I saw on the website of a local hobby shop they have a booth for sale compact with filter and folds for storage. Question is do these booths still need to be vented to outside? I don’t want to waste my moneythe make is HSE420.rambo1…
Yes, vent to the outside. The filters in the booth may capture allt he particulate matter, but they don’t capture the fumes from the paint solvents
–Randy
Yes, vent it to the outside, or only use it outside.
I made a spray booth out of a very large double wall heavy duty cardboard box. {It was my folding table saw that came in it.} SAved a lot of money over a premade booth.
I can only use it outside though as I don’t have a window or opening to vent it to the outside during the winter…
I built one using a stove vent as the air exchanger and ran it through the carbon filter. I only use it for acrylic paints except for the occasional spray can. I do not vent mine. I have been told I could have a fire if I sprayed a lot of flamable paint, but I use acrylics so that makes no difference.
what to do if there is no vent on the back of the booth ? stay away from it? rambo1…
or vent pipe to conect to rambo1…
My spraybooth consists of a cardboard Dell box with the flaps taped back and is cliupped to a piece of plywood. There’s a Rubbermaid turntable unit in there, a gooseneck flexible lamp for lighting, and a cheap box window fan I place strategically next to the box facign towards the garage door that pulls the fumes awafrom the box and I. Next iteration, a hole will be cut and the fan will be IN the box, but this does well. Ductwork can be taped to the fan then and routed towards a window.
I have a simple 18"H x 24"L x 14"D 5-sided box made of scrap plywood. It’s got a hole in the middle of the back with a cheap bathroom fan (brushless motor!) and a dryer hose that vents to the outdoors. The box is the right size for a standard size furnace filter to sit at the back. Total cost was less than $50, including the fan (bought on sale). I’ve been using it since 1989. That’s it in my sig pic.
Check and see if its not somewhere lese, like on top or two one side. If there isn’t one, then well,have yoiu ever smelled a LOT of spraypaint? Airbrushes have similar effects I’m told, and don’t smell as good.
I have periodic access to a $ 350.+ Pasche spray booth that we have in our industrial arts workshop where I teach. I have used it, but find it is barely any better than:
a cardboard box with a rectangular hole cut in the rear, the end sealed with metal foil tape, a pleated household air filter and a rear-facing 3-speed box fan and another air filter on the other side of the fan.
The air flow appears better with the home-made arrangement I use often. For a few bucks and some free time, I am currently building a lightweight hardboard and wood frame permanent booth, with a brushless 2- speed range hood fan (strong cfm movement), placing a Lampi mini flourescent along the front interior top edge for better lighting, and a cheap turntable made using a rubbermaid plastic one with a square piece of hardboard attached as a platform (knock off the corners of the square a bit). The filter will be the same pleated household one and I will be in business for a lot less than the fancy commercial products. You can also use that blue filter material sold at Walmart or Home Depot instead of a replaceable one, but I think the HVAC ones are better (just not that cheap anymore) for capturing particulates.
A few years ago, Wood Magazine did a study on shop dust control and found that a box fan and a filter taped in front (set backwards to the work area) was second in efficiency at capturing airborne particles, so I took my cheap lead from that idea.
Are you using just the vent or are you running a stove fan with it as well? To prevent a grease fire when you cook, a stove fan is also brushless and is safe to use with solvent based paints.
Quick question. If I spray ONLY acrylics in a room right next to an open flame gas water heater is this perfectly safe? I’ve always heard that it is but thought it best to ask once more before doing so.
I can always turn off the pilot/flame before painting but it’s a fairly considerable hassle.
Many thanks.
My El Cheapo spray booth is made out of quarter inch plywood with a 1 X 16 plank for a base. I use an old computer tower fan and furnace filter combination to vent it. Lighting is a 12" flourescent light fixture screwed to the roof and a small potter’s wheel rotates the work while I spray. I built mine extra tall and extra wide which is the main advantage of building your own as the commercial ones are too restrictive for my taste. I use it maybe once a month so venting to the outside seems unnecessary. The nastyest stuff I use is Testor’s glosscote and dullcote compared to which the various paints and solvents seem rather mild.
Probably not a fire hazard, but there is the matter of the airborne paint particles and the solvent used in acrylic paints. All painting should be done with some form of venting to the outdoors if the painting is done indoors. In all cases, proper respiratory protection should be worn. The other thing to think about is the smell of the paint fumes. Although we may find these smells pleasant, the rest of the family may not.
Also, there’s the old safety rule, “if you’re smelling it, you’re inhaling it.”
Hi Rambo1.
Other web forums give very mixed views on this subject (and indeed on the booth itself). Certainly the general trend is to definitely go for external venting if you’re using solvent based paints.
Here’s a link that may help if you go ahead and buy one. I’m pretty sure it’s the same booth that’s sold in Europe - I guess you can phone the store if you’re unsure. There’s also a hose on eBay (link below)
http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/expo-extenstion-hose-spray-booth-ab502-p-31061.html
Best
Ian
Just because a paint isn’t solvent based doesn’t mean it is chemical free… … vent to the outside
ratled