I also have a paint booth on my to do list. I have been using a box (available at Office Depot with a printer inside for $149) on the workbench in the garage, where a tad of overspray is not a big issue (my wife's Buick is not yet box car red!). Two issues I have been struggling with:
a) I'm unsure whether I can go to all water based paints. If I could, then I could just keep doing what I'm doing and always use a proper respirator, which I have. The reason I raise that issue is most times I'm just spraying (solvent based) primer as for structures I usually add hand painted acrylic colors. I don't know if there are water based spray primers. And for colors, I have used Testors spray cans sometimes, all of which I think are solvent based(?). I guess if I always use the (correct for solvents) respirator and can stand the minor workbench overspray then I'm done.
b) My 2nd, more flexible workbench option is to make a booth with a blower. I've seen reference above to various approaches on fans, but recall remembering from prior discussions that with solvents (again...the primer issue) it is inadviseable (dangerous) for the airflow to move over the motor; e.g., with bath or vent fans. I believe someone recommended squirrelcage blowers (which assumes the bearing in the flowpath won't spark). I see a fan on Amazon for less than $70, and my vent hookup would not be the easiest.
So, I'm primarily trying to find if there are appropriate non-solvent spray primers. Failing that, rather than build a vented booth (the workbench is not on an outside wall, which adds complexity) I may simply add some respirator discipline for spraying water based paints at the workbench. And when wanting to used solvent spray paints, so the garage doesn't fill with solvent fumes, open the garage door and put the box in the covered garage entry (outdoors) on that B&D folding workbench thingy that I think I've used about once a decade.
Just my perspective, which may have some relevance.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Should that not be "Sly 2"
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
I am taking all of your advice right now thanks rambo1.. or SLY !
i'm listening ,guys rio grand you are right I have a resperator but still like other advice don't know what to do right now
If you use a cartridge mask for spraying make sure the cartridges are marked for "mists, vapors, radons, daughter's of radons" If there are any harmful vapors created, you will not have to worry about breathing them. At one time I worked in a shipyard with some very interesting chemicals, and the respirators I wore had this type of cartridge. They are also good for asbestos removal.
herrinchoker
rambo1 I have a small air room purifier fan that has a filter in it can I start with that?
I have a small air room purifier fan that has a filter in it can I start with that?
Some paint fumes are combustable and some fans have open sparks. You need a special brushless fan that doesn't spark to reduce risk of fires/explosion.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Rambo--or should I call you "Sly?"--I hadn't done any painting at all since I moved into an apartment, many years ago (too busy building--and not finishing--cars and a loco) so when I moved into my curfrent apartment, I vowed I would finish all my projects before starting anything new. In my younger, more blaise years, I took a large corrugated cardboard box, cut off the flaps and one side, and sprayed Floquil to my heart's content, never realizing the danger. I knew lacquers are a lease-breaker, so I bought Polly-Scale replacements for my favorite colors and then didn't get around to painting. There's an exhaust fan/blower above the kitchen range, so I sharpened an old paring knife, cut up boxes, and made a cardboard spray booth with a telescoping chimney with a furnace filter inside it that fits snugly around the grill on the exhaust. I'm not sure I should've bothered, but as the Late Paul Larson pointed out when someone asked if he thought the powdery mold that built up on his RR books in the basement was harmful, replied, "It's not necessarily harmless to be bitten by a non-poisinous snake."
I'd even considered putting a box fan behind the "booth"--fronted by furnace filter, of course--and building a cardboard booth isn't hard. And it works!
Deano
My airbrush and compressor are permanantly set up at the end of my workbench in the garage. I don't have any kind of spray booth...I just let the overspray head toward the garage door. When I spray a lot, I open the door and might turn on a fan. When it's something small, I may not. I've done it this way for years.
Here in Texas, it's not that big of deal to wait for at least a warmish day to paint.
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
JAMES MOON Dave Nelson's advice is spot on. The risk is inhalation of so called sub pm10 particulate. These are the particles that are less than 10 microns in size and stay inside the lungs for long periods. A good half face respirator designed for painting will provide adequate protection as long as the respirator has a good fit to your face. Half face respirators do not fit properly if you have a beard or have not shaved recently.
Dave Nelson's advice is spot on. The risk is inhalation of so called sub pm10 particulate. These are the particles that are less than 10 microns in size and stay inside the lungs for long periods. A good half face respirator designed for painting will provide adequate protection as long as the respirator has a good fit to your face. Half face respirators do not fit properly if you have a beard or have not shaved recently.
Thats what I would recommend for no-booth painting to protect from particulates. (I am 40 hour HAZWOPR certified with many years of 8 hour refreshers)
The solvent based paints usually contain hazardous volatile organic compounds such as toluene, xylenes etc. which have health risks associated with them. Simply consult the NIOSH hand book or MSDS for those compounds to see what they are like.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
rambo1 another problem is that my compessor dosen't have a regulator tried to put one in did't work how important is one?
another problem is that my compessor dosen't have a regulator tried to put one in did't work how important is one?
You really need a regulator/filter to remove any moisture in the air as well as control the pressure. You can get combo units regulator/filter or seperate ones. Don't know why it didn't work, just install it on the output from compressor and connect hose to regulator/filter from airbrush.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
my jobs are just for weathering or painting locos or freight cars .
Antoine L. I was thinking about starting the adventure of airbrushing and now, after reading this post, I'm all scared. More questions arise. - Once outside from the vent, are the particles going to stick on my house's exterior walls (and stain it) ?
I was thinking about starting the adventure of airbrushing and now, after reading this post, I'm all scared. More questions arise.
- Once outside from the vent, are the particles going to stick on my house's exterior walls (and stain it) ?
No: that's one of the reasons to place a filter ahead of the exhaust fan. It also prevents paint build-up on the fan blades and motor, if it's an in-line type, and keeps the duct clean, too.
Antoine L. - What if you need to airbrush tracks that are fixed on the layout? how do you contain the particles spreading in your room's air? Do you recommend airbrushing tracks in the booth (or outside) before placing them down on the layout?
- What if you need to airbrush tracks that are fixed on the layout? how do you contain the particles spreading in your room's air? Do you recommend airbrushing tracks in the booth (or outside) before placing them down on the layout?
Personally, I don't recommend airbrushing tracks at all. Brush painting requires less prep work, less clean-up, and creates no overspray, which often dries before it lands. The latter is also known as dust. However, many folks do spraypaint their tracks, and an airbrush, with its greater control, will create less overspray than most rattle cans.If you're using flex track, pre-painting it beforehand is unwise: as soon as the track is flexed (accidentally or to form a curve), the rail will move, revealing unpainted areas. Sectional track likely wouldn't have that problem.
Wayne
Oy oy oy.
Thanks.
Antoine
galaxy I am asthmatic and use a good fine particle face mask. I probably should use a respirator, but I cannot breathe in one {I can barely breath in a mouth-covering type mask}.
I am asthmatic and use a good fine particle face mask. I probably should use a respirator, but I cannot breathe in one {I can barely breath in a mouth-covering type mask}.
Ditto.... But if a small quick style project (rail car one color paint job) or something I'm doing in stages (two or more color scheme, but must dry first between coats) I will set up a box (no booth yet) in my garage and not wear respirator until I am going to paint, then quick shot, cleaner quick shot, leave area and remove respirator...
Try to get this done in under 5-6 minutes, that way I still protect my lungs while not agrivating my asthma too much....
Longer times and I am better off without the respirator, as it bothers me just as much. I think just because it is a little more work to be moving air through them than normal style breathing......
(Now, if only I could get through to my employer this fact.... )
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
rambo1, you have several options given to you....so I don't know what you are looking for,and I don't know what you are trying to paint, is it fixed to a layout or removeable?.
They can be had cheap {few bucks, like mine},or expensive {a few hundred bucks}.
I made a "booth" with a VERY LARGE cardboard box {A portable table saw came in it}, an old {nib, never used} bathroom fan and a "hose" {fan/dryer type venting}to the outside window with a scrap board cut to fit the window space and a large cut out hole for the hose.Cost me very little.
Like was mentioned, use PROTECTION when doing any air brushing. Also Cover the fan with a filter of some kind to help keep paint out of IT. I am asthmatic and use a good fine particle face mask.I probably should use a respirator, but I cannot breathe in one {I can barely breath in a mouth-covering type mask}. Some protection is better than none.
I have also just set everything up inside, stepped out on the "enclosed" {loosely I might add} porch and Quickly sprayed away and brought it back inside to dry.
Just beware, but be safe too.
Have fun
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
even better
I picked up a used kitchen stove venthood (used but never 'used' so it is clean) and built a plywood box to mount it on. I haven't installed it yet but it shoud work quite well. It has a built in light and alum filter. I paid $12 for it at a Goodwill store. The wood I had in the shop. Just another method to an end.
I wouldn't use the laundry room - too much dust in the dryer duct, and disconnecting it from the dryer to attach it to the spray booth will put a lot of that dust in the air.The booth which I made cost two bucks - everything else was stuff laying around left over from other projects. If you don't have that kind of stuff, visit a subdivision under construction - in Toronto, that should be pretty close wherever you're located. There'll be lots of scrap material laying around - ask before taking it, of course, but I'm sure you'll get most of the raw materials needed. Aluminum dryer duct is cheap (Home Depot, Rona, etc.) and a cheap bathroom exhaust fan will get rid of the fumes. While you're scrounging plywood, get a hunk big enough to fit into a window in the room you choose for painting - it should be as wide as a lift-up sliding window or as high as a window which slides to the side. The other dimension needs to be only 3" or 4" greater than the diameter of your exhaust duct. Cut a round hole in that plywood, sized to tightly match your exhaust duct, and when you wish to paint, open the window and insert the plywood into the open portion. It will keep the weather out while you're painting, and hold the exhaust duct in place.
you guys getting the snow? off topic I know
or buy one
what else could I do or use?
I will agree on that broadway
With water based paints this might work, I'd not use oil base paints in there for fear of a fire.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
also i use the laundery room there is a dryer vent there . Could I disconnect the vent from the booth when not in use?
never thought about ebay but how good are they at that price?
Rambo, how cheap are you looking at? They have spray booths for as little as $55 on E-Bay that vent out a double-hung window closed down on the exhaust hose. If I had a double hung or sliding window in my basement I would buy one myself. If I buy one I have to make a pretty extensive modification to a basement window, something I still may do.
Dave makes some good points, but there's no reason why you can't have a spray booth for occasional use. I made mine using a 3/4" plywood base. The sides and top are Masonite, assembled using aluminum corner trim (for aluminum siding) and pop rivets. I installed a floor register plenum and some 4" aluminum duct for the exhaust, and installed a motor/fan from an airhockey game in the base of the plenum. Some 1"x2" strips form a filter holder to keep the majority of the particulate matter from reaching the fan - it's sized to accept one-half of a standard size furnace filter - I use the fibreglass type, not the more expensive (and restrictive) pleated paper ones.For in-house (or in-basement) use, cut a sheet of plywood or similar material to fit a window opening in the room in which you plan to paint - it need be only big enough to hold a dryer vent exhaust cap with an integral flap and to cover the remainder of the opening of the window. If you have a sliding window, vertical or horizontal, open it only enough to accommodate this assembly.
In the photo below, there's flexible dryer hose for the exhaust - not the best choice, but it worked well for over 30 years. I used two permanently mounted desk lamps for lighting, but for a temporary set-up, clip-on ones might be more practical.For my set-up, I had all the components on-hand except for the plenum, which cost only a couple of bucks at Canadian Tire.
The set-up shown is separate room in my basement workshop (models only), but a couple of years ago, I moved it out to my garage. This is a separate building about 100' behind the house. A former house, it's used for storage (not cars, though) and as a workshop. In the shop area, I built a small room, about 4'x7', sheathing its exterior in plywood (to keep the critters out) and the interior in drywall. I also included a subfloor, as the concrete floor is neither level nor, especially in the spring, dry. The dryer hose was replaced by aluminum duct, but otherwise, the set-up is the same as shown. When I wish to paint in the winter, there's a small, portable electric heater - I run it for an hour-or-so prior to painting, so that the room is at a comfortable temperature. Using my regular compressor, the heat from its operation keeps the room comfortable, but if I use a more portable compressor, I leave the heater running (it's thermostat-contolled) to keep the temperature reasonable.If your garage has enough room, you could use a similar solution if you get to the point where you're painting more often. I did painting for a LHS and for several friends, too, so mine has always been well-used.
I initially used only solvent-based paints, and always wore a two-stage respirator - one stage removes the paint particles from the breathing air, the second stage removes the harmful chemical vapours (and their odour). Even nowadays, using water-based paints, I always wear the respirator.