The difference 5 years makes on a paint booth filter setup

I was swapping out filters at a buddy's shop last Thursday and realized how much things have changed since I built my own booth back in 2018. Back then I just threw in whatever cheap cardboard frames the supply house had on sale. Figured air flow was air flow. But after fighting with dust nibs and fish eyes on a pearl white job last spring I finally broke down and upgraded to those pleated fiberglass pre-filters with the metal mesh backing. The difference is insane. My topcoat rejection rate went from like 1 in 4 jobs needing a recoat down to maybe 1 in 15. And I'm not chasing orange peel from overspray settling on wet clear anymore either. Has anyone else noticed a big jump just from switching pre-filter brands or am I overthinking this?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyattrobinson6d ago

That bit about chasing orange peel from overspray settling on wet clear hit home. Switching to a decent pre-filter was the single best thing I did for my own booth, cleaned up more issues than I expected without changing my gun or technique.

murphy.barbara6d ago

Pre-filters are the real MVP but nobody talks about them.