Paint Booth Prices and Why They Vary Between Manufacturers

You may be considering a paint booth for the first time and have considered a variety of options. For the most part you are considering a similar style booth as far as the size of the booth but looking at the same booth from a variety of manufacturers can result in price differences anywhere from 5 – 20%. You may wonder why paint booth prices vary so much between manufacturers. The goal of this article is to help you know the details that cause paint booth prices to vary so you can better decide if a particular paint booth is right for you. If you need general information on the price of paint booths you can review this article here.

Reason 1 that Paint Booth Prices Vary between Manufacturers – Construction

There are two primary construction methods that a paint booth uses. One is a nut and bolt construction and the other will use a form of zip screws which are also often called TEK Screws. Between the two types of construction nut and bolt is a higher cost paint booth design, this is because during the manufacturing process their will be hundreds of holes drilled in line to allow for nuts and bolts to secure the booth together. The two main advantages to nut and bolt construction are that they allow a booth to be torn down and rebuilt without need to worry about the new location of the booth having a concrete floor that matched the original booth location exactly. The other advantage is that they will have bolts at exact intervals around the booth which can give a nut and bolt design booth better rigidity, however it will be a bit higher cost.

Another factor that can be an important cost difference between different manufacturers of paint booths is the drawings that accompany a booth.  For example Global Finishing Solutions provides a full detailed set of drawings complete with exploded view drawings of all main parts of the paint booth which makes assembly easy, lower cost paint booths often will not offer detailed exploded view drawings which can make assembly of the booth difficult or if you need drawings for permitting can make permitting a bit more challenging.

A final reason for price differences between paint booth manufacturers is the rigidity of the booth. Higher priced paint booth manufacturers will incorporate structural I beams and similar features to properly reinforce a paint booth and ensure long term durability, lower cost booths may rely only on the sheet metal structure to provide booth support which can lead to the booth sagging in the ceiling and similar issues (this is particularly important for larger paint booths).

Reason 2 Paint Booth Prices Vary between Manufacturers – The Components

The second category of reasons that paint booth prices can vary significantly between manufacturers is the quality and warranty offered with components that they use. Higher priced booth manufacturers will often have a majority of their components for the booth made by the manufacturer. High priced manufacturers will build their fans for a high service life reaching into the 50,000 hour range, a lower cost manufactured booth will often integrate a fan and lights that are purchased from another vendor. Buying from another vendor is not necessarily bad but these type of fan may wear out sooner which is why it can be good to verify the service life of the fan so you can know if it will properly handle your potential frequency of use. Additionally, you will want to see if the speed of air varies between one manufacturer and the other, the minimum allowed speed is 100 FPM but higher priced paint booth manufacturers will often use a higher speed fan to ensure that visibility remains ideal even when filters begin to become loaded with overspray.

In addition to fans you will often want to verify the number of lights included and the quality of the lights. First is strictly the number of lights, more lights allow for your painter to have better visibility.  Second is the bulb in the lights T8’s are typically a better light design for paint booths. The third is how the light is serviced, the easiest to service booth lights are accessed from inside the paint booth. These are features that can increase the cost of lighting in your paint booth and be one reason a higher priced paint booth is more expensive. These features help with painter visibility and ease of maintenance but will often come with extra cost, so they may not be needed by everyone.

Reason 3 Paint Booth Prices Vary Between Manufacturers – Air Make Up Design

Not all paint booths will have an air make up unit with them but if you do this can be an additional area of expense. Some of the details that make air make ups more or less expensive include: the type of filtration the air make up uses, the quality of build, and the controls associated with the air make up. Higher quality air make up units will use metal mesh air intake filters for an air make up unit.  Metal filters are washable. Lower priced air make ups will often use throw away intake filters which can cost a few hundred dollars to replace when they get dirty, and depending on the air make ups location could require changing every couple months of use. In addition to the air intake filters, you may want to compare the temperature rise of the air make up. The higher the temperature rise of the air make up the higher the price the air make up will be which can cause prices of paint booths to be higher between one manufacturer and another.

Another area of consideration with an air make up unit  for a paint booth is the controls that are provided.  Higher priced paint booth manufacturers will often integrate control packages that allow for variable speed of the air make up, will allow the air make up to adjust air flow based on exhaust filter changes, and will auto balance the booth to prevent issues with positive or negative air pressure.  Higher priced paint booth manufacturers can also offer custom control panels that are designed to meet unique requirements you may need, whether its integrating an existing booth, or tying the air make up in with two different booths.

Reason 4 – The Sales and Support Model

Some paint booths are sold direct by the manufacturer and some are sold through a partnership that the manufacturer maintains with a company that holds the responsibility to help sell and service the paint booth. Working through partnerships can add an additional expense but typically provides better service response and sales support of a paint booth. A partner company should be their to promptly help with any questions about warranty issues, offer onsite sales consultation, and provide ongoing support after the booth is in place. These services do bring an additional cost and can be helpful if having readily available expertise for booth issues or with questions in getting the booth installed is valued.

Final thoughts on Paint Booth Prices and Why They Vary Between Manufacturers

Ultimately which paint booth is right for you will depend on your situation to properly determine which paint booth is right it can be good to evaluate the construction of the paint booth, the components of the paint booth, the company offering the paint booth (their customer service and responsiveness), and details about the air make up being provided. Depending on your needs the additional price that may come with the improvements a higher priced paint booth will provide may or may not work well for your needs.