3M Dirt Trap Protection System.
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Just wondered if anyone on here has any views on the 3M Dirt Trap System.
A couple of you have recommended booth paper, and this seems like a progression from that – a self adhesive fabric type paper to line the booth walls, which will keep them clean and trap airborne dust. It can be used on the floor too.
It might be exactly like the products you guys have mentioned before, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. Seems like a cracking idea to me, and I’m pretty set on giving it a go.
http://3mcollision.com/products/featured-products/dirt-trap
i use it in my booth on the walls, not the floor. now prior to this i was powerwashing the booth, using paper on the floor and coating the walls with a tacky booth coating. that all worked great. i switched to the 3m stuff and i will say this, its expensive initally but it actually turns out to be sooooo much cheaper in the long run its not funny and it works just as well. now i can clean the booth in a fraction of the time because i dont have to powerwash it, wit for it to dry and apply the booth coating. they tell you it lasts 3 months. i have had mine on my booth walls now for atleast a year. its finally about due to be changed. when i sweep the floor i just take a fairly clean broom and brush the walls off. the stuff thats trapped brushes off fairily easy and your good to go. i still put booth paper down on the floor and that gets changed with the filters. i like the floor to be nice and clean each booth cleaning. to change the 3m stuff on the floor every time would get extremely expensive. i have heard they were comming out with it in wide rolls for the floor. i have still not tried ryan’s carpeting for the floor. i’ve looked around but cant find it wide enough to do my floor. homedepot and lowes here only have it 12ft wide and i dont want to seam it. if i could find it i would be all over that as it seems like it would be just like the dirt trap system.
Thanks Jim. A comprehensive review and just what I wanted to hear.
The main problem will be getting the high initial cost past my boss, but I’m hoping to convince him with the productivity angle. I have one guy that spends most of his day just demasking and polishing the jobs I’ve painted. If this stuff cuts down on the dirt nibs, and saves us just 10 minutes polishing time on each job, that’ll add up to anything from 10 – 16 hours a week he could be doing something more productive instead. Then of course there should be less booth down time for cleaning (something we simply can’t afford).
I like the idea of brushing it down too – that ought to help it last even longer.
[quote=”jim c” post=20775]i use it in my booth on the walls, not the floor. now prior to this i was powerwashing the booth, using paper on the floor and coating the walls with a tacky booth coating. that all worked great. i switched to the 3m stuff and i will say this, its expensive initally but it actually turns out to be sooooo much cheaper in the long run its not funny and it works just as well. now i can clean the booth in a fraction of the time because i dont have to powerwash it, wit for it to dry and apply the booth coating. they tell you it lasts 3 months. i have had mine on my booth walls now for atleast a year. its finally about due to be changed. when i sweep the floor i just take a fairly clean broom and brush the walls off. the stuff thats trapped brushes off fairily easy and your good to go. i still put booth paper down on the floor and that gets changed with the filters. i like the floor to be nice and clean each booth cleaning. to change the 3m stuff on the floor every time would get extremely expensive. i have heard they were comming out with it in wide rolls for the floor. i have still not tried ryan’s carpeting for the floor. i’ve looked around but cant find it wide enough to do my floor. homedepot and lowes here only have it 12ft wide and i dont want to seam it. if i could find it i would be all over that as it seems like it would be just like the dirt trap system.[/quote]
Good review…
Do you find it to actually keep the booth cleaner than the sprayable coating?
ben, well compared to the sprayable stuff as far as the jobs being cleaner its pretty much the same. the sprayable stuff i was using was evercoat’s tackycoat which stayed slimy on the walls of the booth. that stuff certaintly did work. you would not believe what you would find stuck to the walls after a week. problem with that stuff is its expensive because you have to wash it off and reapply every booth cleaning or 2 weeks. the price adds up where the 3m is just once or twice a year to put it on. as i said too booth cleaning time is cut in half or more. all in all though compared to having nothing on the walls or just a nontacky booth coating…yes there is a difference. you do get cleaner jobs with it. i think it would make a really big difference if it was used on the floor too, i’m just not paying for it. thats the expensive part to do since it will need to be changed often.
[quote=”jim c” post=20788]ben, well compared to the sprayable stuff as far as the jobs being cleaner its pretty much the same. the sprayable stuff i was using was evercoat’s tackycoat which stayed slimy on the walls of the booth. that stuff certaintly did work. you would not believe what you would find stuck to the walls after a week. problem with that stuff is its expensive because you have to wash it off and reapply every booth cleaning or 2 weeks. the price adds up where the 3m is just once or twice a year to put it on. as i said too booth cleaning time is cut in half or more. all in all though compared to having nothing on the walls or just a nontacky booth coating…yes there is a difference. you do get cleaner jobs with it. i think it would make a really big difference if it was used on the floor too, i’m just not paying for it. thats the expensive part to do since it will need to be changed often.[/quote]
Interesting…just pressure washed the booth yesterday and reapplied the standard spray coating. Easy enough job, all in all. However, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of this 3M film. Does the film feel tacky? Is it relatively durable (won’t rip easy if something touches the wall).
We use magnetic stands that attach to the walls for our blowers, so we need the product on the wall to be able to allow us to move the magnetic stands around and not destroy our protection.
powerwashing isn’t a big deal for sure but imagine just brushing off the walls, ripping up and changing whatever you use on the floor, changing filters and your back in business. one guy maybe 30-45 minutes. as far as the material. its very durable. its actually a self adhesive fuzzy fabric. probably as durable as an old cheap t-shirt or maybe duct tape. the front/fuzzy side is not tacky at all.
I was talking to my Mirka technical rep today, and he said he knows of 3 shops that are ripping this system out as it’s causing them problems. Apparently the fibres in the film are getting into their jobs.
Now since he’s 3M’s main rival here, I’m taking his comments with a pinch of salt, but have you noticed anything similar Jim? Certainly the sample of film I was left doesn’t show any signs of the fibres coming loose.
ha thats funny. no fibers dont come loose. look at ryan, he has damn carpet on the floor and he obviously doesnt have a problem. i have never had a fiber stuck in anything. 3m is pretty good about shit like that. i think its been pretty well tested. in any case its not like a paint system thats stuck in your shop under contract. line the booth, if it doesnt work for you, when it gets dirty pull it off. nothing lost.
I tried using the 3M paper on my new booth but it kept falling off so I gave up and sprayed on a coating.
I demoed this system and the pieces the 3m rep put on fell off also. Granted the booth walls had a coating on them and weren’t perfectly clean. The theory sounds great, I have been thinking of giving it a go myself. It takes half a day for me to clean my booth and coat it.
Btw, the carpet on the floor works way better than the paper. :p Jim, don’t worry about the seam in the carpet the glue will hold it down fine. Mine is seamed down the middle and has not lofted up anywhere, and I’m not gentle on it at all. In fact mine is just now getting to the point where an area in the front of the booth could used replaced as its a bit crusty. And I paint every car at that end.
funny my stuff has been up on my walls for a year now and has not come off. a corner or two is maybe a little loose but that is it. my walls were really clean. in the instructions your supposed to give the booth an inital clean and prepping to get everything nice and clean first so it will accept the fabric. if you have overspray on the walls then they will need a light sanding to smooth everything out. no different that cleaning a surface for masking tape to stick to really. if its dirty its gonna fall off. once the booth is cleaned and prepped right you should have no issues with it comming off. ryan, i will get there with the carpet. i just keep putting it off. i’m going into my slow time of year now so maybe this winter i will switch. ryan, is your carpet glued down to the floor or do you just have it seamed?
[quote=”jim c” post=20817]funny my stuff has been up on my walls for a year now and has not come off. a corner or two is maybe a little loose but that is it. my walls were really clean. in the instructions your supposed to give the booth an inital clean and prepping to get everything nice and clean first so it will accept the fabric. [/quote]
That’s one thing the rep did stress to me – the first application will take ages as the booth interior needs to be prepped as well as any surface you were going to paint. Sanded, degreased, tacked off even.
Consequent changes should be much quicker though, as when the old film is peeled off the surface underneath should be ready for new film straight away, except for perhaps the odd spot here and there.
The carpet is glued down. When it needs replaced you just have to pull it up and put more glue down.
I only swept and vacuumed the floor before putting the glue down. I left the built up overspray on it, that way if I pulled it up the glue should come off easier.
Also keep checking on craigslist for a cheap used carpet extractor. They work great for a real good cleaning of the carpet once a month or so. Only takes about 20 minutes. Also you will be shocked when you vacuum it how much it will pull out of the carpet just after a day or two.
All good to know, thanks
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