I was introduced to HomeRight’s tent-like portable spray shelters at this year’s National Hardware Show. Although this is the first time I’ve seen them, the spray shelters have been around for a few years. User reviews are mixed, but mostly positive.
Their large spray shelter was on display at the show, and at first I thought it was some kind of beach tent. Turns out it’s a spray shelter intended to capture the overspray from painting or finishing, and also prevent bugs and debris from getting onto freshly painted surfaces.
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The back and sides of HomeRight’s Large Spray Shelter slope outwards, to deflect overspray down and away from your project. There is no bottom and it’s recommended that it be placed on top of a drop cloth 12′ x 15′ or larger.
The most recent model includes a screen that can be rolled down after paint is applied, to keep insects, leaves, and other debris from getting into the finish.
It’s not large enough to work inside of; the idea is to stand outside and spray in through the opening. Because it’s light and has no bottom, it might be possible to paint one or more items and then move the shelter to the next set of items that need to be sprayed. Or for larger items, spray one side, move the shelter, spray the next, and then so on.
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The large spray shelter can be staked to the ground for outdoor use. It has two poles and comes with five stakes and a storage bag.
Dimensions
Depth: 72” at bottom; 30” at top
Width: 102” at bottom; 92” at top
Height: 66.5”
HomeRight also makes a smaller shelter that’s better sized for benchtop use.
Street Pricing: $50 for the large shelter, $32 for the small
Buy Now(Large Shelter via Amazon)
Buy Now(Small Shelter via Amazon
First Thoughts
This is not a replacement for a real spray booth with a fan, filtration, and space to finish larger items. But then neither are the temporary booths many folks make from studs and plastic sheeting. I could see using the Spray Shelter when finishing small batches of drawers, cabinet doors, and the like.
If you use the shelter a lot, the sides will likely eventually become stiff with overspray material. But it would almost certainly last long enough to pay for itself by reducing setup and cleanup time for small spray finishing projects.
Wayne
I’ve been eyeballing these for a while.
Steve
Could this be used for small DIY sandblasting projects?
Stuart
I very highly doubt it.
Dax
Once.
BJN
The small one could be nice to have when I’m doing projects with spray adhesive.
Hilton
I bought one of these from Rockler but the shipping was rather dear to South Africa. I was going to rig something out of an old shower curtain but that would end up being more permanent and this new contraption has the ability to be portable.
I’ll give feedback once I had the time to use it.
Koko the Talking Ape
For furniture, the large is a bit small. You need to get to all sides of a desk or credenza. A turntable would help. Or it might make sense to hang the shelter from the ceiling, and rotate IT instead of the workpiece.
The one time I had to do finish something outside, I rigged a kind of spray booth with 2″x2″ lumber and tarps. It doesn’t have to be airtight. If I had to do it again, I would use clear plastic sheeting, for better light. Of course I didn’t have any handy.
A small one might be good for boxes or bowls. Toys and cutting boards mostly use oil finishes, it seems.
David Frane
That’s why the tent has no bottom. You could spray one side of something, rotate the tent, and then spray the other. Or spray one item, lift the tent, and move on to another.
Jonathan
Great idea,
Koko the Talking Ape
That’s true, but rotating the tent as it sits on the ground without bumping the workpiece seems a little tricky. Hanging the tent so it can spin seems like a surer bet, though as RKA says, it could still end up touching the workpiece. All the more reason to have a good sized booth you can actually walk around in.
Picking the tent up to spray another piece is a good idea, except that you really need to keep the tent in place to protect the finish from dust, pollen, bugs, etc. as it dries. The tent isn’t just for keeping overspray in, it is for keeping crap out, off your expensive varnish.
RKA
Rotating the tent seems clumsy. It’s just too easy to slip and touch your work. But at least it’s an option if you’re working with a smaller piece. Building a turntable seems necessary if you need to get around the piece.
Bradley Hanstad
plus, maybe you cant spray from every side… hence needing the tent in the first place
BikerDad
Okay, so how is it DIFFERENT from a portable beach tent?
Fran
No floor
Jonathan
I think the fact that it can be completely closed while drying to keep bugs, leaves off the wet/tacky paint while drying.
Thanks Stuart in for one,
This solves a problem I’ve had didnt realize such am inexpesive solution existed. I also have a camping eating area that simlar square and tall and pops up that will be great for some larger items.
Stuart
You mean thank you to David. =)
I agree, these spray shelters are less expensive than I would have assumed.
I’ll probably be in for one myself, when I outgrow my small Ikea beach shelter. I haven’t done a lot of spraying recently, but I do have some larger products lined up. The Ikea shelter has worked well for keeping things dry and relatively protected when batch cutting outside.
Jonathan
Lol, I have a HPLV cheap graco, but I bought it for a bunch of fluted door casing/trim and crown mouldings for for doors and rooms that I’ve wanted to finish with glossy white oil paint (but my garage has been to full for five years LOL and the oil finish paint dries so slooowly. So thank you David, I’ve got some wire racks for drying that will be perfect and then momma will be very happy whem the project is finally finished
It would be cool to see a pop-up shelter [10’x10′ enclosed with tyvek and a postive HEPA filtration and ventilation, I think that it would be a bit better than visquenene (3-7 mil plastic) and since it is available in tall rolls 6’+ for house wrap and vapor barrier, easier to work with than plastic JMHO. I may try to mod up a pop-up canopy frame with zip access (dust barrier zippers) for some other larger project,
COSTCO has an incredible 13′ x 13′ popup that the have been carrying in-store the past few springs for $99-119. Been using it to wax and polish our cars (full garage) but it would be perfect wraped in tyvek with two shop vacs with HEPA Filters (one for fresh air in and the other drawing vapors out and large enough to move around and spray, add zippered access,
Stuart
I have been curious about the HomeRight myself, and have considered alternatives, such as Ikea portable/collapsible wardrobes with metal framing, fabric skin, and ways to suspend or support different types of workpieces. I bought an Ikea beach tent for $20, as a sort of proof of utility. If it works out for me, maybe I’ll order the HomeRight too. The Ikea would still have usefulness to me.
(http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30228978/)
You probably *can* use a beach tent as a portable spray shelter. But the geometry seems to be optimized for several people sitting or laying down. Maybe the fabric isn’t as resilient against paint and finish solvents of different kinds?
It’s a tough question. Do you want to save a few dollars and go with something that looks similar, or go with a product specifically designed for project painting and finish spraying applications?
I can’t tell you which is better. They could be close, but past examples of specialty products vs. similar lifestyle or home-focused products, and the specialty product often wins out.
If you could get a beach tent for half the price and comparable quality, it would be a very hard choice. But from what I can tell, beach tents of similar sizes are not appreciably less expensive.
If pricing is comparable, what reasons are there to go with a beach tent over a spray shelter?
If there were big differences in price, I might be compelled to do a head to head assessment, but there aren’t any pro-beach tent arguments I can think of. Maybe the only one is that you have more size options with beach tents?
fred
Interesting if it works well. I does get some mixed reviews on Amazon – with most complaints about pole snapping or hard set-up issues.
We often set up rain protection canopies on jobsites – and sometimes added plastic sheeting for walls. That might be an alternative to this.
Nathan
little costly for what I thought but looking at it closer it’s priced about right. what with collapsible/reusable.
Great idea.
tim Rowledge
The smaller one looks like it would make a decent photo-studio-on-a-desk too. Lights outside shining through the sides/top etc. Good for getting decent shots of your small projects in preparation for a sales webpage etc. If you don’t have the lights and so on, a search on amazon et al. for ‘desktop photo studio’ shows plenty of options.
Hang Fire
That first picture… more evidence marketing departments do not understand what they are selling.
Once a layer is sprayed on with the drawer edges shielding the face, subsequent layers on the face (with the drawers removed) will always show an edge…
Brian
Dimensions to the outside of the tent don’t help figure out what you can paint in it… also with those numbers that lady in the first picture must be 5’2″
MikeNHouston
You can build a spray booth using PVC pipe and furniture grade PVC fittings. Cover with cloth or plastic, build vent and filter, drop down front cover, or whatever. Easy to disassemble and store for the next project.
Easily found online, but here is a site.
https://formufit.com/