Airbrush Safety Question

[donhalshanks]

I received a gift of a Badger 200-3 airbrush, and previous threads have been good references for buying a compressor. (1) If I use nothing but water based paints, is it safe to airbrush in doors, in the basement, with a light mask? (2) Is a spray booth necessary with water based paints? Seems I've seen it printed that one is, since a box or something will kick unwanted particles back on to the piece. If so, I'll have trouble venting the booth.

Thanks,for help, Hal.

[nbrodar]

Yes you still need a spray booth, although you can get ones that filters the air and returns it to the room. And yes you should still wear a mask approved for acrylic/latex paint.

Nick

[rlandry6]

The spray booths that I've seen sell for around $250 and up. Utterly ridiculous. If you have access to a table or radial saw, and are reasonably handy, you can build one from a $6 piece of plywood from Home Depot. Another $10-15 gets you a small vent fan from your local electronic supply house, Add some air filter material, again from Home Depot and you're done. Make it the size you need. I'm amazed at some of the prices these places think they can command just bcause it's for something related to a hobby..

[colvinbackshop]

A booth is the way to go if you think you will be painting a bit!
Exhausting any over-spray always will help in getting a good looking finish, and unless you are painting in an extremely large space, or outdoors, venting is a must!!!
One reason that some of the commercial booths are so expensive...I think...Is the insurance that they have to pay to protect themselves from law suites.
Also an electric motor installed "out-side" of the air stream and, for the most part brushless, to avoid sparking (in turn igniting flammable paints/solvents), tend to make the booth a bit more expensive.
I agree 100% with rlandry6...If you are handy at all, build one yourself and save a lot of money. I built one into my backshop for a fraction of the "ready mades"
Check out "Painting and Weathering Railroad Models" by Jeff Wilson, Kalmbach Books. He has a chapter on building a spray-booth. If I would have read this book (especially chapter 2 "Equipment and Safety" before I started my project, I could have saved myself some time doing research when building my Paintshop.
And yes, wear a mask!

[dgwinup]

Indoor painting is best done with a spray booth. Even with water-based paints, you will want to control the spray particles.

If you decide to build your own, use computer fans for the exhaust. They are safe to use in the airstream because they are totally sealed and the motors don't spark.

Darrell, quiet...for now

[TomDiehl]

A spray booth, as listed above is good advice. If you know anyone renovating a bathroom, see if they're replacing the vent fan, especially if it's one with a light. I have one of these in my homemade booth, and it seems you never have enough light, even with this added.

As far as masks or other respiratory protection, contact the paint manufacturer and get the MSDS for the paint(s) you're using. Even water based paints can have problems, depending on what the paint solids are. Also, don't coufuse water based with water thinned paints.

[donhalshanks]

Thanks for the great responses. Sounds like the spray booth is necessary, and I'm trying to figure out how to vent it. (probably through a window somehow).

Hal

[bp020897]

I installed a bathroom vent in my paint booth and attached about 20 feet of the accordian type exhaust hose. I open a door and run it outside to where fumes will not come back inside. When done painting just coil it back up.

Bob

[TomDiehl]

Even simpler than that, mine is built on a small cabinet that's on casters. The vent outlet is a standard 4 inch diameter flex hose used for clothes dryer venting. My clothes dryer has a vent saver on it (a wall mounted diverter valve that sends the hot humid air outside [summer] or inside [winter]). I disconnect the hose from the top of the vent saver and connect it to the hose from the paint booth. For you people that have asked, this is where the peanut can is used. The can is almost a perfect 4 inch diameter and, with the top and bottom cut out, makes a great coupling for the two hoses. Just roll the whole thing over in front of the dryer, hook it up, and paint.

[Leon Silverman]

Nbrodr:
If you can return the exhaust air to the room, could a shop-vac or cannister-type vacuum cleaner be hooked up to the boothe exhaust? This way, you would not have to purchase an extra blower or filter material since the bag in the vacuum cleaner would filter the air.

[TomDiehl]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Leon Silverman

Nbrodr:
If you can return the exhaust air to the room, could a shop-vac or cannister-type vacuum cleaner be hooked up to the boothe exhaust? This way, you would not have to purchase an extra blower or filter material since the bag in the vacuum cleaner would filter the air.

That would depend on the solvent used in the paint vehicle. In most cases a paint booth that vents to the outdoors is recommended to remove harmful chemicals from an enclosed place. Also, flammable solvents you DEFINATELY wouldn't want to do this.