Graco HydroShield Electrostatic Spray System
Air Power in partnership with Graco is working hard to prep the Hydroshield for upcoming customer demos throughout our entire territory! Pre-plan, setup, and spray prior to demo ensures a successful onsite demo. We’d like to thank the team of Graco Representatives Nick Lewis, Nick Yanavitch, and Chris Maicon for all working with the Air Power team to establish this product in the field.
The Graco Hydroshield Spray Package is an operator-friendly solution for spraying waterborne material that improves transfer efficiency and safety. This system includes manual electrostatic air spray or air-assist guns, controller interface, and high-performing pumps.
The HydroShield Batch Waterborne System makes it easy to safely use electrostatics to spray waterborne material.
- Refill paint supply without having to open the isolation cabinet.
- Use one controller with simple screens to set and adjust system parameters.
- Minimize downtime with durable components that are easily accessed and maintained.
Check out these pictures of the Air Power team setting up this system in the Air Power High Point Finishing Lab!
How to Properly Dispose of Paint Booth Exhaust Filters to Protect the Environment
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:
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- Arsenic
- Barium
- Cadmium
- Chromium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Selenium
- Silver
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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.
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
Air Power wins Graco 2020 Top 20 Distributor Award
Graco’s Top 20 Program was established in 2010 to define the top sales performing distributors in North America. Every year since, the HPCF sales group has recognized the Top 20 distributors for their Protective Coatings Equipment (PCE). Air Power Manufacturing Solutions has been named one of Graco’s Top 20 Distributors in North America.
Being a Top 20 Distributor is a significant achievement. Although based on total sales, distributors don’t get to that level of success without hard work and strategic investment in their companies. Many different things go into building a successful Graco distributorship, but there is one common characteristic shared by all of Graco’s top-performing distributors—they are customer-focused.
More About: Graco
Spray Finishing Made Mobile
In this case study, Air Power Account Manager Austin Lambright helped this customer eliminate pain points in their finishing process, allowing them to save time and money in production costs.
CHALLENGE
The customer has a 90ft DOD aircraft that is coated with a very short pot life, a very expensive material. Because of the short pot life, several painters would have to mix an individual pressure pot and all spray the plane at the same time. This caused a lot of waste in material and was time-consuming.
AIR POWER SOLUTION
By using a mobile cart with a large Graco EnduraFlo 4:1 diaphragm pump, we are able to feed 4 painters with one central paint vessel. This not only cuts down on a lot of waste, but also simplifies the prep and clean up process, ultimately saving money both in material cost, maintenance, and production time. An all-around process improvement.
RESULTS
The customer drastically improved production process time, labor hours, and material savings in their paint process.
Troubleshoot your Finishing Process with Saint Clair Systems
Troubleshoot your Finishing Process with Saint Clair Systems
In this video, Bob is noticing issues with paint defects in his finishing process to eliminate paint defects and rejected parts. Follow along as Bob and his Manager troubleshoot their finishing process and Find a solution with Saint Clair Systems.
Learn More about Saint Clair Systems
Filter Conversion to Eliminate Overspray
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 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
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.
Air Power Regional Footprint
