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A buddy is telling me I need to.....
Should I ground my car while painting?
- Thread starter Cranky
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Unless you are putting a positive charge on you gun, I don't think there will be any affect at all.
There is a ground lead in our paint booth, some of the previous painters have used it, but mostly it's just kicked out of the way. We do disconnect the cars battery in the booth.
WP29440SE
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I've done it with and without, didn't seem to make any difference
Thinking about it a little more, it might be for static electricity. I grounded the blast gun in the glassbead cabinet as we have dry air here in AZ. When winter comes, it can kick like a mule when the gun is not grounded. You still feel it a little, just not as bad. I also touch the gun to what I am cleaning occasionally to discharge it.
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Static loves dust. Ever rub a balloon on your head and then stick it to the wall. I'd at least ground the body out on the initial wipe down before the sealer coat.
barnfind
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Painting by electrostatic?
We used to ground all aircraft, never felt the need to while painting a vehicle.
Suppose it wouldn't hurt to ground, provided you tape down your line so you don't trip over it while working.
We used to ground all aircraft, never felt the need to while painting a vehicle.
Suppose it wouldn't hurt to ground, provided you tape down your line so you don't trip over it while working.
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slimt
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if its fibreglass . Sure. I used to ground anything corvette. Lightning bolts on a small scale can create a big fire in a booth. .
Back in the day I watched some ground cars for paint. But I was told it was to stop static.
key to a clean paint job is lots of air. And a very clean car and surroundings.
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Never painted an entire car at once before......
slimt
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were in hail season here. I average four completes a day with two good preppers at my side. Getting those ready.
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It's a good idea. As others have mentioned it's to eliminate static charge.
I usually put a chain on them,and let it drag on the floor.
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Exactly what my friend said to use......but why wouldn't a ground strap work just as well if not better?
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In the old days when Dinosaurs roamed the earth we used to wet the floor in the booth and ground the car so
a static charge would not build up and be a magnet for dust. These days we have down-draft booths that suck
everything under the car so no problem there, but if you are painting in a garage with little to no airflow you will
need to act like a caveman! As you spray, a static charge starts to develop and attracts dust. also, wear a tyvek
suit AND a hairnet so when you are bending over the car to get the middle of the hood or deck lid you don't lose
a curly one in the paint. After all that prep, Don't paint at night for the fear of attracting a Sabre-Toothed Moth!
They always seem to get one wing stuck in the middle of the hood and flap the other wing and go in bigger circles
until they perish (which can take a while!). Good Luck!
a static charge would not build up and be a magnet for dust. These days we have down-draft booths that suck
everything under the car so no problem there, but if you are painting in a garage with little to no airflow you will
need to act like a caveman! As you spray, a static charge starts to develop and attracts dust. also, wear a tyvek
suit AND a hairnet so when you are bending over the car to get the middle of the hood or deck lid you don't lose
a curly one in the paint. After all that prep, Don't paint at night for the fear of attracting a Sabre-Toothed Moth!
They always seem to get one wing stuck in the middle of the hood and flap the other wing and go in bigger circles
until they perish (which can take a while!). Good Luck!
Mike67
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Man I thought you were going to leave it as is??? I wouldnt touch it myself, it has a perfect mix of color, sun burn, light surface rust & primer!!!!
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slimt
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Ive had a few flies and moths get in the paint. They can make a mess. And yup, cross flow booths Were not the best. But they did the job.
I was told to ground the car and did. The air coming form air compressor is excited to a positive charge and the ground to the car is negative. Negative attracts Positive. Take it for what it is worth. But in my paint booth home made had a down draft system on the sides and back draft to the rear of the car. Think I over did my CFM on the fan. But did get the car painted. Down draft booth is the best. But a friend of mine has just two box fan's in a booth and it turns out good job's.
Mike67
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If static is the concern, I don't really think you have to worry about that with our humidity. I was more worried about the ambient temp when I did mine.
It was late spring last year and the temps were getting into the mid to high 80s and I felt rushed even with Steve having a cup ready for me when I ran out.
I also took a water hose and wet the floor pretty well to keep the dust down. Didnt have any contaminant issues in the dirty shop, but had some issues with the clear in a few spots, I think it was flashing pretty quick even with the slow activator.
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