Standard Tools and Equipment Archives : Page 3 of 4 : Paint-Booths.com

Calling All Customers …. We Want Your …. PRODUCT PHOTOS

I have heard the phrase imitation is the sincerest form of flattery many times throughout my life thus far. Today, I spoke with a new customer, who had reached out to us for pricing on a new spray booth for his growing business. He mentioned in our conversation that he had a buddy down the road who bought one from us years ago and was thrilled with it. Based on this word-of-mouth testimony from one buddy to another, this guy did not even bother to look anywhere else … he just picked up the phone and called us. Word-of-mouth is a pretty sincere form of flattery too…. and we want more of it. Read on to see how you can help.

Testimonials are the best form of advertising to us at Standard Tools. What better way to decide on what product to buy than to read how much others love it? Now, I understand that price plays a big role in a person’s decision when it comes to buying equipment… but if your buddy has one and he is thrilled with it… is price alone really the deciding factor? Something to think about anyway.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and testimonials are the best form of promotion, then a product photo of the equipment in use in a shop are the best way for us to show off our products. Who doesn’t love to see some equipment being used? (Most of the time, the photos also have some pretty cool cars to show off as well).

If you have a piece of our equipment in your shop and you want to share a photo with us, along with a brief testimonial, we would love for you to send it our way so we can share on our social media sites!

If your photo is used, we will send you a great big thank you and a little surprise for giving us your time, testimonial and photo. So, if you have a paint booth, automotive lift, frame machine or tire equipment … send it to us.

Here are the details to include in your email to Katm@standardtool.com

Subject Line: Customer Testimonial

Your Name and Business Name
Your City and State
Product You Have?
What do you use it for?
Why Do You Like It?
Would You Recommend it? Why or Why Not?

Please make sure that any junk or trash is removed prior to taking the photo, it helps make a better photo. That’s it!

Air Makeup Units (AMUs) Are HUMMIN’

It’s going to be 85 in Greensboro, NC today, but cooler weather is just around the corner! How do I know that? Well, I just walked through our Sure-Cure air makeup unit (AMU) production shop, and things are hummin’. We have four units on the bench in process and several more in the queue this week. These Sure-Cure AMU’s are in big demand. ETL-certified and tested, they are among the safest units on the market today.

The Sure-Cure will provide gas-heated warm air inside your spray painting booth to speed curing time, even on the coldest days! With a guaranteed 80 degree rise over ambient air temperature, if it is 0 degrees outside it will be 80 degrees inside your booth! No more waiting hours or days for dry time. Plus you can put it into cure mode at the end of the day and go home. The unit will shut off automatically when the paint is cured.

If you have an Air Makeup Unit that is more than 10 years old you may be a candidate for a new high-efficiency Sure-Cure AMU. Many of the old style Air Makeup Unit’s contain heat exchangers that can crack over years of use. This greatly reduces the ability of the unit to heat the air to the desired temperature. It could also result in dangerous fumes being emitted into your booth or painting area!

Our units are popular because Standard Tools is committed to a 2 to 3 week turnaround in producing these units, even in the winter months. Other manufacturers take 8 to 12 weeks to ship an AMU! So get your order in today, and be ready for the cold when it gets here!

PAINT BOOTH AIR FLOW: HOW IT WORKS

During spray jobs in a paint booth, the exhaust system must draw substantial quantities of air out of the shop in order to operate. These volumes must be replenished with equal volumes of air coming into the booth.

AIR MAKE-UP (AMU) is defined as…a mechanical means of replacing air that has been exhausted out of the booth.

It’s simple…. it’s all about paint booth air flow. How much air in being put into the booth and how much is being taken out. Airflow while spraying takes the over-spray away from the paint job and out of the booth.

Air in – Air out. Air in – Air out. Air in – Air out. Air in – Air out. That’s it. With the Sure-Cure Air Makeup Unit, you control the amount of air pushed into your booth. Why would you need to push air into your booth?

NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE BOOTH PRESSURE
When the exhaust fan of the booth is turned on, it creates a “negative” air pressure in the booth cabin (taking out more air than is being put in). When there is a negative air pressure, the booth will try to suck in as much air as possible, including dirt and debris from outside the booth. THINK VACUUM CLEANERS.

To counter this “negative” pressure, an Air Makeup Unit (AMU) unit is used to supply air to replace the air being exhausted. If the AMU is designed to force more air into the booth than is exhausted…the booth is said to have “positive” air pressure. In this case, the booth has more air than outside the booth and when a door is opened, dirt and debris is pushed away from the booth. THINK STANDING IN FRONT OF A FAN. Continue reading PAINT BOOTH AIR FLOW: HOW IT WORKS

DO YOU NEED THE ETL LISTING FOR YOUR SPRAY BOOTH?

Standard Tools and Equipment Co designs and manufacturers spray booths and mixing rooms to comply with NFPA-33, the top-level safety code in the USA for spray application of flammable or combustible materials. We are in compliance with these codes, which means that as the supplier, we feel that we meet the code. Being compliant is not always enough, as some authorities require certification by a third-party to confirm compliance. That’s where Intertek/ETL comes in. As a nationally recognized third-party certification organization, they have tested and certified our most popular spray booth and mixing room models.

We offer an upgrade package on our most popular spray booths and mixing rooms. This package includes our ETL-listed electrical control panel, an air valve solenoid to interlock the fan motor and spray equipment and the ETL label for the booth.

So, do you need the ETL listing?

Maybe, if the spray booth is to be located in a large city
Probably, if the spray booth is to be located in NY, MA, CT, RI, MN, CA, OR or WA
Probably, if the spray booth is part of a government facility like a school or a military base
Definitely, if the spray booth is located in New York City or any of its boroughs
Definitely, if your local authority says that it is required – You should contact your local fire and building authority as early as possible in the process of buying a new spray booth

How can you acquire the ETL listing?

Buy it with the spray booth. Standard Tools is allowed by Intertek/ETL to apply the certification mark to the booth only prior to the spray booth shipping from our dock.
If the booth is already installed, you can contact our engineering team and we will provide contact information for Intertek. Intertek will have to visit your shop to inspect the spray booth and apply the certification mark. On-site certification is usually three to ten times more expensive than buying the ETL mark with the spray booth. Other on-site certifiers are UL and MET.

A little paint booth business mixed with pleasure in Williams, Arizona

Actually it was “business” by accident, or by fate, however you wish to look at it. Not really business, as I wasn’t selling anything.

I have been with Standard Tools and Equipment Company for over 22 years now. It is a blurred line between business and passion… as my business is my passion. Working and traveling with the company over the years has been fun and I have had the privilege to see places I probably never would have on my own. I had never really spent any time out west, other than some trade shows in Vegas. So, when my son was chosen as a summer intern at a camp in Williams, Arizona, it gave me the perfect excuse to “Go West” with my wife for vacation this year.

The city of Williams, Arizona is known as “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon”. It is a small town on the Historic Route 66, only 2-1/2 hour drive from Phoenix. Williams was the last town on Historic Route 66 to be bypassed by Interstate 40. The community, bypassed on Oct. 13, 1984, continues to thrive on tourism. The Historic Downtown District covers six square blocks and boasts a rich heritage that features the Old West and Route 66 coupled with tourism trends today and the town’s heyday years of the ’50s and ’60s.

On our first day in Williams, we decided to go for a walk through town. We were walking down Main Street (Route 66) and we passed Custom Designs Autobody. The big garage door was wide open… I couldn’t help myself. I peeked my head inside to see the equipment they were using (as we say in NC, you can take the boy out of Standard Tools, but you can’t take Standard Tools out of the boy). The body man in the shop was working in a paint booth and we chatted a few minutes. I would know one anywhere, a CF-1000 Cross Flow Paint Booth from Standard Tools bought in 2002. 12-years-old and they still use their booth every day!

CF 1000 paint booth in Williams, Arizona — CF 1000 Paint Booth in Williams, Arizona from 2002!

As an online retailer of paint booths and other related products, I often don’t get to see the equipment I sell, all set up and being used. We love it when customers send us pictures of their booth after install, or when they are using it… but mostly they are too busy painting to send photos on. I am never surprised to hear where the next booth is being shipped. We have them all over the world. I wish I could travel to see every single one of them…. oh, the places I would see.

We continued our vacation to the west coast, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway for a week. Because of this little business & pleasure encounter though, I couldn’t help but look for all the body shops along the way….hoping to see through an open garage door and catch of glimpse of one more of the thousands of booths we have sold across America over the last 17 years.

I have included a few pictures that I took that day and a few more from the Grand Canyon itself although pictures can never capture the magnificence of seeing it with your own eyes.

Kelly Goudy

Should you replace your Air Makeup Unit? Things to consider.

So, you have a heated booth, had it for years. Does it still work? If it does, is it working like it should? Maybe it’s time to look at a new heater and take advantage of the latest technology that will not only save you time, but money as well. (Have no idea what I am talking about? Read our post here about what makeup air is).

A heater that was manufactured ten years ago will not have the same technology or controls as a new unit because there have been many advances in the last decade. (Imagine using a cell phone from 10 years ago to do what you needed today…).

Can you control the temperature? New units have digital temperature read outs for the desired and measured temperatures. This is important information that can save you money. If the outside temperature is 75 degrees, then the burner may not be required. Without the temperature reading, your painter may be turning on the heat out of habit not necessity.

Does your unit have a cure mode? If so, is the airflow reduced during the cure cycle or are you helping to heat your town and fund the gas company? New units will reduce airflow by as much as 50% to increase burner efficiency and keep the heat in the booth longer to provide more even heat flow around the product.

Timers. New units will also have timers in the cure mode so the flash, cure, and cool down are controlled automatically, and at the end of the cure process, the booth and heater shut off automatically. This alone will save a shop 10% in fuel costs.

How are your burners? If the heater you have has a cast iron burner, chances are that the orifices are partially rusted, preventing your burner from operating to its maximum efficiency. Some burners may be closed by as much as 50%. If your booth takes a long time to heat or does not reach temperature on very cold days, this may be the problem. Most new burners, including ours, have aluminum burners that will not rust over time.

Do you know your booth pressure? Do you have control over the exhaust fan motor, or does it run full speed all the time? New heaters are designed with variable frequency drives that lets you control the speed of the exhaust fan with the turn of a knob and a pressure gauge will display the actual pressure in the booth. This system translates into longer run times between filter changes and more control over the booth pressure.

If you have an older booth and you want to update your heater, or add a heater to a currently un-heated booth… give us a call and we will walk you through up-fitting your booth with the Sure-Cure Air Makeup Unit (the newest AMU to hit the market. Manufactured by a leading paint booth manufacturer.) Our Sure-Cure AMU has a ton of safety features as well as all the latest technology to provide you with an efficient heated booth. Let our design team get to work for you.

Do I Need Paint Booth MakeUp Air? What the heck is it?

Since we have announced the arrival of the Sure-Cure AMU to the market, we have been getting a lot of questions from customers about what an Air Makeup Unit does, why it is needed and how it works. Here are the simple answers to all of those questions. We’ll try not to make it too complicated, because it’s really simple…. It provides lots of air to the paint booth.

Now, why would anyone need all that extra air? Well, it’s not really ‘extra’ air, it’s replacement – or makeup – air for air that has been used and expelled out of the booth. Booth exhaust systems use up large volumes of air from the space that it is installed. If this air is not replaced at the same rate that it is expelled, the booth, or the building, will experience negative pressure (the air pressure outside the building is greater than the air pressure inside the building).

Why is negative pressure bad? At the risk of sounding like a bunch of engineers, some indicators of negative pressure include the suction pressure that makes booth doors difficult to open, exhaust fans that don’t work properly, drafts around doors and windows that cause a poor paint job and poor indoor air quality.

What does this have to do with your painting? Pressure problems make it difficult to paint in a booth and achieve proper coating and curing. When you are able to control the booth pressure and temperature, you are able to effectively remove particulates from the air that can negatively affect the quality of your finish. These problems are more pronounced during the cold season when windows are kept closed, reducing the natural pressure-balancing effect.

When you have an air make-up system, like the Sure-Cure AMU, the unit replaces the air that is expelled by a building’s exhaust system, maintaining the proper balance between inside and outside air pressures.

Some Cool Things About Air Makeup Units:

Replacement air can be heated in the winter months or to improve curing time. You can choose to not heat the replacement air in warmer months.
Cure your paint job in under an hour, increasing your daily productivity by up to 10X
Greatly reduce infiltration of cold outdoor air and drafts through opened booth doors
Encourage proper operation of booth exhaust systems
Improve the booth’s air quality
Eliminate suction pressure at doors
Decrease load on existing HVAC system
Lower energy costs by as much as 35%
Maintain a more comfortable and productive working environment

There are many individual benefits and features that differentiate AMU models and makes. It’s in our Sure-Cure air makeup unit features that make our unit safer and easier to operate. Now that you know why you need an AMU, check out all the benefits of having our AMU.

Want to see the video that launched it all? See the Sure-Cure AMU, in action, from all angles in just 55 seconds!

THE PITFALLS OF A USED SPRAY BOOTH

I have had three phone calls in two days from people who have purchased our paint booths second (or third) hand. The problems and costs that they are going through because of poor maintenance, destructive disassembles or their inability to get permitting has made it hard on them. Although our paint booths are of high quality and built to last, there are pitfalls of buying a used booth, no matter who the manufacturer is. Don’t get a used spray booth – it’s more hassle in the end.

Money is tight. If your company has survived the Great Recession then you understand this. Your company may also need a paint booth. Buying a used paint booth can lead to many unforeseen and unexpected costs. How do you know what you’re getting?

Standard Tools is in the business of selling new spray booths, but we want to let you in on some of the costs associated with buying a used paint booth. Even if a used paint booth is provided at no cost, the potential costs can be greater than a new spray booth in the end. We have new automotive booths starting at less than $5,000.

CONDITION – A used spray booth is on the market due to one of three situations: a paint booth owner is growing and needs a larger unit, a company is going out of business or a company is no longer painting. You have no way of knowing if the paint booth was maintained and taken care of. Continue reading THE PITFALLS OF A USED SPRAY BOOTH

Heated Paint Booth: To Add Heat or Not Add Heat, That is The Question

It may seem like there is a lot to consider when you buy a paint booth. It’s easy to get in the “let’s just get going and figure it out later” attitude. Selecting the right type of paint booth and developing a well laid out floor plan will save you thousands in the future. The main thing that folks don’t consider is if they need a heated paint booth to their booth in the future. Right now, they may not need heat because their business only uses it every couple days. But as the business grows and more business coming than you can handle…. you may want to add heat and make your booth work even harder for you. If you buy a Cross Flow, you won’t be able to add heat later. But our popular Side-Down Draft or Semi-Down Draft can be heated at any time… as long you as you consider a few things first to make your life easier later. Continue reading Heated Paint Booth: To Add Heat or Not Add Heat, That is The Question

The Process of a Paint Booth Sale

It used to be that everything could be bought at your local hardware or general store. After that, there was Wal-mart (AKA: Wally World). Since the Internet has become a household necessity in the last decade, online shopping has skyrocketed and people are carving out niches that only the Internet makes possible. For instance, a stay-at-home Mom who can sew really well is able to sell her crafty pieces on Etsy or Ebay. Have some stuff you want to get rid of but don’t have the time or energy for a yard sale? (Plus, you really hate getting up that early.) Snap a photo on your phone and put it on Craigslist. People no longer have to fight the crowds at Wal-Mart or search from store to store. They can find everything, including extremely rare and hard-to-find items or Paint Booths, on their computer.

Shop with Caution: With online shopping come scams and rip-offs. After all, anyone can setup a web site and become an “online seller” without any credentials or validity. How do you know if it is a legit business or just a guy in his garage? It is extremely important that when you are ordering from an online retailer, do your homework. Read the “About Us” page on their site. Check them out on social media (Facebook / Twitter / Ect.) Are there pictures of their facilities, phone numbers, an address, email addresses, etc? How long have they been in business? Do they stand behind their products? Do they have a customer service department? Google their company name for any online conversation about them. Read their customer feedback. Always go with your gut instinct. Okay, rant over… moving on.

Here’s the process of your paint booth going through production! We’re going to demonstrate via photos (fun, right?!). All of our sales & customer service team members are based out of our home office, on the same premises as our manufacturing plant. Both located in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Once you have shopped our web site, watched our “About Us” video and liked us on Facebook…. You’re ready to order. Continue reading The Process of a Paint Booth Sale

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Category: Standard Tools and Equipment