Hi everybody, I saw a video in which a guy was using what he called a spray booth to airspray his models. I live in the north in Canada so in the summer I can spray outside but in the winter, I’m not interested in going outside at -20 Celcius.
What can I do to use spray paint inside without breathing gas? Are there not to expensive spray booth? Can I build one?
Thanks for your help!
I don’t know what your budget is, but here are a few links from a google search:
http://www.micromark.com/15-inch-x-20-inch-standard-spray-paint-booth,8034.html
http://www.amazon.com/Paasche-Hobby-Spray-Paint-Booth/dp/B0001I2AZ4
As always, caveat emptor
Because many spray paints (airbrushed or spray cans) are flammable you do not want t get too casual about a spray booth. Years ago there was an article in MR about how to build your own that brought immediate warnings that it could be dangerous to use. There used to be some inexpensive commercial spray booths that seem to have been withdrawn from the market possibly because they really were not as safe to use as one would like.
MicroMark offers some commercial spray booths. For example http://www.micromark.com/15-inch-x-30-inch-large-spray-paint-booth,8037.html
Walthers does too: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/542-10000
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/704-50210
But you need good and reliable venting as well. Plastic venting for dryers for example may disintegrate when using certan solvent based paints, and then you are basically venting into your own basement if holes develop.
Anything we breath in is no joke and for many years the model railroad hobby really was far too casual about painting and its hazzards.
Dave Nelson
Hellwarrior:
You can build one quite easily. Some people have successfully used simple cardboard boxes with a fan and a duct to the outside, but you would do well to read the caveats posted in this thread about how to do it properly, and you can’t do it without proper ventilation.
I am in Canada too, just north of Toronto. I don’t spray in the winter because I don’t have a convenient way of ducting the fumes outside (it would involve cutting a hole in a brick wall which I won’t do simply because I don’t want to damage the wall). In the summer, I spray in the garage with both the front and rear doors open. There is usually enough of a breeze to move any unfiltered spray away.
I built a spray booth using a 16" square box fan, 16" square furnace filters and some plywood and lighting:
The furnace filter seems to capture the overspray fairly well, but as I said, I only use the booth when I can ventilate the garage properly. The lighting is a small fluorescent fixture. I put a second pressure gauge and regulator on the top of the booth so I didn’t have to go to the compressor to adjust the pressure. I don’t have a duct on the back but it would be very simple to rig one up. I also put a power bar on the top which the fan and the light are plugged into. That is hardly necessary but it means that I can power the booth up
Don’t do what I did. I followed an article for a cheap one. Basically it was a cardboard box with a cut out covered by a furnace filter.
The first time I used my cheap “spray booth” I set off the smoke detectors in the basement. That was also the last time I used it as well. I do my spraying outside now.
I don’t do enough to justify the cost of a good spray booth that vents to the outside, but that’s the one I’ll buy if I do need a booth.
Stay safe
Paul
If you build a spray booth, I would recommend using a plywood base and some rubber cushion “feet” at all four corners; Make the walls and top from Masonite or similar 1/8- 3/16" hardboard; place a slot in the top rear for a removable/replaceable PLEATED quality filter ( not those cheesy blue Fiberglas ones); make the rear rectangular opening (behind the filter) about 1 inch smaller all around than the filter size; and mount the fan on the rear wall with about 1-1 inches open space between the fan and the filter ( this is a plenum- to draw and focus the exhaust air into the fan). Install a micro flourescent lamp under the front leading edge of the booth top and run the cord out the side of the booth. I put a 6" metal lazy Susan (from Home Depot) in the center of the base interior with a flat piece of plywood that was sized small enough to rotate cleanly. To run exhaust from the fan, a flexible metal ducting is advised- dont use lightweight dryer ducting, as the thin foil can easily tear- use a sturdy industrial flexible metal ducting. Duct exit should be to the OUTDOORS, not just out of the immediate work area! There are a number of how- to spray booth articles on line. I built mine by looking at a number of them and then designing the size of mine for my garage workspace. Cedarwoodron
Or you could use acryic paints rather thsn solvent based ones. In this case, you don’t need to vent to the outside, but merely draw the air through a filter to remove the particulates.
I built my own spray booth, making the base from part of an old end table. The sides and top are 1/8" Masonite, pop-rivetted together using aluminum wall angle intended for suspended ceilings. The fan, from an old air hockey game, is mounted inside the metal plenum atop the booth. There’s a slide-in type bracket on the underside of the top, which accepts one-half of a standard-size furnace filter - I use the cheap fibreglass ones, as they do the job adequately if changed regularly. [swg]
I included a homemade turntable, cut from 3/4" plywood, on the booth’s floor, but found it to be of almost no use whatsoever. As you can see in the photo, venting was plastic dryer duct (vented outdoors). This unit was originally in a small insulated workshop in my garage (I’m in southern Ontario, so cold winters and humid summers), but later used, as shown, in my basement workshop (trains only) in my current house, and the plastic vent duct has lasted over 30 years - I painted commercially and used mostly Floquil and other lacquer-based paints.
Recently, I decided to move the painting operations out to my rickety current garage, a former house and about 120 years old. I constructed a small room (4’x8’) in one corner and moved the paint booth and compressor, and was back in business. The only change was to the duct, which is now rigid aluminum - that was mainly to deter mice from chewing through. [(-D] I did add a closeable fresh air inlet for the small room - this allows make-up air to enter to replace that being vented to the outside, and has increased the small fan’s performance measureably. Lighting is from two desk-type lamps, bolted to the workbench - they eliminate shadows and are far enough out of the booth to not accumulate paint or dried paint dust.
I would also recommend wearing a tw
A word about spray painting in the house.I’ve done it several times over the years using rattle cans and Testors canned propellant powered airbrush…
I don’t recommend spray painting inside because some paints can smell up the house.Use a quality spray booth or if you use a rattle can then step outside and spray paint…
The bigger danger in spray painting in the house is if you have a furnace or gas water heater in the room. Fumes can accumulate to the flash point and cause an explosion.
True and that could happen with brush painting which is much slower but,I never had that to happen or even heard of it happening.I supposed it could if one sprays or paints by a open flame…I also doubt if a water based paint would flash…
I did forget to mention open a window and that should reduce the smell by letting the fumes escape…
One thing about spray painting outside with solvent-based paints; make sure the volatiles have evaporated off before bringing your work inside. That will avoid smelling up the house as well as to avoid breathing in the fumes.
I know I already posted once but I wanted to add that I build a substitute for the basement storm and screen window, entirely out of wood except for the venting hole itself which can be closed off with sliding panel (to prevent animals from getting between the windows). So when I hook up the spray booth to the venting system I open the interior storm (glass) window which is held up with a hook on a ceiling rafter, and open that sliding panel on a window substitute which again is all wood but which fits snugly exactly where the interchangable exterior storm or screen window would go. These are your usual small basement windows, around 1’ high and 2.5 feet long or so.
I wanted to add this because I am in Wisconsin which may not be as cold as parts of Canada in the winter but is nonetheless darn cold. When the spray booth is not attached and the sliding panel is shut and the interior storm window is lowered, I think the basement is just as warm as if the regular windows were in place, perhaps more so. All that is missing is the light that comes from that window - again because the exterior “window” is solid wood.
Dave Nelson
Yes,I fully agree…I made that mistake several times and had the devil to pay…The old woman wasn’t happy about it even though she built and detailed my structures…
The reason I never invested in a spray both is simple…I didn’t airbrush enough to warrant the investment and I’m very good at rattle can and brush painting-brush painting is becoming a lost art…