Airbrushing indoors?

Joined
Nov 29, 2009
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I went top.. I need to get a hose to go on tomorrow. But as they say I can just flip it upside down.

It's great because it's also a box with wheels. I can use it to store stuff and I guess the airbrush when it arrives. Took a couple of hours to build, not tough at all.
 
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Richy C

Guest
You Guys are unreal , I LOVE IT , having just got my 1st airbrush and having a small house with young children I was worrying about how I go about spraying indoors without spending £150-£200 on a spray booth , these idea`s are 1st class , my project this weekend is to make one of these,

Thankyou

Richy.

:cheers:

,
 
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dubster72

Guest
Just a thought lads- how about using this whatsit from Maplins? Only £3 with a fan & a carbon filter Solder Fume Extractor : Soldering Accessories : Maplin

I might get one this weekend & see how it works.

Patrick
 
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Gladiator111

Guest
That Solder fume extractor is an interesting option Patrick. For £18 it's also cheap as chips. Negates the need for an extraction hose as well. Though I would still want to place it within the box somehow to confine the atomised paints / gases.

Look forward to your comments.

Chris
 
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dubster72

Guest
I'm glad you corrected my price Chris! I typed the filter-only price like a dork! What I was thinking is to see if the stand & housing can be removed, leaving just the actual fan unit. This could then be fitted into a suitably sized hole in the box. My local Maplins has one & a rotary drill set for £10 so it's an early Christmas for me!

Patrick:newyear:
 
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Gladiator111

Guest
\ said:
I'm glad you corrected my price Chris! I typed the filter-only price like a dork! What I was thinking is to see if the stand & housing can be removed, leaving just the actual fan unit. This could then be fitted into a suitably sized hole in the box. My local Maplins has one & a rotary drill set for £10 so it's an early Christmas for me!Patrick:newyear:
Ah, simple mistake Patrick - what I'm trying to suss out is the Spark issue with these fans with potential flamable gases. As a civil engineer I know you must use intrinsically safe equipment within sewers or confined spaces that are prone to potential flamable gases and so they have an IP rating. However, with a household domestic fan, how can you find out if it's safe to use? - the guy in B&Q will just shrug his shoulders if you ask that question... the Maplin guy might though, fancy asking him Patrick?

I think this solder fan could negate all these risks, based on its use... what do you think?

Cheers

Chris
 
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dubster72

Guest
That's why it caught my eye really, as I think the carbon filter would prevent any flammable fumes reaching the electrics.

Having said that, I think that for most peoples usage, it won't be a problem because the amount of fumes that develop are small compared to professional/commercial use & most people use acrylics these days-as a test, I tried to ignite some Tamiya acrylic thinner last night (in a controlled way, I hasten to add!) & it didn't want to know!

For use with enamels and/or lacquer-based paints, then more caution should be observed. Hopefully I can give a better answer soon- I'm buying the extractor tomorrow, & I've ordered some Mr Color Thinner (the lacquer stuff) so I'll give it a proper field test. If there's a news report on a major fire in North London then you'll know it wasn't the success I'd hoped it would be!

Patrick
 

spanner570

SALAD DODGER
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Ron
Although I know nothing about ab's...yet. I am following this discussion with interest. Two things spring to mind..

(1) I do a fair bit of domestic plumbing (soldering joints)

The resulting process is smelly yes, but is not potentially explosive.

Whereas with paint / thinners you have a very unstable mixture.

These fans and the filters are designed for plumbing and I can see the filter pad blocking up with paint particles in no time and perhaps the operator won't notice......!!! Please be doubly sure of their suitability for booths.

(2) I am thinking purily from a layman's view here, so O.K. the fumes are being extracted. What next? Lethal fumes can't stay indoors, no matter how small, so how are they removed to the outside? Ducting obviously, but will it be made for this fan and alternatively, can anyone be sure that a D.I.Y. system will work and be safe?

Sorry to sound negative, but the potential for disaster is profound and needs thinking through properly.

Yours,

Scrooge!!
 
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dubster72

Guest
Ever the voice of reason Ron! But you do raise some important points! The thing about venting is on my mind too-reason being, whenever I've used my AB heavily, the pigment particles in the fumes do collect on whatever surface is closest, so even with a fan & pipe arrangement to the outside, I'd expect a lot of that pigment to collect on the surface on the fan itself, unless it's a really powerful one (which wouldn't be much good in practice).

So I think some kind of 'pre-filter' would be good, even some cut-to-size bits of old tights would work.

Patrick
 

spanner570

SALAD DODGER
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Ah! Patrick....Tights, I remember the present Mrs R wearing them for the first time instead of stockings. It was a balmy summers night and we were in my Austin A35 works van. I remember we................

Sorry, seem to have lost the thread completely!LOL
 
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Gladiator111

Guest
Me's thinking (can you hear the tic tocin') of the paint process here... if your spraying into the confined space of the box, the majority of paint particles should attach themselves to the model but overspray should hit the back of the box and (hopefully) stick. The big question is what's left in the immediate atmosphere to become potentially explosive? The remaining gases should be considered very carefully, therefore I will only use diluted acrylics and may double up with the extractor fans. As for filters, the solder fans seem a very good idea, but are they powerful enough to do the job? We shall see this weekend!

Take care guys and be safe!... now about those stockings...?

Chris
 
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dubster72

Guest
Well, I've bought the fume extractor from Maplins & 1st impressions are good. A rather unscientific test was performed by blowing cigarette smoke at it, & it sucks pretty good! I'll be using the AB tomorrow so I can see how it deals with real fumes! Patrick
 
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Gladiator111

Guest
Nice one Patrick

Can the front stand and housing be removed easily with the Maplin Extractor? Sounds like a good buy with adequate power, heh all eyes are on you to see how this pans out. I didn't get chance to go out today to make my purchases, though I hope to get out to B&Q and Maplin tomorrow. Thanks.

Chris
 
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dubster72

Guest
The stand can be removed but not the housing-that's integral & also contains the on/off switch so any booth will have to be built around it. Still, it's worth a go-at the very least it makes a good smoking filter! Patrick
 
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arr0n

Guest
Well, I borrowed the airbrush and compressor from my dad and got excellent results! I'm not sure if the people in the flat below were quite as happy though as the compressor is pretty massive and was shaking the floor, lol. Luckily I didn't have much to spray so it wasn't on that long.

As for the compressor, well, there's not much info on the motor itself. I think it's manufactured by Newmani (?) and it's a made in England jobby. The only date I can find on it is 1962 (!) but I'm not sure. Tbh it does look ancient. There's no info about its output apart from that it's a 1/2hp. It did the job anyway but if I'm going to do any more models I'll proably invest in a more modern model.
 
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dubster72

Guest
If it's made in england, then it's gotta be old Aaron! Glad to hear it was successful-I've got my new kit for Christmas & have managed to get the other half to give me my prezzie early! Gonna build my spray booth this weekend! Patrick
 
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Snipersunset

Guest
Am i right in thinking there are no fumes as such with acrylics?

Cheers

Wayne
 
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Fenlander

Guest
There are fumes, maybe not as dangerous as enamels (I think) but there is still airborne particles and chemicals any of which are better for you outside of your lungs.
 
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dubster72

Guest
As Graham rightly says, fumes are present with acrylics. Because many people believe that acrylics are universally water-soluble, there aren't any harmful effects but that ignores the chemicals used to make them, much less the pigments floating in the fumes. Always follow the basic rules for painting-ventilation & protection. It may seem like the 'nanny state' but no-one should suffer for a hobby. Off my soapbox now! Patrick
 
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Snipersunset

Guest
So what about fumes from brush painting? Because at this time of the year it's to cold to sit next to an open window!

Cheers

Wayne
 
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