help in cleaning paint booth and duct?

David Patterson

New member
help in cleaning paint booth and duct?

Hi Guys
I wonder if anybody has any experience in the removal of paint from a water wash style paint booth, that they could share with me?

I have been asked to quote this booth in a factory that produces and repairs aircraft parts. The paint contains Sodium Isocyanates (Yikes!). We intend on using full respirator headgear for that reason. But never having done one I am in need of help with the technical aspects of the job.

I have been doing kitchen exhausts for about 3 years now and love the challenge of new work.

I have a 4gpm hot water unit and also 0 degree rotating nozzels
Will this be sufficient to knock the build-up of 5 years of overspray on galvenized metal off? Will I need some sort of removal agent ?

I have gained a wealth of info from this board allready, which has enabled me to become far more experienced far faster then I imagined possible, I thank you all for that!!
Any advice large or small will be greatly appreciated.
David
 
I used to work for a company that used a lot of ISOCYANATES. Once they are cured they do not do a lot of harm to you, but, as always, I would wear a respirator as a precaution. The Iscyanates are used in the aircraft paint because it is a polyurethane type paint, and they are the hardening agent. They do become VERY hard and are very difficult to remove. Short of getting a 10,000 PSI water blaster in there, you will have a very hard and slow time of it.
There is a way around it though. If you use a Very, Very strong caustic, around a pH of 14, you might be able to get them off. I know that is what is used to clean out the tankers that haul the raw Iso.
I know another member of this forum does floors of a paint booth, and he actually sands the floors with a metal screen. The stuff he is working with is probably a lot harder than what you have to deal with.

Scott Stone
 
I would also check to see if the water is going into there treatment facility or if you are responsible for disposal?
 
David

"I know another member of this forum does floors of a paint booth, and he actually sands the floors with a metal screen. The stuff he is working with is probably a lot harder than what you have to deal with. "

That be me.

David I'm cleaning 10,000 sq ft of unsealed reground concrete and it is where they paint the F117 Stealth Fighter. Needless to say, the coatings on that airplane are a big secret, but I really thought it could be pressure washed. After the paint lays on that floor for a few days though it's the toughest material to clean that I've ever faced. The first time we cleaned it was a nightmare and I don't even want to think about it again.

I now use a 20" rotary floor scrubber (1 1/2 hp, 300 rpms), with 30 or 40 grit carbide screening material attached to a regular scrubbing pad. We do it in 2000 sq ft sections by getting the floor wet first, going over it with the machine, and pressure washing it at the end. There are no chemicals used on this job and that surprised me. A zero degree or cat tip at 3500 psi was a joke on this floor, and hot hot soap didn't touch that paint.

There is a drainage system at the front of the building that goes into a 6000 gallon holding tank which is closly monitored by the company.

It's hot in this bldg. but the ventalation is good, so the squegee work at the end takes less than 30 minutes. After the first time we did this floor I never wanted to see it again, but persistance and a little homework paid off and 2 of us can do this job in less than 6 hours now, and it looks fantastic everytime.

Hope this helps you a little bit & good luck!!
 
I have to do a paint booth in an auto body shop. anyone have any tips to help with this. they were done about 3 years ago so they arent to bad. they have metal/aluminium walls and concrete floors. any tips would be appreciated.

Lawrence Carter
Southern Power Clean
 
Hello David,

This is a picture of my guys testing paint removal on the side of a building. This unit puts out 10 gpm @ 10,000 psi. The customer has put several coats of paint on this building and wants the paint off but leave the orginal factory paint on the surface.

The blaster could get a couple layers. We found that heat (200 + degree water) with our regular unit 3000 psi worked better and faster. They started by pre-heating the area, then using a rotary #5 tip. Still had to go back and do touch up using a 15-10 tip!

I suggest that you test the area that your customer wants done. It will show you what it will take to compete the project.

Dave Olson
 

Attachments

  • blaster testing.jpg
    blaster testing.jpg
    67.6 KB · Views: 125
Last edited:
Thanks for the info guys!!
I got the job after doing a test sample inside there system..It will be a slow go of it but the results acceptable to the maintenance manager...they will be responsble for the removal of the waste water.. the work will begin during there summer shut down...
Thanks again to this board and its memebers for the shot of confidence. David
 
How did you do your test ? What chemicals and what process did you use, and is any ductwork involved here?
 
One option you could think about is the use of a dry soda blasting. For example I have soda blasted a car down to bare metal in 1.5 hours. The system works great if the surface is hard like paint or carbon.

We use this system on carbon build up on fans and hoods. It takes carbon off like sand without the scaring and clean up issues.

David;)
 
How did you do your test ? What chemicals and what process did you use, and is any ductwork involved here?


__________________

We used 3000psi with HOT !water and a rotating tip ....we first applied a gel of 50% sodium hydroxide and let it dwell for a short period of time. This worked well and should be sufficient to complete the job. I would like to try David s suggestion of the soda blasting if I can find a distributor here with the right parts and knowledge to add it on to my machine
David
 
Back
Top