Paint Booth Filtration Stages

Two sides of the booth, two different jobs

Paint booth filtration covers intake air, conditioned before it reaches the wet finish, and exhaust air, arrested before it leaves the building or reaches the fan. The two sides use different media for different reasons: intake keeps ambient dust off the finish, exhaust captures overspray before discharge.

Intake and ceiling filtration

Intake pre-filters condition make-up air before it reaches the booth. Where the booth uses ceiling-mounted diffuser filtration, that stage delivers the conditioned air evenly across the work area, matched to the booth's airflow pattern.

Exhaust-side overspray arrestors

Arrestor media — glass fibre, synthetic pads, or cartridge-style arrestors — is sized to the booth's airflow and the coating's solids content. Paint chemistry (solvent- versus water-based), film build, and booth design all affect which arrestor construction holds the most paint before needing replacement, and how easily it can be changed without stopping the line.

EEC can review arrestor construction and holding capacity against a stated booth and coating combination; this guide does not state that a given configuration meets a specific regulatory discharge limit.