HVLP spray finishing indoors

[phoneman697]

Has anybody used a HVLP system indoors in their shop? What precautions did you use? I am getting ready to put my finish on a loft I built for my oldest son. I want spray the finish on, as this is a rather large piece. I have the Rockler HVLP system similar to the HF one, but have not used it yet. I am working in a basement shop that is totally closed off from remainder of the house and furnace and water heater. My plan was to hang plastic sheeting from the shop ceiling to form a three sided booth in which to spray. I will be using a water based poly as my finish. Do I need to vent the both to the outdoors, or am I ok just spraying the project in my booth the way it is?

Thanks for your input.

Jeff

[cabinetman]

Has anybody used a HVLP system indoors in their shop? What precautions did you use? I am getting ready to put my finish on a loft I built for my oldest son. I want spray the finish on, as this is a rather large piece. I have the Rockler HVLP system similar to the HF one, but have not used it yet. I am working in a basement shop that is totally closed off from remainder of the house and furnace and water heater. My plan was to hang plastic sheeting from the shop ceiling to form a three sided booth in which to spray. I will be using a water based poly as my finish. Do I need to vent the both to the outdoors, or am I ok just spraying the project in my booth the way it is?

Thanks for your input.

Jeff

Waterbased poly is probably the least toxic of the film finishes, but not totally harmless. You would be better off allowing fresh air into the enclosure, and exhaust fan outdoors any overspray.
.

[JimD]

I have done it with a Wagner conversion gun quite a bit. When I decide to be smart, I wear a respirator. Your overspray should be less than mine but I still think a respierator with good filters is indicated. You should also think about covering anything you do not want overspray to attach to. Cheap poly drop cloths is what I use.

I also recommend water based. I use Resisthane from Hood Finishing. It comes in clear, white, and black. I have also read of people mixing it with latex to thin the latex and add durability, but I have not tried it. Resisthane has characteristics like a pre-cat lacquer. It is quite durable (like poly), dries quickly (recoat in an hour or two at most), and will cut itself into the previous layer (so sanding between coats is not required).

Jim

[Gator95]

Do this in the garage (with cars outside of course) quite a bit before.
As everyone says, cover area around what you are spraying with tarps. I'd seriously hesitate to spray in an area on the same HVAC as the living area- assuming by totally isolated basement you mean no way for floating particles to get into living space.

Of course, wear a respirator. The kind with the two charcoal filters on each side. Don't try to make do with a mask. Tried this once when spraying with black-pigmented waterbased laquer and had black snot every time I blew my nose for the next 3 days... couldn't have been good for me.

[drumpriest]

I've done this a couple of times in a pinch, it's less than ideal, but what are you gonna do. My shop has it's own heating system, and it's baseboard, so there's little risk of the fumes/overspray getting into the hvac. This is the stuff that I spray.

http://www.targetcoatings.com/emtech-6000.html

Very very low VOCs. I wear a respirator all the time when I spray.