A paint booth offers increased efficiency, cleaner job

Emma Etoori repainted his car, a Toyota Granvia in December. Before this time, he opted for fresh body work elsewhere.

Etoori believes that different cars require different body work. For instance, when the panel beating of his Toyota Granvia, which involved smoothening of the dented car body was complete, he expected the actual painting to take a bit longer.

“However, within three hours, the car was ready. The repainting was fast and the car looked neat. It was a job well done at the same price that a normal paint garage usually charges me,” says Etoori, adding that the whole process cost him Shs1m.

Process

Bodunri Bankole, the director of Mjenzi Auto Spray in Kansanga, Kampala, says before your car is taken to the spray booth, it is first prepared to remove old paint and any dents are fixed. It is also taped at crucial edges to avoid painting over windows, rear and front windscreen or any other glass. In other words, every part that will not be painted is taped. 

After removing old paint, your car is then driven into the spray booth, from where the first layer, called primer that removes paint impurities and creates a bonding layer to stick to paint, is applied before the final layer of paint is applied. Bankole says from the onset of spraying, the paint is totally dry in less than one hour.

“After painting, we switch on infra-red rays that are spread on all sides of the booth to dry the paint. When the booth is closed and the car is left to dry, it is like a surgical room. No dust or any other impurities can enter,” Bankole explains.

Colours

For cars with multiple colours, repainting is done twice, or according to the number of colours the car has. For instance, if the top or roof is white and the door side is black, the lower side is taped and the top part is painted first. When the top is dry, it is taped and the lower side is also repainted so that the colours do not mix.  

According to Bankole, the way the car colour is baked into the metal in the factory is the same way it is baked onto your car in the spray booth, without any discolouration or spillage. The paint, Bankole notes, lasts longer since it is deeply baked into the metal body of the car.

“A spray booth is more efficient and time saving and is suitable for any kind of weather. If it is raining the whole day, your average painter may not repaint the car but it will be repainted in a spray booth because it is an all-weather technology,” Bankole adds.

Longer-lasting finish

Bankole says the controlled environment allows for a more stable application of the paint and base coatings, which in turn will increase its durability. By maintaining the air temperature, an even layer of paint can be applied to the vehicle, resulting in a smooth finish. In addition, these controlled conditions allow the paint and additional coatings to bond  well together, creating a strong coat.

Cost

The cost of using a spray booth varies from one vehicle to another.

If your car does not have any dents to be fixed, then your cost will be lower than one whose bumper needs repairs.

For smaller cars such as the Toyota Vitz and the IST with no body work to do, the cost ranges between Shs600,000 and up to Shs1.2m for bigger cars such as pick-ups.

“For instance, for cars such as Range Rovers with alminium bodies, the preparation before repainting is tedious. If you just paint anyhow, the paint will peel off overtime because it would not have coated well onto the alminium body, which is not the case with metallic bodies,” Bankole says.

Advantages

Controlled environment: There are a few common factors that can affect the finish of your vehicle’s paint job, such as temperature, humidity and dust.

Controls hazardous materials: Hazardous chemicals found in automotive paints and other materials used in the repainting process release fumes and particles that can both harm your health and the environment. The advantage of a spray paint booth is that it filters these chemicals.

Dust-free surroundings: If you eliminate dust, you allow for a clean paint finish to be achieved. The lack of dust will lead to an even coat of paint on the bare metal, without any flecks of dust or debris landing on the wet surface. It can also result in an increase in the durability of the paint and coatings.