With the help of State Farm Insurance, the Montana State University-Northern Auto Body Department has been able to install a new, advanced spray booth.

"We were able to afford the spray booth because State Farm donated four cars to us. I would really like to show those people our appreciation," says Darryll Thackeray, Professor and Dean of the College of Technical Sciences at MSU-Northern. Students in the Auto Body Department rebuilt the donated vehicles, which were then put up for bids. The department contributed the proceeds to the MSU-Northern Foundation until the accumulation of money was sufficient to purchase the spray booth.

The new spray booth is unlike the old in that at draws air from outside the building. A furnace heats the air and a blower sends it through two sets of filters into a well-lighted, pressurized booth. The air temperature is gauged and can be held within two degrees of the proper temperature. The new spray booth holds several important advantages over the old one. First, it uses outside air, which ensures that shop contaminants do not ruin paint jobs. The booth is also well sealed and exhaust is vented to the outdoors. "The new spray booth reduces the over-spray that settles onto the vehicle. That makes for a better paint job," says Willie Wegner, a Diesel Technology major at MSU-Northern.

A further advantage of the new spray booth is that the furnace can heat air up to 180 degrees to bake a paint job.  “With the old spray booth, a car would have to sit all day, waiting for the paint to dry,” explains Thackeray.  “With the new booth, we can move many more cars through in a day.”  The enhanced efficiency, of the new spray booth will offer MSU-Northern students increased opportunities to practice their skills.

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