Paint spray booth with water curtain

In a paint spraying booth having a back wall over which a water curtain flows to collect sprayed paint, a tank to receive the water curtain, vertical entrainment ducts disposed above the rear part of the tank, means for generating a flow of air through said ducts to lift water from the tank for the formation of the water curtain, and a surface baffle dividing the rear part of the tank from the water surface in a front part of the tank into which the curtain falls, the improvement comprising a vertically-disposed wall separating the front and rear parts of the tank and extending from the bottom of the tank to form said surface baffle, one or more transfer openings in said wall below the water level, and baffle plates in the front part of the tank extending above the water level and defining a region adjacent the back wall of the booth to receive the water curtain, said baffle plates preventing direct flow of water from said region to a transfer opening whereby the water is constrained to flow to a remote zone of the front part of the tank before returning to the transfer opening or openings.