Learned the hard way that cheap paint booth filters aren't worth it

Bought a bulk pack of those no-name booth intake filters for $40 instead of the usual $120 ones and ended up with dust nibs in a $3,000 pearl job on a '67 Mustang - has anyone else gambled on budget supplies and gotten burned?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_tara2d ago

Yeah, I feel you on that "learned the hard way" part. I did the same thing with a set of cheapo pre-filters and got fisheyes in a custom silver metallic job. Now I just bite the bullet on the name brand ones, the peace of mind is worth the extra cash for sure.

the_mia2d ago

Nah I actually disagree with the whole "just buy name brand" thing. I've been running those cheap no-name filters from Amazon for like 2 years now on my booth and never had a dust nib issue. The problem isn't always the filter itself, it's how you install them and how often you swap them out. You gotta check the seal around the edges and make sure nothing is bypassing the filter media. Also if you run them past their lifespan they start letting stuff through no matter what brand they are. I think a lot of people blame the cheap filters when really it's something else in their setup causing the problem.