Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

March, 2004

Paint Spray Booth Floor Paper

Q. I've researched OSHA, AFOSH, fire codes, technical orders, safety instructions, days on the web, called fire rep. and manufactures of these floor papers/material. My question is how long or how many paint jobs is this material good for before it should be changed out?

A. The floor paper in spray booths can last many months if it is well maintained. I have been into paint spray booths in which extreme care is taken to protect the paper, and I have also been into booths where the paper has been torn up by fork lift trucks, painters dragging parts across the floor and more. The life of the floor paper also depends on how much paint you use and how much overspray settles on the floor of the spray booth.

To the best of my knowledge there are no written recommendations for when to replace the paper. In my experience I object to walking into a spray booth in which the overspray has formed a thick dust that you can kick up with your shoes. This is not so much a fire hazard as a health hazard for the painters who inhale the dusts whenever they remove their respirators.

Therefore, I would suggest that you should replace the floor paper as soon as (a) the paper starts to be torn due to mechanical damage, and/or (b) as soon as you collect loose overspray than can be kicked up into a dust that fills the spray booth.