Ive been wanting one of these for a while. im sure youve all seen them. testor makes one that i think sells for around $400-$500 and i think there is another company that makes one but it is only a little cheaper.
what are my alternatives? i havent seen one on ebay yet. what about just making one? i mean all it is is a box with an exhaust fan basically. what about some kind of wood or metal box with a bathroom-style (or other type) exhaust fan mounted in the back? you could even mount a small flourescent light in there?
anybody have any suggestions? im trying to avoid that $400 price tag. thanks
chad
I’ve been using a Spray Booth I got from Micro-Mart for several years now. I just checked their online catalog and found that it is
Model # 60463 currently selling for 169.95.
It’s been big enough for HO. Even my largest sructures. I also like the way the motor is isolated from the paint fumes.
Robert,
thanks, yes that helps a lot since that is much cheaper. i could probably swing with that price, but one question: where is the online catalog you mentioned? i went to micro-mart.com (seemed logical) and landed at some kind of computer store site
thanks
chad
Chad: why do you not build your own. I obtained an old kitchen range hood, complete with light and exhaust fan that all worked for $5.00 at a garage sale. Even a new on would not be that expensive. I used plywood for the sides, back, and bottom, purchased a length of dryer vent hose and with cardboard (in the window)hooked up the end of the dryer hose to a window( take screen out first), placed the whole thing on an old work mate that I also got from a garage sale and you have it. You can also build a base with casters on it and can unplug window connection and move it around if need be. With either system your air supply can sit on the bottom. I bend a cut up cardboard box to fit the bottom and back, against the plywood, so when it gets all painted up I can just change the cardboard. I also have put an old furnace filter against the back (easy to change). I use an old plastic kitchen lazy susan or put on the bottom a tin foil pie plate upside down to put what I want sprayed. With the wood sides you can put all sorts of hooks etc to hand your air brush and gagets on. My whole thing is about 20 X 20 (size of the range hood) X 16(height) big enough to spray anything I want. Works great for me. I know of a few other modelers that have also built their own and are very happy with them. Also someone told me of this site on how to build your own spray booth, have not read it as I have my own but if you wi***o look at it: http:// railsystems.homestead.com/files/spraybth.htm
Just a suggestion.
Ron McIntosh, Abbotsford, B.C., Canada.
This idea may or may not work for you depending on the type of paint you use. I took an old styrofoam cooler (just big enough to hold a 6-pack), and cut a round hole in the bottom. I mounted the cooler on it’s side on the work bench, then mounted a spotlight behind me to shine over my shoulder to get enough light. I then press-fit the hose of my shop vac in the hole I cut in the bottom. NOTE: this is only acceptable if you use water-based acrylic paints like I do. DO NOT use this method if you want to use oil-based lacquers or enamels. The fumes sucked into the shop vac may ignite from a spark in the electric motor. I model in “N” scale, so the small cooler works well with small parts. If you do HO or larger, just use a larger cooler. MOPAC 1
Something very important to remember is the AMOUNT of air that’s moved (measured in cubic feet per minute). A bathroom exhaust fan doesn’t move anywhere near enough air to exhaust all the harmful elements put into the air by an airbrush or spray can.
Several years ago MR did an article about building your own booth which had a pretty extensive section about the size and speed that the fan needs to be, based on the size of the spray booth. For your health’s sake, it may be a good idea to search it out!
Chad – I built one out of some scrap high density styrofoam insulaation panels. It has a box filter that runs the width of the box with scrap furnace filers in a triple layer. It attaches to my shop vac. The box is 28" wide by 20" deep and has two pieces of scrap plexiglass in the top to allow light in. Since I use water-based paint, I don’t have to worry about an explosion hazard. The system has worked great for me and best of all, it was free, If I had bought the styrofoam (blue from Lowes) and the Plexiglass, I still would have had less than $15.00 invested. I did spend six bucks for a plastic lazy susan that I could just as well have built from scrap plywood.
Do you happen to know which issue that article appeared in?
by the way, thanks to everyone for all the great ideas and info. i will definitely NOT be shelling out the money for a new one when i can build one pretty easily it sounds like…
thanks
Chad – I believe that article was “The Paint Shop Spray Booth” (by Andy Sperandeo) – the January 1988 issue. As I recall, it was Andy who did the discussion of fan strengths. There are also two others you may want to look at: “Exhaust fan for spray booth” in the February 1993 issue of MR, and “A Deluxe Spray Booth” in the August 1983 issue.
Gerry makes a good point about moving air, that’s why I use a shop vac. I should also point out that I have a 40-gallon professional air compressor (for automotive use) and I use this as a propellant, not cans. With this set up, I would have to paint 1000+ locos before it will cycle. I don’t use any filter prior to the shop vac, as I am using a very small/cheap unit I bought years ago, and it has an internal air filter to protect the motor. I now have a much larger unit for other things. Sinch I am using tank air, I don’t have to worry about toxic fumes. All I’m doing is removing excess paint dust from the paint area. If you want to do the shop vac thing, try going to some discount store and getting a real small unit, it should work fine. If you are stuck with canned propellant, make sure the shop vac exhaust is outside, or in a large open area, like your garage with the doors up. MOPAC 1
I made one from a junk picked dryer. I took off the back panel, gutted it completely, removed the door, added a continous service vent fan (I would think any brushless fan would eliminate the explosion problem), vented it outside with dryer duct, and placed a filter in front of the door opening. Add a light inside (I used a 18" florecent tube) and it cost me about $10. I had the fan already, but a oven hood at a rummage sale would be just as good (as RMcintosh said), and I’ve seen them cheap. The steel sides of the dryer are strong, and it’s all on a cheap table with 2x2 legs.
In a recent Harbor Freight Tools catalogue, they had a spray paint cabinet on sale for $59.00. There regular price was shown as $69.00 but when I checked the website the price was $79.00. I can’t vouch for the quality of this product but I’ve been VERY impressed with prices and quality of other items I’ve ordered from harbor freight.
If you’re interested the catalog item number to get the sale price is: 44040-1HSA. If you don’t use that number you’ll have to pay regular price.
The unit is 20 x 12 x 12 and has an electric motor exhaust with filter.
Though older this is an excellent thread with good info. With patience it is relatively easy for a person handy with basic tools to build a decent spray booth.
As pointed out, the fan is a very important consideration as the goal is to move the “volume of air mass” within the spray booth area during painting operations. A cheap 3 inch “Dollar Store” fan won’t cut it.
I love the shopvac idea. I’ve been looking for a way to airbrush without access to a window. Another cheap booth alternative is to cut a hole in a clear tupperware tub for the shapvac hose. That way, exterior light can get into the “booth”.
I always airbrush outdoors. Really don’t want to do this inside using Floquil or Scalecoat paint, I also use a lot of thinner in through the airbrush to clean it.
Will it be legal if you build one? some city codes actually prohibit home built ones due to low cfms from normal exhaust fans. Due to the motor is not rated for that type of exhaust fume. You will read people say aww its safe to build one I havent had any problems but remember theres always that chance the day will come.
I bought my Paasche Booth threw ebay for under 200.00 with shipping, the auction is by Paasche but they dont use their name in the listing. They dont have any but check this listing.
I bought my spray booth from the following website www.madisonartshop.com and am very happy with it. When you get to their website, just go down the list of products on the left and click on “spray booths”. I have the model 1520 and the reason I like it is because it pulls the exhaust down through a pre-filter, a foam filter and lastly through a carbon-impregnated filter. I live in a condo and can’t vent it outside so I only spray with acrylic, water-based paints, which work fine. I can’t smell anything in the room when I’m done spraying because the filters work very well. It sells right now for $229.00 which when you consider the time and expense of building one and then wondering if you’ve really built a safe and effective booth, is not very expensive.
just kidding. Chad, your ideas are pretty good, and i might try something like that.