But on Thursday, April 8, Craig and Alexander, a junior from Graham High School, were working inside a new, two-car paint booth that was installed earlier this year.
“This one is a lot nicer and a lot bigger,” Alexander said.
The booth, which basically looks like several plastic sheets draped from the ceiling, can be used for several purposes. It’s ventilated, allowing it to safely remove paint fumes, and the climate can be controlled inside. While students often use it to practice painting panels or vehicles, it was being used Thursday to paint pillars that will be turned into props for the school prom later this spring. When a job is almost finished, the temperature can be turned up to bake the paint onto the finished product.
“The efficiency of it is outstanding,” said Bob Newland, who teaches the class. You can do so many things.”
Newland said he was initially planning to buy a new one-car paint booth, but as he was leaving, a consultant let him know a much larger booth could be purchased for about $20,000 more.
Shane Haggerty, communications coordinator at Ohio Hi-Point, said the school chipped in about $100,000 for the new booth. However, the remaining $80,000 was provided through the Dr. Earl Sloan Foundation, a local organization that often provides funding for equipment for the school.
Newland said the larger booth allows more students to work at the same time, as opposed to making them wait for a turn to use the equipment. In all, there are more than 20 students in the classes. Students also learn welding, sheet metal repair, painting and refinishing, among other topics in the class.
Auto Collision Technology is one of more than 20 career-technical training programs offered at the Bellefontaine campus.
After working without a paint booth all school year, Newland said the new booth has been beneficial to his students.
“Needless to say, the kids were ready to paint,” Newland said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.
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