# Washout Booth?



## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

Has anybody out there ever built their own washout booth? Or seen any plans for building one. It looks like a very simple structure (no moving parts), yet they are pretty expensive.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Many people will use an old shower stall and build legs for it. Just do a search, I'm sure you'll find examples somewhere.

I've never attempted it. If I were to build my own, I'd probably buy plastic sheeting or PVC and use lots of caulking.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

I have seen pre fab showers used as well. Already has a drain so the plumbing is easy.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Hey Richard, you bring up a key point, back lighting! It's essential!


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

not essential but helps. You can always hold the screen and look at a regualr light to see any issues with washing out or reclaiming.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I guess what I mean is, for any type of production work, it's best to have a back light, otherwise you spend too much time holding the screen up to the light.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Yes, for production work it is easier and will make the proces faster without having to move the frame back and forth.
Just not totally necessary as I did without for 3 years until I had a new one built.


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## TehCatt (Apr 12, 2007)

rusty said:


> Has anybody out there ever built their own washout booth? Or seen any plans for building one. It looks like a very simple structure (no moving parts), yet they are pretty expensive.


u ever find anything on this?


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## lost1 (May 12, 2007)

dsbrooks.com/steve/screenprint/washoutbooth.html


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

lost1 said:


> dsbrooks.com/steve/screenprint/washoutbooth.html


wow, that's really cool. I am definitely going to try that.


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## ironhead (Dec 28, 2005)

My partner and I just finished building a washout booth about two weeks ago.
Another friend gave us his old kitchen sink with the base cabinet still attached. 

-We built a back wall and two sides around the perimiter of the sink out of plywood. approx. 3 ft tall

-Then stapled ice and waterguard (a roofing product) to wrap around the inside of the newly built walls.

-Then cut to size and installed vinyl soffit on the three walls over the ice and waterguard for extra water protection and also to serve as a white background instead of having it all black.

The old plumbing under the sink in the cabinet was still there so we ran a rubber garden hose with a couple fittings to the main waterline source in the basement of the house and it's been working like a charm ever since.

We have no hot water hooked up yet but probably will do so soon.

We have about $24.00 tied up in plumbing parts and all the other stuff was free that we just had laying around.
It may not be the prettiest washout tub but it saved us at least 300 bucks plus we have drawers and a cabinet built in to store our emulsion and other things in it.


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## rusty (Feb 9, 2007)

lost1 said:


> dsbrooks.com/steve/screenprint/washoutbooth.html


I don't think that told what holds the screens in place. What is the easiest thing to use to hold the screens?


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

in the bottom of the booth we used some sort of channel metal. welded one long strip to two short ones for feet and place the screen in the channel. Something like this.


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## [email protected] (Mar 20, 2009)

If you have decent light elsewhere in your shop,back lights are not necessary, just a luxury.
Just hold the damn screen up to a florescent light on the ceiling to make sure it's properly washed out.


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## i51423 (May 9, 2008)

You don't need a backlight.. but I'd probably kill for that convenience. Ha.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

I love it when really old threads are resurrected! It makes me wonder why I didn't say something else or add to what I've already said!

Backlighting is pretty simple to do if you have any kind of clear or frosted material. If it's a steel, sink, so so easy but a sheet of frosted plastic can always be cut and sealed in place.

Anyway, you can always mount a couple small 24" fluorescent lighting fixtures to the way behind your washout sink. Quick and painless. Most likely you won't be moving the sink any time soon, so it wouldn't be an issue to not have the lighting attached to the unit. Just my .02


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## Brantgoose (Sep 7, 2008)

hey, i built a washout booth 6 months ago. It is 3 feet by 3 ft. Liquid Nails sucks for what your trying to do. Use the bathtub caulk that says you can use your bathtub in like 2 hours on it to hold your stuff in place initially than cover all the seams with a real thick coat of fiberglass resin, use that fiberglass cloth stuff also and get hardener...you can even use it to waterproof wood...I used wood but if you can find some rugged plastic beams or something it would be real nice. That stuff dries in a half hour. Mine is 3 feet by 3 feet. I used a bucket with a hose attached but you could..umm, Use a drain with a strainer....get a pvc pipe that fits the drain. get an endcap. cut a hole for the hose in the endcap and cover it with caulk and than the fiberglass. that would be better. My washout booth <---that's the one i made...if i could do it over again i would make it better though. I still am going to make a real nice exposure unit but didn't start that yet.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

Dug up this old post. I was thinking of getting a standard utility tub from Home depot and bolting thick lexan on the inside, same as the washout booths they sell for $400. The utility tubs are between $43 and $73, if you get a double. Seems like this could take all of 30 minutes to put together.


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## gmille39 (Oct 18, 2006)

I'm just thinking about getting this, mounting and sealing lexan on the inside, hooking up some pvc with filters and calling it a day. The other plans looked cool and everything, but I just don't have time to build a complicated wood frame, hooking a ton of wiring etc.


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## Brantgoose (Sep 7, 2008)

Sweet, Whatever you decide to do. Let us know how it goes.
I think you could make a cool looking washout booth with that thing. Put something flat on top of the divider for the screen to rest on...maybe a sheet of plasitc that you can take off or leave on.


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

Brantgoose said:


> Sweet, Whatever you decide to do. Let us know how it goes.
> I think you could make a cool looking washout booth with that thing. Put something flat on top of the divider for the screen to rest on...maybe a sheet of plasitc that you can take off or leave on.


Or cut the divider off


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

That's what I did. The sink cost me $109 at Home Depot. I cut the divider out with a saw and sanded it smooth with a belt sander. Leave a little of the ridge for strength.

I framed in around the sink with 2x4s, and fastened that translucent corrugated plastic used for greenhouses or cheap patio skylights around it, overlapping the edges and riveting them together. A little silicone around the bottom edge, and a fluorescent light hanging off the back for backlighting and you've got a nice, deep sink for about $150 or less. If I remember, I'll take a photo at the shop tomorrow and post it.


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## kongfish (Mar 9, 2009)

heres what I did ,
Buy the thickest plasctic sheeting you can find 
buy some fiberglass, enough to cover your bathtub
buy the resin& hardener.or some offwhite colored gel coat( boating supply store) .
line your bathtub, and just work it out to the shape of your tub , let it dry for two days and BAM.
One thing measure your tub make for damn sure you can get the mold out of the door after it is dry or don't do it.
You will need it *well vented* and don't get none anywhere or your old lady will kick your a--


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## BillyV (May 8, 2009)

Can you please post those pics?


Thanks!


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

Well, if you insist . . .

The first photo shows the end of the sink, with the framing for the corrugated surround. You'll notice my pressure washer in the front of the photo.










The second photo shows the inside of the sink. you can see where I cut out the partition in the center of the sink, making a two-tub sink into a large one-tub sink. I stuff ac/heater washable filtler media in the drain holes to capture the solid crap that sometimes washes off. When it plugs up, I just cut new ones. On the end, you can see the hose attached to one of the faucet fittings that goes to the pressure washer. The white hose I use for rinsing and stencil washout. Just beneath the green hose you can see another hose draining into the sink . . . that's the drain from my dehumidifier in the adjacent darkroom where I have my drying cabinet . . . also a homespun creation that's filtered. You can also see that I've got a fluorescent light hanging behind the back of the unit for stencil inspection.


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## kongfish (Mar 9, 2009)

nice dude,
I think I am going to do me one of those just like yours
Let me ask you a question.
Is there a process to reclaim all of your emulsions and other chemicals and different things you use, that these sinks are designed for reclaiming. I see all these high dollar sinks for sale on the web and can't figure out why they are so high.


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## Brantgoose (Sep 7, 2008)

That looks niceeee. Good Job.


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## Itsyswwd (May 19, 2009)

If you want to do a wash out bay around $100 go to Ace Hardware and they have a cheap shower setup. I cut mine in half and put it on legs. Works awsome and a lot cheaper. YOu can still put a light on the back if you need one, but I haven't found it needed yet!


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

kongfish said:


> nice dude,
> I think I am going to do me one of those just like yours
> Let me ask you a question.
> Is there a process to reclaim all of your emulsions and other chemicals and different things you use, that these sinks are designed for reclaiming. I see all these high dollar sinks for sale on the web and can't figure out why they are so high.


The plastic sinks that run from around $395 and up are just sinks. There are nice stainless steel ones, but, again, they're just sinks. There are filtering devices you can buy that pull a lot out of the waste water, but I don't think there is anything you can buy that will render the wastewater free of any chemistry. Some printers make a sand filter out of a bucket beneath their sink, pump out the cleaner water from the bottom, and claim good results. If you're on a septic tank, you've really got to get as much crap out as possible. If you've ever had to pay for a new leach field, you know why. Here in Florida, the EPA told me I couldn't install any type of service sink that would empty into a septic tank. Only household chemicals and turds are allowed. Made a difference when I looked for my shop location. I'm on a sewer, and while I only use "drain safe" screenprinting chemistry for reclaiming, I'm responsible to my landlord for not plugging up the sewer line with anything, which is why I stuff the filter media in my sink drains. I thought about putting a tub underneath to drain into, then setting a submersible pump with a float switch on a concrete block inside, so that solids would settle to the bottom, and I'd be pumping out only liquids into the sewer line, but the way I'm set up, I think I'm okay. I clean all the ink out of my screens before washout, and generally, the emulsion liquifies and washes out. I figure my trap will clog before the sewer line does.


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## InfinityINK (Oct 4, 2009)

Itsyswwd said:


> If you want to do a wash out bay around $100 go to Ace Hardware and they have a cheap shower setup. I cut mine in half and put it on legs. Works awsome and a lot cheaper. YOu can still put a light on the back if you need one, but I haven't found it needed yet!


Thanks for the sweet Idea!


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## Souls (Aug 5, 2009)

yes the cut down show stall i have seen a couple times, works great. they built a wood frame to get it off the ground and just hooked up a water filtration unit, pretty neat.


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## Relik Apparel (Jul 10, 2009)

In my opinion, this is the best home made wash booth with instructions:

PROCESS - the $60 washout booth

.


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## FiveOneSix (Sep 10, 2014)

theres no pictures =(
does anyone have pictures of this?
argh!


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