None at all…most of it is caught in the filter ahead of the fan, and any that gets by (not much) collects on the fan blades or the inside of the duct. The duct on mine, both when it was in the basement and later in the garage, is about 5’ long, with one bend, and nothing at all on the outside wall.
In a previous garage, the duct was even shorter and I was doing a lot of painting for my LHS, in addition to my own stuff, and again, nothing on the outside wall.
The mention of the previous garage has just now reminded me that the little exhaust fan (originally from an air hockey game) has been in service for over 35 years!
I don’t have any paint on or around the outlet. Like Wayne said the filter catches the paint. My outlet has ⅛” screen over the opening to prevent visitors and there isn’t any paint on it either.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
If I was concerned about others seeing my photos I wouldn’t have made them public. I put the photos there precisely so other people could see them. I haven’t adjusted my privacy settings since I set up my Phototbucket account. I haven’t a clue why you couldn’t see all the pictures but Photobucket does act up frequently.
By the way, you stated earlier that I was using a ‘furnace’ fan, and you reported that my fan was moving 7.5 cubic yards of air per minute. I don’t know how you could state an exact figure like that without actually measuring my fan. It is not a furnace fan. It is a simple three speed box fan. I use it on the lowest speed and it does not draw paint away from the target to any significant degree when I am using my airbrush. Most of the clogging occurs when I am using rattle cans.
For the record, I didn’t find any fault with your spray booth. I have never used one like it so I don’t have a clue how well it does or doesn’t work. However, I did question the very broad statement you made about the filters being readily available without bothering to refer to a source. As it turned out, the filters are available, at least for now, but they are rather pricey. Over time the cost of replacement will be almost double when compared to a booth that uses standard furnace filters that will be available for the long haul.
This thread has gine in for a while, and I have not seen anyone mention an important safety note.
.
SAFETY FIRST: If you are spraying mineral solvent based paints, anything with VOC based compounds, or “rattle can” spray paints, the fumes can be explosive. Your fan must be a sparkless type that is suitable for this application or you could have a fireball situation. Using fans intended for other applicaions could be dangerous. Spraying with water soluable paints should minimize these problems, but some, like Tamiya, could still be flamable.
Lotta good stuff on this thread. Me, I don’t use a paint booth. I paint on my deck, I lay some old newspaper over the deck railing, and press on with a rattle can. It keeps the paint odor out of the house, which is good. I’m still using solvent based paint ( Floquil!! I have a stash!). I don’t worry about flammable vapors, but I don’t like the smell of lacquer thinner all over the house.
If that works where you’re located, go for it! [:D]
Around here, about 2/3 of the year is too cool for painting outdoors, and during the other third, there’s too much stuff falling out of the trees or blowing around in the wind…or it’s raining. [:P]
That’s one of the main reasons to use a vented-to-the-outdoors spray booth. You’re then never at the mercy of the weather or dealing with chemical stink indoors.
Obviously, it’s not as cheap as working on the deck, but it doesn’t have to be expensive, either.
I have to agree with doctorwayne on this. You have to get a lot of solvent into the air before combustion is possible. By that point I think the fumes would be hard to breathe. Common sense would suggest that when you get to the point where the air is not breathable you should open a door or a window. However, for those poor souls who ignore the need for fresh air and choose to resort to fancy respirators, the process of natural selection might kick in if they push their luck.[swg][(-D][(-D]
Sorry, I’m not dismissing your point. However, I think the risk is often overstated. Like Wayne said, if you were painting a full sized automobile or a 1:1 locomotive there is a real risk because you are spraying quarts or gallons of solvent based paint. Last year I painted a fleet of eight cabooses. I don’t think I used more than 1/4 oz. of paint in any one session.
I built my spray booth (shown earlier) from materials I had laying around the house. Other than the time to put it together, the total cost was a couple of bucks for the plenum where the exhaust fan is located.
It’s been in use in three different locales over the past 35 years, including several years of commercial work for a local hobby shop, and I still paint for a selection of close friends.
Probably better than 95% of the rolling stock that’s on my layout was painted in that booth, and an equal amount of more modern equipment which was sold-off when I backdated the layout - probably close to 1,000 pieces in total, and that doesn’t include structures.
Not sure what your obsession is with my local hobby shop, but hey, free advertising is good. And FWIW, 85% of their sales is model trains with some of the cheapest prices on model trains in SW Ontario. [swg]
As for my spray booth - here’s a rather old picture …
Built into the back wall of a four foot square “room”. the booth itself is constructed of 1/2" plywood and skinned with sheet aluminum for easy cleaning. There is a sealed flourescent tube inside the booth itself at the top. For a vent fan, I used the assembly out of an old portable clothes dryer. Heavy duty motor sits outside the enclosure and drives a “squirrel cage” fan exhausting all fumes to the outside. I only use solvent based paints, so it’s important to get the fumes out and this assembly really pulls air ! I just use cheap furnace filters for about a dollar each as I go through them rather quickly.
Action Hobbies in Kingsville, Ontario is a great Canadian source for model railroading stuff. Their prices are great, their service is great and their shipping is fast and cheap. I get stuff delivered to my door in two or three days for less than $10.00. If you are a Canadian model railroader you should look into them:
Sorry for the delay getting back. I guess I will have to clear the air what are ‘facts’. I have seen a few big web sites only selling model trains that no longer exist. Hundreds of hobby shops have also come and gone. For a hobby shop to survive in this new era of 3D visualization, it will be required to supply many different types of products, in many different areas. A smart owner of a hobby shop will take the best direction to keep their business still running.
For example Action Hobbies - Kingsville does have a large section when it comes to selling model trains.
The owner of Action Hobbies - Kingsville is also a smart owner, because he/she went into a direction that would benefit the business and the local community.
Sorry maxman, I’m guilty. As I see it I had two choices. One was to question GrandTrunk-HO’s factual errors and the other was leave any new members to his mercy.
