Spray Booth

[Neill]

Hi

I will try and explain this as best I can so bear with me... I need a spray booth for indoor airbrushing. I have seen ones on Ebay for £70 and after checking I think they remove particles only (recirculating air out the back of the unit) and not fumes as it has no exhaust vent that can be placed through a window. As far as I can gather these units don't have carbon filters as these units are considerably more than £70. The Airbrush Company have one for £150 and it has the exhaust vent as mentioned above. I have bought a cheapish respirator from a model shop on Ebay for about £8 so I presume this would deal with the fumes side of it. I am stretched for money at the moment so I could just about afford the £70 booth. Should I wait and save up for the dearer unit or get the £70 booth? This is a bit of a stupid question and I am new to the hobby but when I use enamelwhen I paint by hand or I am gluing I have noticed that there is a strong smell about so do I have to wear my respirator whilst working in my living room. My girlfriend will wonder what she has let herself in for!!! Thanks in advance for any advice provided.

Neill

 

[Fenlander]

My personal suggestion is that if it does not exhaust through a pipe, like a tumble dryer pipe, stuck through a window, it aint going to do much. Good extractors are expensive and there is a reason for it. One, they work and two, they use electrical components that do not spark which could ignite that thinners in some paints.

Only really good and cheaper way is to make one yourself using a basic cooker hood extractor as a start but it has to pump the stuff outside or it just circulates the fumes around the room.

As I said, just my opinion, maybe someone will offer other suggestions.

 

[Richy C]

I`ve got the Expo £70 one your on about , and its ideal if you use acrylics which I do and its great but I also use alclad and zero paints which are solvent based and although it helps its not that great , you say you use enamels with that in mind I would hold on and save up for the expensive booth to be honest , I would also wear a respirator , paint fumes can do some serious damage if you don`t take care

You can`t put a price on your health

hope this helps

Richy

 

[Neill]

Thanks gentlemen for your input. I am slightly useless with anything to electrically involved or I would try making my own one if only to save money. I am beginning to wish i had'nt bought enamel paints with my model (this is my first project) as if I had known that it was this involved to get airbrushing I would have went down the acrylic route if you get my meaning! Richy that is the exact spray booth I was referring to in my earlier post. I think it may just be a case of saving up as health is important. What do other modellers who use enamels do? I presume they maybe work outside in the better weather or work in their garage?

 

[AlanG]

I only use enamels with a normal brush. I've never sprayed them yet. Still the room can get smelly if it's quite warm in there.

 

[Neill]

I only use enamels with a normal brush. I've never sprayed them yet. Still the room can get smelly if it's quite warm in there.

Its smelly alright!! And the glue is even worse!! Its all for our art!! Its only gonna get worse because over the last two days I have bought a 1/35 Jagdpanzer and a late version Tiger 1!! I think I may work this ventilation/booth problem out ASAP.

 

[Fenlander]

All my spraying is done in a small, 6'x4' plastic garden shed. There is a bathroom type extractor behind the desk which I know does not suffice, it is there to ensure an airflow through the vents more than anything else. It will be replaced with a proper, or cooker hood extractor at some point.

As I only use the shed for spraying not building, I am in and out in quite a short time. For spraying a single or couple of colours in acrylic, I just go for it. If I am spraying an enamel base for the even worse Alclad paint which is cellulose (lacquer base), and this is the only time I spray enamel, I wear a cartridge mask. A standard DIY dust mask from B&Q will not do. I will also wear the mask if I am spraying more than a couple of colours in acrylic. In such a small space, the haze builds up quickly but it does allow me to control temperature easily (very important at this time of year lol)

Let us quash one myth, maybe two. Acrylic paint, especially Tamiya, does smell especially if thinned with alcohol base thinners like I do. It is no where near as bad as enamel but there is a smell to it and it can catch the back of the throat sometimes. The other myth is that Acrylic fumes or airborne spray is safe. Breathing in any quantity of these fumes can be hazardous. Not as bad as enamel, which is not as bad as cellulose. However, that is like saying being shot with a .303 is not as bad as being shot by a .5 bullet. OK, maybe there are some differences but they will both hurt......

Use a mask if you spray any quantity even with an extractor. There is no way that you can prevent some fumes spreading around the house if you spray in your living room so the less you spray, the less you spread. If you have to spray in the house, try at least to do the cleaning spraying out the back door or near to a kitchen extractor just to stop the amount of spraying being done in a living area.

Get yourself a plastic tent made from some thick polythene and thin wood slats to create a box in which you spray. This will reduce the amount of overspray going into the room as it will get trapped within the tent/box. Acrylic dries very fast an a box type tent will contain a lot of it until it dries and will fall as dust within the tent. Enamels dry so much slower so will reduce the effectiveness of this but it will still help.

 

[snapper41]

I too am useless at DIY, but I managed to make my own - it's quite easy. From B&Q, I got a large plastic storage box (the type with a removable lid), a bathroom extractor fan (sealed unit to prevent electircal problems), some electrical cable, a plug, and an elephant's trunk (you know, the plastic pipe for tumble dryers). Cut a hole in one side of the box (which will become the roof when you are spraying), and put the fan into the hole - from the inside, and screwed in. Wire up the fan to the cable and plug, connect the elehpants trunk to the fan, and Robert is your father's brother. Took about 30 mins, and cost about £45.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Just to add a word of caution here. We have to be very carefull when dealing with extraction of paint fumes and although the temptation to use alternative cheaper methods such as bathroom extractors or cooker hoods these devices are not intrinsically safe and there will always be a risk of a spark igniting flamable vapours. The electrical motor, switch, other electrical items in the area such as lamps, switches sockets etc, should all be explosion proof to ensure that you are protected from accidental explosion. Sheds using normal domestic light switches always arc and there is always a risk when operating such equipment when spraying flamable fluids.

Unfortunately explosion proof equipment is stupidly expensive however for home use outdoor waterproof sockets. light fittings and switches should at least greatly reduce the risk and I would strongly recommend that anyone using spray gear uses such electrical fittings in the area. As for fans you must be sure that the motor is completely sealed and the only bathroom and kitchen vent fans I have ever taken apart are not because they are air cooled. Sparks at the comutator can ignite flamable vapours easily so again you must use something of at least a waterproof standard to ensure the vapours cannot come into contact with the arcing components and make sure it is operated by a waterproof switch.

 

[AlanG]

Sorry to drag this thread back up but my friend wants to buy her husband a spraybooth for xmas and wants to know which one you guys would recommend? He mostly sprays enamels and rarely uses acrylics.

Any ideas. Oh her max price is £250 if possible

 

[AlanG]

Sorry to drag this thread back up but my friend wants to buy her husband a spraybooth for xmas and wants to know which one you guys would recommend? He mostly sprays enamels and rarely uses acrylics.Any ideas. Oh her max price is £250 if possible

Would this booth do the job she requires it too?

1520 Standard Model Spray Booth, Airbrush Spray Booths -- Artograph, Inc

 

[Bunkerbarge]

The general feeling is that an externally vented booth is best however not everyone can use such a device. My own garage for instance is all underground so I had no choice and went for a unit with three filters like this one. I think of the self contained type three filters is the standard i would be looking for and so this unit looks good to me.

There are a couple of concerns though, the first is that it is 110v so you would be looking at a transformer which is not ideal. Secondly i find with my own that the shield not oly shields the booth but it puts your working area in serious shadow. I'm going to have to fit a light to mine, which must also be intrinsically safe!

 

[AlanG]

yeah i looked at the next model up (1530) and that let alot more light in and had two fans. Bit pricey though