Anyone who has done any kind of spray painting at home knows what kind of mess it can make. Airborne paint particles spread everywhere and will settle on every surface. Building a spray paint booth in the garage is ideal because of the access to ample ventilation when the garage door is open. A spray paint booth will contain paint particles and keep the overspray within an enclosed area. The following instructions are for a temporary paint booth that you can quickly construct each time you need it.

Walls

Decide which area of your garage you will use as a paint booth and the size you’ll need. The idea is to hang a four-sided barrier of drop cloths from the ceiling so you can spray paint inside the enclosed space. You can use plastic or fabric drop cloths depending on your preference. You can also purchase inexpensive curtains to use as drop cloths. The weight of the drop cloths is important. The heavier they are, the less they will blow around with the garage door open. Be sure that your drop cloths are at least 1 foot longer than the height of your garage so they can be folded onto the floor. Use duct tape and extra drop cloths to extend the length if necessary. This will ensure paint won’t escape where the cloth meets the floor.

To attach the drop cloths to the ceiling, install utility hooks on the rafters or on the drywall ceiling. You can attach the drop cloths directly to the hooks or hang inexpensive curtain rods with curtain ring clips from the hooks. If your garage ceiling is low enough, you can attach the curtain rods directly to the ceiling. The benefit of using curtains with curtain rods and curtain ring clips is that they will easily slide when you need to move them. Where two hanging drop cloths meet, overlap them or duct tape them together to prevent paint from escaping through a gap. You’ll use one of these overlap areas as the door to the booth.

Floor and ceiling

Use more drop cloths on the floor. Make sure they are bigger than the interior of the booth. There’s no need to cover the ceiling since the spray paint generally floats in a downward direction. If you are spray painting something large and close to the ceiling, you may have to mask off the ceiling. If you need a table to put your item on so that it is elevated for painting, completely cover it with a drop cloth.

Since your booth is now an enclosed area, a paint respirator mask is a must. You might also want to consider wearing a coverall to protect your clothing and gloves to protect your hands. When you are finished your project and the paint is completely dry, take down the drop cloths, fold them and store for your next spray painting job. When that time comes, simply attach the drop cloths to the utility hooks and cover the floor.