Paint Booth Types

🚗 Auto Paint Booth Types – What's the Difference?

Picking the right paint booth is not just a price thing. It’s about what kind of work you’re doing, how clean you want the job to be, and what your shop or garage can actually fit. Here's a straight-up breakdown of the main types—cross-draft, downdraft, semi-downdraft, and open-face—and which one makes the most sense depending on your setup.

🔄 Cross-Draft Booth

How it works:
Air comes in through the front and flows straight across the car to the back wall exhaust. Basic and affordable.

Pros:

• Cheapest type of full booth
• No floor pit needed
• Works great for general resprays and collision repair

Cons:

• More dust and overspray in the air
• Not ideal for high-end, show-quality finishes

Best for: Shops on a budget doing steady work but not worried about a perfect mirror shine.

Ideal Cross Flow Paint Booth

⬇️ Downdraft Booth

How it works:
Air drops in from the ceiling and gets pulled through a pit or floor grates under the car. Super clean setup.

Pros:

• Cleanest paint environment
• Ideal for top-notch finishes and clear coats
• Keeps overspray and dust off the car

Cons:

• Most expensive to install
• You’ll need a floor pit or raised basement section

Best for: High-end shops or anyone prioritizing flawless finishes.

Ideal Side Down Draft Paint Booth

↘️ Semi-Downdraft Booth

How it works:
Air comes in from the ceiling in the front, flows diagonally, and exits near the floor at the back.

Pros:

• Cleaner than cross-draft
• Doesn’t need a pit
• Good balance of cost and performance

Cons:

• Not as smooth or consistent as a full downdraft
• Still has more airflow variation

Best for: Mid-sized shops that want cleaner results but can’t swing full downdraft pricing or construction.

Ideal Semi Downdraft Paint Booth

🪟 Open-Face Booth

How it works:
No doors. Air flows in from the open front and out through filters in the back wall.

Pros:

• Small footprint and low cost
• Easy to roll in parts and small projects
• Fast to set up and use

Cons:

• Open front means more chance of dust
• May not meet code for full vehicle paint in some areas
• No temp control or clean airflow like sealed booths

Best for: Parts, prep work, or a DIY setup where you don’t need full booth performance.

Ideal Open Face Paint Booth

📊 How to Pick What You Need

If you're in a home garage or smaller shop, open-face or cross-draft might get the job done just fine. But if you want to offer customers a pro finish—or you’re spraying high-dollar jobs—spend the money on downdraft or at least semi-downdraft.

Bottom line: Clean airflow means cleaner paint. Pick based on the jobs you do most, not just what looks nice on paper.

Here's our 2 most popular paint booth brands - Ideal Paint Booths and M1M Paint Booths

In the market for other Autobody Equipment?  We offer many options as well as Car Rotisseries.

See Also: 

• Types of Car Lifts
• Best Car Rotators for Autobody Repair