# SDTM Cary Hardy: Pinball Clear Coating Booth on a Budget **Source:** Straight Down the Middle **Type:** video **Published:** 2019-02-26 **Duration:** 14m 7s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axW2c4TPTG0 --- ## Analysis Carrie Hardy demonstrates how to build a budget-friendly clear coating booth (kill room) for pinball playfield restoration using PVC pipe, tarps, and air filters totaling ~$70. The 25 sq ft setup uses intake/exhaust fans to manage dust and fumes while maintaining positive airflow, requires 69 feet of 3/4-inch PVC pipe, and can be disassembled and stored for reuse. Hardy emphasizes the design is functional rather than optimal, providing a template others can improve upon. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Total materials and tools cost approximately $70 — _Host explicitly states cost range at video opening and in build planning phase_ - [HIGH] Booth requires 69 feet of 3/4-inch PVC pipe to build to specifications shown — _Host performs detailed mathematical breakdown: 5ft perimeter + 20ft on top + 5ft center brace + 24ft height = 69ft total_ - [HIGH] Booth dimensions are approximately 25 square feet with interior headroom of 6-6.5 feet — _Host repeatedly references 25 sq ft footprint and specifies 3ft height measurement on two sides enabling comfortable standing_ - [MEDIUM] 20x20x1 air filters are the cheapest option available for intake/exhaust setup — _Host mentions this during filter selection but provides no comparative pricing data or source verification_ - [HIGH] The setup can be broken down, rolled up, and stored for later reuse — _Host explicitly states this as a key advantage over previous canopy setup at multiple points_ ### Notable Quotes > "when I say that I mean you essentially give a bunch of space in your garage to your wife and she takes it" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~0:45 > _Sets comedic tone and establishes motivation for space-efficient design_ > "I call it a kill room because it always makes me think I'm uh Dexter whenever I'm setting this damn thing up" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~2:00 > _Personal anecdote explaining the terminology; references Dexter TV show_ > "so looking at who 69 dudes so 69 ft of PVC is what you will need" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~3:15 > _Key technical specification for replicating the build; includes exact PVC calculation_ > "I don't want it on there" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~4:20 > _Emphasizes contamination prevention rationale for intake/exhaust system_ > "if I don't have enough exhaust then I'm going to be getting getting all my Vapors and fumes into the rest of my garage and into my home and we don't want that" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~6:45 > _Safety justification for balanced intake/exhaust airflow design_ > "this design is not for best this is basically what is sufficient and will get the job done" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~8:45 > _Explicitly sets expectations that booth is functional template, not optimized solution_ > "we are getting closer and closer to Texas pinball festival and I am on crunch time to get certain machines ready to go" > — **Carrie Hardy**, ~9:30 > _Contextualizes video urgency; references upcoming major industry event_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Carrie Hardy | person | Pinball content creator and YouTube personality; host of this Straight Down the Middle pilot episode; demonstrates DIY clear coat booth construction for playfield restoration | | Straight Down the Middle | media | Pinball-focused YouTube channel; this is described as a 'pilot episode' for Hardy's series on the show | | Texas Pinball Festival | event | Major pinball industry event; Hardy references being 'on crunch time' to prepare machines for the upcoming festival | | Dexter | product | TV series referenced as cultural touchstone for why Hardy calls the booth a 'kill room' | ### Topics - **Primary:** DIY pinball restoration equipment and workspace setup, Budget-conscious pinball hobby projects, Clear coat application and contamination control, HVAC/airflow management for paint booths - **Secondary:** Texas Pinball Festival preparation, Straight Down the Middle content strategy ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.82) — Hardy is enthusiastic and encouraging throughout, using humor to make the topic accessible. Self-deprecating jokes ('if I were smarter') and casual tone create inviting educational atmosphere. No criticism of manufacturers, competitors, or community members. Practical, problem-solving mindset emphasizes encouragement for viewers to attempt projects. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Carrie Hardy producing educational DIY content for pinball community, demonstrating commitment to knowledge-sharing and accessibility of restoration projects (confidence: high) — Entire video structured as instructional guide with precise measurements, cost estimates, and explicit invitation for viewers to replicate and improve upon the design - **[event_signal]** Texas Pinball Festival approaching with multiple machines requiring preparation; content creators actively documenting work (confidence: high) — Hardy states: 'we are getting closer and closer to Texas pinball festival and I am on crunch time to get certain machines ready to go' and mentions attempting to document projects despite time constraints --- ## Transcript do you want to clear coat your Playfield but do you have a lack of space and you have a lack of funds then this video is for you [Music] what's up guys and welcome to my pilot episode for straight down the middle my name is Carrie Hardy and I talk and do everything pinball if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below for those of you that are married or even in relationship for that matter you know by now that it's a give and take and when I say that I mean you essentially give a bunch of space in your garage to your wife and she takes it so right now I'm really lacking on space but I need to get some stuff done including clear coating some playfields so I need to set up a kill room and I need to do this with a lack of space and of course I want to spend the least amount of money as possible now I'm going to be doing this a little bit different than I have in the past I have used a canopy in the past but that honestly takes up a lot more room in my garage and a lot of that room is just unnecessary and two I was unable to open my garage to door all the way which did not make my other half very happy either so we are going to be building a room this time around that gives me complete access to opening the garage door as well as taking up only about 25 Square ft tools and materials are going to run you I'd say around the $70 range so we are doing pretty good but one of the perks about this is that it can be broken down and stashed for later so depending on how you break it down roll it all up and store it this can be reused so let's start building this sucker you want to start out by laying a tarp on the floor this is about a I want to say a 6t x 5T tarp then I have 3/4 in PVC pipe that I am cutting to the appropriate measurements which I will go over later but this is a time lapse footage showing you the progress and the amount of effort put into putting this thing together honestly this would be even easier if I had someone else helping me out but I don't so therefore I'm doing it by myself and therefore it took more effort and a little more [Music] time all right let's see what we got on the perimeter that way you can get a good look at what this thing looks like uh it's essentially about 25 Square ft guys I mean that's the size of this little clean room here I call it a kill room because it always makes me think I'm uh Dexter whenever I'm setting this damn thing up so you come in here Playfield would be right here this gives me room to step forward and lean over and shoot downward like this all over the Playfield you got materials this is what we got going on here just these pieces right here I didn't want too many couplings or joints because essentially that's just a weak point if you want this thing to be even more durable then up to a/ in instead of the 3/4 that I used all we've got is 5T PVC 5T 5T and then 5T on this side so 5 ft all the way around uh due to I want the ability to stand up and this also determines how tall you are and how comfortable you want to be while you're in your kill room but I've got basically 3 ft and then 3 ft right here this gives me a little over right there close to if not 661 to be comfortably standing up without any issues and going across here I've got 2 and 1/2 ft with your uh elbow right here and then 2 and 1/2 ft and then off the center right here I've Got 5 ft so I'll do the math and everything so that way you can get a better idea of how many feet that you need to purchase without having to purchase as much as I did all right let's do the math on this damn thing let me boot up my calculator we've got 5T all the way around plus another 20 on top including the middle brace bar in the middle that's another 5 ft then you got to include the height that's 24 so looking at who 69 dudes so 69 ft of PVC is what you will need in order to build it to the specifications that I have done today and that's essentially it now it's time to set up the intake and exhaust for health reasons all right all right so what you want is a 20x 20x one air filter the cheapest one you can find it's going to work it's going to do what you need to do all I'm really worried about is just keeping the big dust particles any kind of insects or you know any kind of debris anything that can get on my Playfield [ __ ] it up I don't want it on [Music] there so I'm using just regular old good old duct tape and I am taping completely around this air filter now once again this process would be much easier if I had somebody else on the other side for me to be able to press up against it to tape it down to where it just makes it easier but I don't all by myself if I were smarter then I would have made it to where that filter was touching closer to the ground but since I'm not I'm going to have to adjust accordingly so once you get the fan completely taped around the air filter and that air filter is completely taped onto your wall then the next process is going to be getting the electrical hooked up and getting in this intake and testing it to make sure it functions the way you want it to and the way we want it to is we want to see this tint in flate that shows positive intake well that's another not so smart idea on my part what would really help the intake is if I cut a hole so this is something that you need to do as well so we're going to cut right here and now it can breathe so there we go so now you can tell that I've got air coming in because now the tent is starting to inflate all right we've got intake but now we need to get rid of the bad [ __ ] so essentially all we're going to do is set up an exhaust fan like this but it's going to be sucking the air out of this tent and out my garage into the outside air I'm not going to have it on the other side of the tent blowing into my garage that wouldn't make much sense so that's what we're going to do now the same process is going to be done on my exhaust the exhaust is essentially the same thing but it's going to be getting rid of all the bad fumes and toxicity that is going to be built up in this room from the clear coat so exactly how we did it earlier tape on your air filter completely all the way around it and then tape your fan making sure that the fan is sucking out and blowing out all the bad air that's the direction that you want to set your fan up once you have a decent seal for the fan onto the air filter then we're going to check for negative pressure just like the intake please make sure that you cut the wall that is on the other side so that way the exhaust can actually function by sucking out the air then once that's been cut off and no longer any kind of obstacle can be in its way we will then check for negative pressure so I know my exhaust is working because I've got negative pressure negative pressure now once I hook up the intake and exhaust that should equalize it but I still have all the bad air going out and good air coming in now in order to get this to where I don't have the garage door completely open if I so wish to do that depending on what the Carl Weathers is I don't have to have the garage door completely open and I still got the exhaust able to blow out outside intake exhaust both see it's pretty it's pretty damn equal it's not blowing out and it's not sucking in if it's sucking in too much then I'm going to be getting possible particles and dust coming in and going right on my play field if I don't have enough exhaust then I'm going to be getting getting all my Vapors and fumes into the rest of my garage and into my home and we don't want that so let's get a better lay out here let's get this getaway Playfield all right so this is going to be the work environment essentially going to be able to drag in my Airline hoses through here come in I've got plenty of room to step around and move around the only thing I really need to access is just the ability to completely pan over the play field and if I need to lay down my gun or anything else I can put it all down right here or set it up right here if I so wish to but the point is is that I've got all this headro for my height I have a clean environment so any dust particles from outside or in my garage are not able to easily come up and then land on the play field so come in spray the Playfield once I believe I'm done then I would step outside and whenever I need my clear coat to dry in a nice clean environment this right here will suffice granted it could be better if I wanted to then I can get me another sheet to lay over the front right here to where I would have to crawl in behind it to get in there but in my experience it it it hasn't made any kind of difference on whether or not the particles or whatever this right here is sufficient to where you're not going to have any issues you shouldn't and unless you live like in a really highly dust particle environment here in Texas though it's not too bad especially if it's got a lot of humidity outside so that is your kill room for clear coating your play field and that's essentially how you build your own kill room everyone is there room for improvements on this setup absolutely this design is not for best this is basically what is sufficient and will'll get the job done if you want to put more money into this to make even better improvements and build off of this just use this as a template and then you can adjust accordingly I'm merely giving you a blueprint and some ideas take those ideas and see what you come up with and if you did let me know down in the comments below if you like what you saw don't forget to give me that thumbs up and if you haven't already hit that subscribe button I have all kinds of projects and ideas and material ready for videos everyone but we are getting closer and closer to Texas pinball festival and I am on crunch time to get certain machines ready to go so I'm trying to document as much as I can as well as I can with me doing this all by myself so be sure to ding our dong that way you can be notified of whenever we upload new material for your viewing pleasure until next time everyone peace out [Music] _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 5c1e7c57-0c0b-45ee-bc33-e6bcff739753*