How To Tackle Humidity In Your Paint Booth

During the paint booth bake cycle, the drying process will change depending on what the temperature and humidity are like inside the paint booth. Beyond that, a paint booth in southern Texas will have slightly different equipment than a paint booth in somewhere like Canada. So, to put it simply, because paint booths exist in a variety of climates, they’ll all be set up a little differently depending on the environment around them.

For most modern paint booths, it’s very common for there to be heaters; however, depending on how dry of an area you may be in, a humidifier may also be needed. The opposite is also true. In some instances you may need a chiller or a dehumidifier. Regardless of what your environment dictates, it’s important to regulate the amount of heat and moisture within your paint booth to work well with the outside environment.

For example: Let’s say you’re in an area where the average temperature outside is 85°F (29°C) and the temperature inside your booth is 75°F (23°C)– How do you tackle the heat and humidity?

First and foremost, it’s important to understand whether the set-point for the temperature is either at or slightly below the dew point for the hotter months. In the scenario we gave above, you’d likely need a chiller in order to maintain a temperature of 75°F (23°C). However, you should also know that your paint booth’s exterior walls could form condensation if the dew point in the outside air is at or above 75°F (23°C). Depending on where you are, humidity could be a big problem if the average temperature is 85°F (29°C). If you cool the air inside, you could cause condensation on the booth’s walls or even a high amount of humidity inside the booth since the air is being cooled down to the saturation temperatures.

In most instances, the correct way to approach the situation would be to sub-cool the air with a chiller to condense the moisture out. Afterward, you’d indirectly reheat the air in the booth to the relative humidity set-point and desired operating temperature. However, this would only be done in a booth that is insulated with a vapor barrier to account for the high heat / high humidity environment.

However, there are a few big factors to consider when determining all of the components needed to create an environment that’s optimal for painting.

• Are you using solvent-based or waterborne? Waterborne relies more on airflow to dry, whereas solvent-based paint depends more on heat. Beyond that, knowing what type of paint you’re using will decide the exact conditions you need in your paint booth. You have to consider the baking temperature, the spray temperature, and humidity levels inside (and out). Luckily, all of this information can be supplied to you by the manufacturer.
• What is the environment around the booth like? The outside environment will dictate the type of equipment you need. However, you should ask yourself how strong your heater should be, whether or not you need a chiller, whether a humidifier is necessary, is your booth insulated, and should you get a vapor barrier?

After you’ve figured all of that out, you should be good to go with configuring your paint booth.

Garmat Paint Booths

At Garmat USA, we are all about production efficiencies both for your shop, and for our operation. We thrive on coming up with new methods to address the needs of our customers while meeting their budgets.

We are also dedicated to helping you save on your cost of operation. Garmat USA equipment is designed to reduce energy consumption, giving you the best possible return on your investment.

Every product and every improvement is developed with your business goals in mind- Lowering your operating costs and Increasing your production.