Come scegliere il materiale filtrante Paint Stop per lo scarico della cabina di verniciatura

A paint stop filter media roll catches wet overspray before it reaches the exhaust fan, the ductwork and the outside air. In a downdraft booth it lines the floor grid. In a crossdraft booth it fills the exhaust wall. The material looks simple, and that is exactly where bulk orders go wrong.

EPA’s auto refinishing fact sheet puts spray booth exhaust filter capture of atomized coating mist at 90% to more than 99% tipicamente. That is a band for the product category, not a tested result for any model. This guide walks through the selection inputs an exhaust-side order needs: coating load, struttura mediatica, spessore, pressure drop at rated airflow, and roll format. Reference numbers come from Airy’s own PA-60 and PA-100 product sheets.

What Does Paint Stop Media Do in Spray Booth Exhaust?

Paint stop media is the last barrier between sticky overspray and your fan, duct and discharge point.

The EPA fact sheet on spray booth filters names the exhaust-side media a paint overspray arrestor. Its job is physical capture. Air leaving the painting zone carries atomized coating mist, and the arrestor holds that mist in its fiber matrix before the air exits the shop.

Location follows booth design. Downdraft booths pull air through floor or near-floor filters. Crossdraft booths place arrestors at the wall opposite the intake. The intake side does a different job, cleaning incoming air, and the split is covered in our guide to the difference between intake and exhaust filters.

Two limits belong in every buyer’s notes. Primo, ordinary exhaust media captures particles, not solvent vapor. EPA states plainly that most exhaust filters do not remove solvent vapors or VOCs from the air leaving the shop.

Secondo, a loaded arrestor degrades the whole system. Clogged media disturbs airflow, lets overspray pockets recirculate onto wet finishes, makes exhaust fans work harder, and in extreme cases lets flammable solvents collect inside the booth.

What Coating and Overspray Conditions Must You Define?

Define the coating load before discussing thickness or price; those numbers decide everything downstream.

Start with what leaves the gun. Solvent-borne primers, waterborne basecoats and high-solids clearcoats atomize differently and deposit different stickiness on the media. A booth running two shift-hours of spot repair a day loads its arrestor slowly. A line spraying full vehicle bodies loads one far faster, and a single media choice rarely serves both.

Then fix the air side: booth face velocity, fan curve and daily spray volume. EPA’s maintenance guidance notes that arrestors reach their replacement point at different rates depending on paint type, booth design, operator technique, fan speed and temperature. These conditions shape overspray load far more than any brochure adjective.

If your coatings contain a targeted hazardous air pollutant, a separate regulatory question opens. IL 40 CFR §63.11173(e)(2)(io) rule in Subpart HHHHHH requires filter technology demonstrated to capture at least 98 percent of paint overspray. Covered operations must prove compliance with the prescribed test methods. A product sheet’s average arrestance is a different measurement and does not demonstrate compliance. Confirm whether the rule reaches your operation, then require the supplier’s test documentation for the specific model.

Finalmente, decide the role of this layer within the booth’s full filtration train. Our overview of paint booth filter types maps ceiling, floor and specialty stages, so you order exhaust media knowing what the upstream layers already remove.

How Do Media Thickness, Struttura, and Paint Holding Affect Selection?

The graded fiber structure explains how the media holds paint at low resistance; weight and thickness alone do not.

Airy’s paint stop filter media is built from continuous monofilament glass fibers, spaced loosely on the incoming-air face and gradually densified toward the clean side. The product page describes this graded build in green-to-white colors, with the open side taking the bulk of the overspray. When you compare any alternative construction, ask what density structure stands behind the published arrestance and holding figures.

Thickness and weight then scale how long that structure lasts. The table below reproduces the published figures for the two standard models.

Specification	PA-60	PA-100
Filter class	G3	G4
Spessore (mm)	60±10	100±10
Peso (g/m²)	250	350
Average arrestance	90%	98%
Rated airflow at 2.0 SM (m³/h)	7,200	4,500
Iniziale / final resistance (PA)	30 / 150	50 / 200
Capacità di trattenimento della polvere (g/m²)	3,500	4,700

Figures as listed on Airy’s product page; confirm test conditions before comparing models.

PA-60 and PA-100 differ in their published thickness, average arrestance, resistance, and dust-holding figures. Their listed rated airflow also differs. Before choosing between them, ask Airy for the test method and the filter area used for each airflow rating. Then compare pressure drop at the airflow and installation area specified for your booth.

These figures apply to this product family as published, not to every roll sold as paint stop. Airy’s sheet also notes other specifications can be customized according to requirements.

How Should Airflow and Pressure Drop Be Compared?

Compare resistance curves at one airflow, and tie final pressure drop to your change-out schedule.

Any two paint stop filter media become comparable at a stated face velocity. The Airy figures above are rated at 2.0 SM, so ask each supplier for initial resistance at the velocity your booth actually draws. A resistance figure quoted at 1.0 m/s tells you nothing about behavior at 2.0 SM.

Watch the total burden across the installed area. Each layer in the filtration train adds static pressure, and the arrestor normally carries the largest share of it as it loads. Size the exhaust margin so the fan still holds booth face velocity when the media approaches its final resistance.

Then set the change-out logic on real measurements. EPA recommends readings from a manometer or magnehelic pressure gauge to drive replacement intervals according to the booth manufacturer’s specifications. Without a gauge, buyers guess, and guessed intervals either bleed media cost or starve airflow. Set the change-out point using the booth manufacturer’s instructions and the pressure drop measured across the installed filter. Confirm how the product’s published final resistance applies to that setup.

Roll Format and RFQ Details

Buy the roll format that matches your grid, then demand the data that makes quotes comparable.

Airy’s fiberglass paint stop filter media ships in standard rolls of 0.8×20 m, 1.0×20 m and 2.0×20 m. Roll width decides seam count: a wider roll may reduce seams when it matches the grid layout. Poorly sealed seams can create bypass paths, so match roll width to grid geometry before comparing prices. If the order also covers framed filters, Nostro paint booth filter sizes guide lists the opening, telaio, and depth numbers each position needs.

EPA’s fact sheet lists the formats this duty appears in: bulk and perforated rolls, blankets, pre-cut pads, cubes and bags, plus self-supported panels. Nostro fiberglass paint stop media roll covers the roll-and-blanket end of that list for floor-grid and exhaust-wall service.

Before installation day, settle the fit details with the supplier. Confirm which face of the media meets incoming air, how the roll edges seal, and where the sheet gets support on your grid. Then record a baseline gauge reading on a clean install, so your change-out target has a reference point.

Handle used media as the hazardous-adjacent waste it can be. EPA recommends respirator, gloves and coveralls during change-out, and a hazardous-waste determination before disposal, since captured paint residue can change the classification of an otherwise ordinary spent filter.

Bulk buyers rarely lack options; they lack comparable options. Put the same fields on every request and quotes line up side by side. For the exhaust stage, start from the published Airy sheet and extend it with the commercial terms below, matching the formats listed under spray booth filters and media.

• Model and class: exact designation (PA-60 or PA-100), G3/G4 grade, arrestance basis.
• Physical terms: thickness with tolerance, weight in g/m², roll width and length.
• Aerodynamic terms: initial and final resistance at the stated rating velocity.
• Evidence: the named test method behind every percentage, plus current certification and test documents from the supplier.
• Packing and logistics: rolls per bale, pallet configuration, container load, MOQ and lead time.
• Consistency: lot color and density controls across reorders, so replacement batches match the approved build-up.
• Customs and quality fallback: packing list accuracy, claim window, replacement terms.

Guangzhou Airy Filter Media Co., Ltd. has produced custom air filter media since 2009, per the company site. Ask for current certificates and test reports with your quote, and check that their stated scope covers the exact model you order.

What Should Be Checked in a Sample Trial?

A sample answers three questions: does it fit, does it flow, does it last as quoted.

Unroll first and measure. Check thickness against the 60±10 mm or 100±10 mm tolerance and confirm the green-to-white density gradient through the cross-section. Then verify roll width and length against the order sheet, before any glue touches your grid.

Then run the booth. Record the clean-initial gauge reading, spray your normal loads, and log resistance at fixed intervals. The two observations that decide the purchase: how fast the media approaches the final-resistance target, and where within the thickness the overspray collects while that happens.

Compare the trial against your current media on equal spray volume, not calendar days. When the numbers hold, order against the approved sample. Keep the retained piece, and cite its date and your test readings on the purchase document, so the first bulk lot has a physical standard to match.

Domande frequenti

Pensieri finali

Choosing paint stop filter media is a specifications exercise, not a catalog exercise. Posizione, coating load, rated velocity and change-out pressure drop define the shortlist; spessore, dust holding and roll format then narrow it to one model. Compare suppliers on the same fields and keep an approved sample as your reorder standard.

Send Airy your coating type, exhaust airflow, roll dimensions and target performance to discuss a suitable paint stop media sample and quote. More options are listed in the Airy Filter air filtration range, and the same page links the full spray booth line.