint some 40-odd items. Roughly a foot square. I’m using automotive spray paint, made for truck bed liners.
Wicked dangerous fumes. The test sprays I’ve done were done when it was quite warm out and I used a good dual charcoal respirator rated for these vapors.
Now it’s the dark of winter. Need to find a place to spray paint. Has to be fairly warm and ventilated like, well, an auto body paint shop will be.
Problem is, I cannot FIND an auto body shop that will allow me to come in and spray. I cannot afford to pay a body shop to spray the items, partially because they want just a bucket of money per hour, and partially because when one goes shopping for this kind of paint in bulk, it gets wicked pricey. A spray can will completely cover perhaps 4-6 units. Allowing for touch-ups, I can get this job done with a case of 12 cans.
Thoughts? I live in NYC, but will gladly do a drive to the suburbs to find a place. Anyone have an idea of how to pull this off safely without going broke??
Why rent a room for 4 hours?
It may be cheaper to make a weekend vacation out of it.
Drive south all day to someplace warmish, rent a room in a Motel 6 for $50, and work in the parking lot.(or, if they don’t want you working on their property, drive to a quiet side street, or a rural area outside a small town.
It’ll look weird, but I’ll bet there’s no law against painting in public.
Now, I dunno if I’d wanna do that, but it would give you a funny story to tell.
Look up people who make LARP weapons. I made mine in one such place which offered both “come make your weapon” and “rent the paint room by the hour” services.
Boy, you think you know a Doper. Even if your current hobby is spray-painting wimmen-folk on the weekends, it’s 2018. I’m almost positive that they’d rather not be referred to as "she’d"s.
What happens in the she’d stays in the she’d.
wolfman, that’s a great idea. But for you and nearwildheaven, I’d say that while a local High School would likely be way too wary of letting a stranger in to do the work, a college may or may not. I teach professional workshops all over North America. Now and then a college/ University will host one for their students. If we don’t get enough students to sign up, I try to get them to open it up to the general public. We’re talking a class of 9 total. To the last, schools refuse to allow “adults” to come in and train on their campus in this manner. And the refusals are consistent and have been since 2003 when I started this program. Well before the recent spate of on campus shootings.
That said, I can ask.
Gatopescado, I like the cut of your jib!
Chappachula, tempting. And yet- as a paranoid Yankee, I can only imagine the scene. I find an abandoned decaying shed ( or, as FCM refers to them, a “she’d” ) down a side road somewhere far south enough that it’s 70º most of the day. I set up my work area- which is a 6 foot plastic table and some other small bits to hold the items up in the air while they’re being painted. I lash on my respirator and crank up the music in the car. It’s a white Prius with New York plates, which in NO WAY stands out.
After oh, say, about 45 minutes a local sheriff rolls up. He’s filled with Waffle House and questions.
They never find my body. :eek:
Nava, I don’t know what LARP weapons are but this sounds promising so I’m about to go find out. Thanks !!
LARP is live-action role-playing. They’re folks who hit each other with foam swords and the like as a hobby. Which means that they need the means to make foam swords, including (typically) painting them.
How about a maker space, like this one? The website doesn’t mention a paint room among the facilities, but perhaps the people there can point you towards a local resource?
THAT’S a great idea, thank you. I’ll look for a space that paints.
Also, I didn’t think far enough outside of the box. I’ve people in my life who work in the theater. Most theaters have a paint shop. Just have to insure that the vapors from MY material is able to be safely vented.
Cartooniverse, do you have a garage of your own – or a designated parking spot at your apartment?
Okay, I’m stealing the following from some on-line magazine and I can’t remember where or when I got the idea so I apologize in advance for the theft:
Purchase (if you don’t already have them)
[ol]
[li]ten or so 8-foot (standard length) 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipes [/li][li]6 corner and 4 T-connectors (at least)[/li][li]plastic sheeting and/or vinyl tarpaulins[/li][li]a hacksaw or rip-saw. A miter-box or chop-saw would be even better[/li][li]a tape-measure[/li][li]a roll of shipping tape[/li][li]a 1-gallon zip-lock bag[/li][/ol]
Build an 8’ x 8’ x 8’ cube with the PVC.
[ol]
[li]Design it (on paper, in advance) to include one or two runs of 8’ pipe over the middle of the top of the cube.[/li][li]Put it all together and number, letter, and/or color-code your connections[/li][li]Do NOT glue your connections.[/li][/ol]
When you want to paint,
[ol]
[li]Lay down a 10’ x 10’ square of tarp or plastic[/li][li]assemble your 8’ x 8’ x 8’ cube[/li][li]Drape plastic or tarp over the top in 2 directions[/li][li]You might need to create a short wall around the bottom of the perimeter (depending on whether or not the lengths draped over the top will reach the ground. Make sure you include an overlapping section as your door.[/li][li]Use shipping tape to hold the “walls” and “ceiling” onto the PVC from the inside[/li][li]Hang your parts from the (pre-planned) ceiling pipes or set them on a card table.[/li][li]Put on your painters’ safety gear[/li][li]Paint away[/li][/ol]
[I don’t remember how the author ensured a steady supply of oxygen. Maybe she just didn’t stay inside for very long.]
When you are done
[ol]
[li]Wait a couple hours for the mist to settle[/li][li]Disassemble the painters’ cube and throw the connectors into a 1-gallon zip-lock bag[/li][li]Strap the 8-foot pipes together with more shipping tape.[/li][li]Stash everything underneath the bed.[/li][/ol]
The author said she used to paint in her master bedroom because it had the most unoccupied room at the foot of the bed.
Since it’s PVC, you can use a hacksaw to adjust the lengths of pipe. Marking your connectors and connections becomes that much more important then. If you skip the ceiling rods for hanging stuff, you don’t need to cut anything and you don’t need the T-connectors.
As I walked away after posting that, I suddenly realized I had forgotten the corner uprights!
Add 4 lengths of pvc pipe to that purchase list.
And, if it isn’t obvious, you’d want to avoid windy days if you’re doing this outside.
The author claimed she used simple sprinkler system PVC from the average hardware store. You could also use furniture-grade PVC if you’re worried about rigidity. If you don’t have access to a hardware store nearby, this site has more than you’ll ever dream of wanting. They’re a bit high-priced for shipping, but with larger orders like the list above, you’d probably find it worthwhile (if you need to mail-order it at all).
