Graco Endura-Flo pump solves multiple issues for large paint booth

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Problem:

The customer came to Air Power wanting to upgrade their pump package that supplies material from their paint kitchen to two applicators on each end of their booth.  The booth runs 60’ long, with a width of 20’ and would be used to touch up dump truck beds.  After running a pressure drop calculation we determined that the material could fall out of solution if there were a day or 2 that no spraying was needed.

Air Power Solution

After reviewing the application with the customer, Air Power proposed using a 3:1 Graco Endura-Flo pump.  This option allows for the 3x the pressure, which was more than enough to overcome any pressure loss during the materials travel, as well as, has a much larger fluid section requiring less wear and tear on the pump while in operation.  Since this is strictly a touch up process and not guaranteed to be an everyday event, we also recirculated the fluid lines to prevent any material from falling out of solution.

Results

This solution provided more than enough pressure to power the required spraying.  Additionally, if there’s an occurrence where the system isn’t used for several days, the customer only has to run the pump a few minutes before spraying to move the stagnant material back within the agitated drum requiring no waste or quality concerns.

The Air Power solution solved the pressure problem, the potential solution issues, and provided a much larger fluid section to prevent wear and tear.

 

 

 

Isolated Paint Control Panel Brings Consistency and Speedy Changeovers to the Production Line

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Problem

A local gearbox manufacturer has had ongoing issues with multiple paint operators making changes to the paint system throughout the day. They rotate painters every couple of hours so the paint quality and consistency is all over the board throughout the day. We have isolated the spray gun controls and implemented electrostatic painting but they still have issues. All colors run through a manual color change manifold and fluid pressure regulator which limits the fluid pressure even when color changing. There are also issues when the colors aren’t changed on a long run that the other colors settle out in the lines.

Air Power Solution

Paint Control Panel

Air Power built a custom, lockable, control panel with a multitude of controls for the company and for the operators.

  1. Hi/Lo fluid pressure settings though independent air regulators controlling a single Graco air piloted fluid pressure regulator. These are set with supervision and management and are locked from the operators. They have 2 fluid pressures to select from and nothing else to minimize operator adjustments. Pressure selected is visible via included gauges.
  2. Select-able color valve stack via a rotary control to select the color being sprayed as well as the solvent flush.
  3. Graco back pressure regulators on each recirculating line for the 3 colors to allow paints to recirculate when not in use.
  4. Atomizing air pressure adjusted internally and locked out from the operators.
  5. Integrated inlet air filtration to ensure clean, dry air to feed the spray gun

Effect

This solution will eliminate the operators each making many adjustments throughout the day and tighten the quality and consistency of their paint process. It will also speed up color changes now that they are select-able via the color stack rotary control along with a flush setting that will allow full solvent pressure to clear the lines. When the flush cycle is selected the atomizing air will be cut off to eliminate the estat safety concern associated with a solvent flush. The re-circulation of the colors will improve the quality and consistency of each color when selected via the color stack. The integrated air filtration will extend the service life of the spray gun while improving the quality of the paint process also.

How to Properly Dispose of Paint Booth Exhaust Filters to Protect the Environment

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For collision repair centers and industrial manufacturers who own a paint booth, one of the easiest ways to protect the environment is to properly dispose of paint booth exhaust filters.

Since most paint that is sprayed contains hazardous compounds and is potentially flammable, extra care must be taken when it is time to dispose of your paint booth filters. At this time, it is not possible to recycle paint booth filters. Proper paint booth filter disposal not only ensures your business is following the law, but it is also what is best for the environment.

Here are five steps for proper paint booth filter disposal:

1. Determine If Your Used Paint Booth Filters Are Hazardous

Before disposing of your paint booth exhaust filters as general waste, you need to verify your filters have not been exposed to any of the hazardous compounds that are frequently found in paint. You must perform a Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) laboratory test to determine if the paint you sprayed contains specific compounds. Your filters are considered hazardous if a certain amount of any of the following compounds are present in your filters:

      • Arsenic
      • Barium
      • Cadmium
      • Chromium
      • Lead
      • Mercury
      • Selenium
      • Silver

Paint booth intake filters are designed to remove dust and other small airborne particles to supply a contaminant-free environment for painting. As long as the intake filters have not come in contact with paint, they are not hazardous. This means the intake filters can be disposed of in your normal trash.

2. Properly Dispose of Hazardous Paint Booth Exhaust Filters

If your paint booth exhaust filters are deemed hazardous, they should not be disposed of as standard waste. Instead, they must be properly stored and sent to a hazardous waste disposal facility. Store them in a non-leaking container marked with the words “hazardous waste” and a description of the waste, such as “waste paint booth filters.” Then, use a licensed hazardous waste transporter to ship the container to a hazardous waste disposal facility.

Before disposing of hazardous paint booth exhaust filters, you should always let them dry. Allowing your paint booth exhaust filters to dry typically eliminates the chance of ignitability. It is safest to subject the filters to the same curing process you use for painted products to accelerate drying of the filters and ensure they are completely dry before disposal.

 

Loaded Filters

3. Contact Trash Collector Before Disposing of Non-Hazardous Paint Booth Filters

Even if your paint booth exhaust filters are not deemed hazardous waste, you should notify your trash company that you are disposing of the filters as standard waste. Your trash collector may ask you to provide proof that no hazardous compounds are present in the filters. Make sure to retain documentation of the safety data sheets (SDS) of the materials you are spraying, lab test results and any other pertinent information your state recommends you keep on file.

4. Do Not Spray Gun Cleaners Into Paint Booth Exhaust Filters

Many spray gun and wand cleaners contain solvents that are classified as F-listed hazardous waste, including methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and toluene. This is indicated on the SDS of the solvent as F001, F002, F004 or F005.

Spraying solvents into the exhaust filters during gun cleaning can cause your filters to be considered hazardous waste. When cleaning your spray gun, make sure to keep solvents away from the paint booth filters. It is best to spray solvents into closable hazardous waste collection containers or use a gun washing system.

5. Test Filters Whenever You Make a Change to Your Paint Process

Determining whether your paint booth exhaust filters are hazardous waste can be an ongoing process, depending on how often you introduce new paint into your operation. Testing is required whenever parts of your painting process change.

Any time you add a new paint, you need to evaluate the paint to see if it contains hazardous compounds. Since testing can take some time, you should give yourself a buffer before you intend to spray the paint.

Regulations regarding paint booth filter disposal vary from state to state and sometimes even from county to county; your local authorities can tell you the requirements for your area. Since you cannot recycle paint booth filters, considering them hazardous waste and coordinating with a hazardous waste disposal company to dispose of them properly is the safest thing for the environment.

 

Source: Global Finishing Solutions

Learn More about Global Finishing Solutions Spray Booths

Importance of Ground in Finishing Series

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Importance of Ground in Finishing: FULL VIDEO

Good ground and true earth ground are critical to any electrostatic painting or electrostatic powder application in order to achieve optimum coating efficiencies. Air Power Application Specialist, Travis Stirewalt, and Account Manager Eddie Rhodes discuss tips to help save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year on reworks and allow you to operate in a safer environment. This video includes all 3 Parts of the “Importance of Ground in Finishing” Series!

 

 

 

Importance of Ground in Finishing Part 1

Good ground and true earth ground are critical to any electrostatic painting or electrostatic powder application in order to achieve optimum coating efficiencies. This Air Power Live Video on Ground can help save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year on reworks and allow you to operate in a safer environment.

 

 

 

Importance of Ground in Finishing: Part 2

Good ground and true earth ground are critical to any electrostatic painting or electrostatic powder application in order to achieve optimum coating efficiencies. This Air Power Live Video on Ground can help save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year on reworks and allow you to operated in a safer environment.

 

Importance of Ground in Finishing: Part 3

 

Good ground and true earth ground are critical. Any electrostatic painting or electrostatic powder application requires good ground in order to achieve optimum coating efficiencies. This Air Power Live Video Series on Ground can help save you hundreds to thousands of dollars a year on reworks and allow you to operated in a safer environment.

Filter Conversion to Eliminate Overspray

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Overspray in industrial finishing applications is one of the most common causes of parts being rejected by quality control inspections. This can result in constant costly reworks and low-quality finish on parts. In this case study, Air Power proposes a solution that completely eliminates overspray for this customer.

Customer

Manufacturer of plumbing and water-related fittings and valves

Challenge

This customer was experiencing paint buildup on their booth due to overspray. This was caused by inefficient airflow through the booth. This customer was using an old baffle style booth that uses offset layers of metal to catch the initial overspray and then redirects the overspray into the second layer of filters. As a second layer of filtration, the customer used Styrofoam baffle filters that allowed a high volume of bypass of a mixture of tacky and dry overspray. This type of baffle filter works better with wet paint overspray.

Without proper airflow collecting the overspray in the booth, this customer experienced a higher number of rejected parts, a lower quality finish on products, and paint buildup on their spray booth and surrounding areas.

Overspray build up

Overspray Build-up inside Booth

Air Power Solution

 

Air Power proposed a solution that updated the filtration system to a more efficient style. This solution included completely removing the metal vertical baffles that were the first stage of filtration. The second stage Styrofoam baffle filters were then removed and the 20×20 grid was scraped clean of all the overspray buildup.  Then we installed Kem-Wove P3 20×20 panel filters in the second stage, installed snapper bars on the front of the filter wall, and added RP 3252 paper/poly blankets (RTT Engineered Solutions / Col-Met) as the first stage of filtration to improve overspray capture and airflow.

Baffle Style Filter Wall

Baffle Style Filter Wall

Filter Install

Results

 

This customer was amazed by the change in airflow and overspray capture in their spray booth. This new filtration system collected all the overspray in the booth and allowed nothing to bypass for the first time. These changes improved the painting conditions for operators in the booth, allowing for a higher quality finish on products. This customer is currently in the testing stage with this system to determine the length of life for one layer of filtration to ensure this system is cost-efficient and establish best practices for their finishing operation.

 

Download PDF

Filter Conversion to Eliminate Overspray

 

 

Dwyer Molded Plastic Manometer Installation

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Dwyer Molded Plastic Manometer Installation

 

Manometers are required on your spray booths. They are also required to be in perfect working order. Air Power Application Specialist, Travis Stirewalt, walks through some basic installation steps and preventative maintenance points for the Dwyer Mark II manometer.

True LED Lighting from Col-Met

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True LED Lighting from Col-Met

 

Proper lighting plays an important role in achieving a high-quality finish. Col-Met’s new E-Light LED lighting offers many advantages over fluorescent lamps such as lower energy usage, exceptionally long life, truer color rendering, improved durability, reduced maintenance costs, and improved safety.

Learn More about Col-Met