Paint Shop

Fires in paint shops are often difficult for firefighters to extinguish and therefore frequently result in a heavy loss. A prime reason for the cause and severity of these fires is the flammable liquids involved. 

To reduce the risk of a fire starting in the paint shop—as well as to minimize the severity should one ignite—use Eagle safety cans for dispensing flammable liquids. While safety cans are a great start, they need to be stored properly too. Store Eagle safety cans securely and safely in one of our flammable liquid safety cabinets. Self-closing devices on both minimize spills from the safety cans as well as ensure that safety cabinet doors will be closed in the event of a fire.

Eagle safety cabinets are available in a wide range of capacities to store from 2 gallons up to 90 gallons of flammable liquids. Numerous configuration options allow for centralized storage, storage at the work area, or both. And for non-flammable hazardous liquid storage, poly cabinets are an excellent choice.

Cleaning parts is important during paint and body work projects. But because of toxic or flammable cleaning solutions, this task can create a fire hazard in the paint shop. Additionally, containers of parts cleaning solution may be a health hazard as well as create a dangerous spill.

Eagle plunger cans are suitable when only a small amount of cleaner is required. They provide controlled dispensing and drain any surplus cleaner back into the can. Available in galvanized steel and HDPE, they are range from 1 quart to 1 gallon in size.

For parts washing and rinsing, use Eagle safety bench cans. Constructed of galvanized steel with a baked-on powder coat finish, they feature a flame arrester dasher screen and pump assemblies. Push down the plate to dispense small amounts of liquid to moisten sponges or cleaning cloths without the risk of spill. Bench cans are FM approved and range in size from 1 quart to 2 gallons.

In paint shops, leaks and spills can become an everyday occurrence. But uncontained spills of any variety can rapidly become a much larger problem.

Eagle provides multiple solutions to help you manage and contain spills. Use our affordable line of HDPE spill trays, drip pans and sumps for small spills. If your shop is removing a fuel tank before painting a vehicle, Eagle PVC Quick-Deploy™ SpillNEST™ containment berms can be placed underneath to contain the contents of the tank. Prevent contamination from leaking hoses with Eagle DripNEST™ hose wraps made of durable, chemically resistant materials integrated with a sorbent pad. It absorbs leaks from hoses and fittings from 2 to 10 inches in size.

Sometimes small spills quickly turn into a large safety and/or environmental problem. When not properly contained, hazardous or dangerous chemicals may enter storm drains and other waterways and contaminate the environment. Don’t let harmful paints go down the drain. Eagle has you covered with durable, chemical resistant drain covers and catch basin filters for storm drains.

After cleaning up spills, always properly dispose of the cleanup materials according to hazardous waste disposal procedures. Eagle salvage drums provide an easy means of containing and securing the used spill response materials. Available in 20- to 95-gallon capacities, salvage drums feature secure lids and chemical-resistant construction. They are also useful for storing spill response equipment for your paint shop.

Paint shops use large quantities of liquids to paint and repair vehicles and products. Pigments, extenders, binders, thinners, lacquers, solvents, and additives are just a few of the liquid chemicals that are involved in the painting process. For commonly used products, it is often economical and efficient to store and dispense them from drums.

Drums are great for your paint shop because they hold large capacities, yet are movable and, with the right equipment, easy to handle. However, they do create the potential to cause a sizable spill and problem in your paint shop. When drums are haphazardly stored and handled, incidents happen. Almost all issues with drums can be avoided with the correct equipment.

Eagle’s drum dollies with four casters provide a safe and convenient way to move drums around the paint shop. The drum remains upright, and the worker is not required to support any of its weight. Eagle also supplies vertical and horizontal drum lifters which allow you to safely maneuver drums via your lifting equipment.

Drums need protection from the elements and environment. In the paint shop, it is important to keep drum tops clear of water, overspray, and other contaminants to protect the integrity of the drum. Eagle drum covers are an excellent way to guard the drum top while it is on the dolly. For outside drum storage, Eagle’s drum tarps let you safely cover varying amounts of drums. Keep drums out of standing water with drum trays, which can also contain up to one gallon of drips and spills.

Protect drums of flammable liquids from fires with our flammable liquid safety cabinets for up to 2 drums. For spill protection, drum containment pallets and accumulation centers are designed to accommodate anywhere from 1 to 8 drums.

Oily or solvent soaked rags are often used in paint shops. But these can be dangerous if not disposed of properly. When discarded in a pile, the flammable chemicals on the rags can oxidize and produce heat. If the heat builds, the pile of rags can burst into flames in spontaneous combustion.

Eagle supplies foot-operated, self-closing oily waste cans for effective, temporary containment of oily rags. The HDPE container prevents the rags from reaching potential ignition sources while also reducing the oxygen flow within the can.  Resistant to most chemicals and FM approved, the hands-free can features a leak-tested construction and a flared base for stability. Oily waste cans for paint shops are available in multiple sizes and colors.

Many people may not consider the parking lots and vehicle traffic areas around the paint/body shop to be a risky location. But they are. The National Safety Council reports accidents in parking areas kill hundreds and injure thousands each year.

At a body shop, people are often unsure as to where they are supposed to go or may be distracted by their phone. In the plant paint shop, workers may be complacent because of their familiarity of the area.  Before they know it, they have struck something—or worse, someone—with their vehicle.

Eagle helps reduce these risks while pleasing customers and employees alike who will appreciate well-marked travel areas around your paint/body shop. Improve your vehicle flow and safety by defining travel lanes with Eagle’s steel bollards, poly guide-posts, clearance bars, and parking stops.

In addition to protecting your customers and employees, Eagle also helps you protect their vehicles. While moving about the paint shop, there are many opportunities in which a vehicle can strike an object, damaging the vehicle as well as potentially damaging the structure. Shield these spots with Eagle’s plastic column and pole protectors, bollard covers, and wall and corner guards.

Your paint shop produces a lot of refuse. The masking paper alone can fill several industrial waste carts a day. One of the keys to managing refuse is to deal with it properly at the point where it is generated. When refuse is left lying around, it causes several problems. If it is combustible, it becomes a fire hazard. Additionally, it can cause slips and falls or mask unseen hazards.

It also looks sloppy. When customers and potential customers see your paint shop, you want them to feel confident about your services, which is easier when your shop is clean and neat.

Eagle’s industrial waste carts help you easily manage the waste generated by your body shop. The wheeled carts are quick and easy to move and dump. Available in 65- and 95-gallon models, Eagle’s industrial waste carts offer a great solution to efficiently managing your waste stream.

Your paint shop is a bustling place with vehicles and parts moving in and out of paint booths and prep areas. Technicians are always on the move, and there may be customers coming and going as they drop off and collect their vehicles. In short, the pedestrian/vehicle interface is continuous.

Generally, people do not expect problems because it is a parking and service area. The vehicles should be moving slowly, and everyone should be aware of one another. But this isn’t always the case.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nearly half of all workplace injuries involving pedestrians occur in parking lots. People, pedestrians, and drivers get distracted. It only takes an instant of distraction for a vehicle and pedestrian to collide.

A key to preventing auto vs. pedestrian incidents is well-marked pedestrian crossing areas around the paint shop. Collapsible barricades marking pedestrian crossings are a highly visible and convenient way to identify crossing locations. Their easy deployment and pick-up also allow you to change pedestrian crossing areas corresponding to your service load.

Aerosol cans are widely used in paint shops, and more and more painters are using them for small or hard-to-reach jobs. But this may be dangerous; after use, aerosol cans remain a potential hazard in the workplace.

With contents that are under pressure and often flammable, they pose a risk if punctured or exposed to fire. An aerosol can rocketing violently around the paint shop can cause an injury or fire.  

In addition to their hazardous quality, aerosol cans also become part of the waste stream. Justrite offers a solution to this problem with environmentally friendly Aerosolv® Aerosol Can Recycling Systems. The easy-to-operate device enables you to quickly depressurize the can and safely drain the contents, transforming it into safe, recyclable steel. This saves disposal costs and creates a more sustainable workplace.

Your paint shop generates a large amount of waste every day: masking paper and tape, Tyvek suits, and masks, just to name a few. Many of these materials are highly combustible when given fuel, heat and oxygen.  Justrite’s Cease-Fire® series of waste cans provides the rugged dependability of steel cans with a self-extinguishing lid. The unique design uses smoke from the fire to cut off its supply of oxygen, ending potential workplace fires quickly and effectively.

The Cease-Fire receptacle is available in sizes ranging from 12- to 55-gallons.

Your paint shop may use gas cylinders for many tasks like cutting and welding. The compressed gas cylinders have enormous stored potential energy. The weak point of a gas cylinder is the cylinder valve assembly. Because of its exposed position, it does not take an inordinate amount of force to shear it off. If this happens, the cylinder depressurizes violently, causing it to literally rocket through anything in its path, causing injuries, fire and even death.   

Justrite has the gas cylinder equipment that allows you to manage your paint shop’s gas cylinders safely and efficiently. Move cylinders about the area and secure them in place with gas cylinder hand trucks, carts, and forklift cylinder pallet racks. Secure stationary cylinders with a wide selection of cylinder storage brackets and stands and cage cabinet lockers.

Paint shops are noisy. Orbital sanders run continuously, and other pneumatic tools add short bursts of high-decibel noise. When the noise is multiplied by several of these devices operating concurrently, the noise level can reach a point where it can permanently damage hearing.

Use Justrite QuietSite™ sound barriers to absorb and shield sound and reduce the perceived sound level by half. This protects your employees’ hearing and keeps your shop noise level manageable. Basic and premium panels and kits are available and can be configured for multiple sizes and applications.

Operating a paint shop requires all manner of utilities to crisscross the service area. You have compressed air drops, power cables, and hydraulic hoses that need to reach their end use point.

Running cords, wires, and hoses in the paint shop can be challenging. When the installation is a renovation or upgrade, often there is no choice but to run them over the floor/ground where they are subject to personnel and vehicle traffic.

Checkers’ cable protection covers and ramps are designed to suit any application—from your offices to your paint booth. Depending on the amount of vehicle traffic you expect, Checkers has heavy-duty and medium-duty cable covers with up to five channels.

For pedestrian areas, light-duty, low-profile, and ADA-compliant cable covers reduce tripping hazards while protecting your cords, wires, and hoses.

Allowing vehicles to drive over hoses is never advisable. Checkers offers an efficient solution with hose bridges and tunnel systems for both temporary or permanent applications. With either, your hoses are protected while allowing vehicles to pass safely over them. Hoses need not be an obstruction or inconvenience to vehicle travel in your paint shop.

For temporary use, the Diamondback® hose bridge system is the perfect answer. It deploys quickly and has easy pick-up. For permanent installation, custom design your own hose protection system with the Diamondback® series of tunnels, connectors, and ramps. All the Diamondback® options are available to accommodate 3.5” to 6.5” inside-diameter hoses.

Every paint shop technician wants a stable platform on which to work. But a body shop may have vehicles that have been damaged in an accident or a factory paint shop may have parts on rolling carts. All these need to be stabilized prior to painting. If a vehicle or large part moves suddenly while being worked on, the result can be tragic.

Chocking vehicle wheels often can be a necessity, but it is always the safest thing to do. Checkers’ line of wheel chocks is suitable for every situation. Quickly secure the heaviest of equipment with Checkers’ highly durable, yet lightweight, polyurethane heavy-duty wheel chocks. They are rated to hold loads of just over 100 tons to over 400 tons. For more everyday vehicles, Checkers’ general purpose rubber wheel chocks are the answer and are available in chained pairs.

Paint shops are always a busy place. Vehicles and parts are constantly moving in and out for painting. With the mix of people and vehicles around the paint shop, it is critical to safety that vehicle speed through these congested spaces be controlled. This is necessary for several safety reasons, but chief among them is the distracted driver.

It should be expected that drivers will be distracted a fair amount of time while they are driving on the road. But around your paint shop’s travel and parking areas, they may be even more so because of the perceived safety of these areas. Checkers’ comprehensive line of speed-control devices help to both reduce vehicle speed and refocus the distracted driver.

Help improve safety in your paint/body shop with Checkers’ speed bumps and speed humps. Speed bumps and alley bumps are available in 4-ft. and 6-ft. models, with a 9-ft. speed bump offered. Speed humps are an excellent solution where a uniform, consistent profile and a smooth, safe ride is desired. And many of Checkers’ speed bumps and humps are constructed from 100% recycled materials.

Paint shop employees spend a significant amount of time on their feet. What they are standing on makes a difference, both in their energy and comfort. Research confirms that anti-fatigue mats have a positive effect on productivity and satisfaction, in addition to reducing injuries and illnesses associated with long-term standing.

Anti-fatigue mats are one of the simplest, yet highly effective, ways to improve working conditions in your paint/body shop. Just install the mats, and employees will stand on them. And your technicians will quickly notice the improvement over an uncovered floor or inferior mat.

NoTrax’s selection of mat systems lets you custom design your working surface solution with pre-cut sizes, custom cut-to-length mats, rolls, and tiles available. If non-slip is a requirement, NoTrax provides the same degree of flexibility. And, many NoTrax mats are constructed from 100% recycled materials.

When someone enters your paint/body shop, the entry mat is often the first thing they encounter. So, the idea is to make a nice first impression with a professionally designed and manufactured entry mat. It should literally be a “welcome mat” to your paint shop.

But entry mats can do so much more. They can, and should, provide a nice, stable, non-slip surface when someone enters. This is of the utmost importance for safety. Often your customers may be running in from the rain. Even on a normal day, think about those who may be disabled or are unsteady on their feet. Providing a surface with positive footing is key to preventing slips and falls—and potentially preventing liability as well.

Entry mats can also assist with the overall appearance of your paint/body shop, and not just at the point of entry. By design, they reduce the amount of dirt, mud, and water from intruding further into the interior.

NoTrax entry mats can serve multiple functions—helping you make a good impression while keeping your service areas clean and safe. All of your entry mat needs are covered with outdoor mats, recessed mats, hard surface mats, and custom logo mats.

Electricity is never without risk. One, it is a prime cause of fire. And two, it also kills or injures thousands of people each year through electrocution.

Within your paint shop, there is all manner of electrical equipment with ample power to injure personnel—perhaps even fatally—should an electrical fault occur. Therefore, when using electrical service equipment that has heavy power consumption, it is important to install it on an insulated surface to reduce the risk of electrical shock. NoTrax’s switchboard mats are rated for 20,000 volts and up.

Available in several roll sizes and colors, our mats offer the electrical safety required for your high-voltage service equipment.  NoTrax switchboard mats also provide enhanced traction and easy cleaning.