Remember that weird glow by the quarry lake during summer storms?

Airflow is huge, no question, but I've seen shops with way worse layouts still turn out clean work because they wet the floor down and wipe everything before a spray. The real killer at your buddy's place is stirring dry paint right next to the booth, not the lamp placement itself. Ten feet of moving won't fix that unless they also cover the mixing cups and keep a lid on the pigments. A cheap gun in a clean room beats a $800 gun in a dusty one every single time. Does his booth even pull negative pressure, or is it just a curtain setup?

Would a volunteer really have sat with you for 40 minutes if they didn't know what they were doing? I don't buy the lucky angle. Library programs get paid staff or retired HR people who actually know hiring, not just some random guy running spell check. You didn't get lucky, you just showed up, which is more than most people do with those flyers. The raise came from you being willing to let someone tear apart a resume you'd been clinging to for 3 years.