If you do an on-line search for "model spray booth" you'll find a handful of examples that will come very close (or lower) to your $100 price point.
Jim
hbgatsf What did you wind up using for the fan?
What did you wind up using for the fan?
https://acinfinity.com/hydroponics-growers/booster-duct-fans/raxial-s6-inline-booster-duct-fan-with-speed-controller-6-inch/?gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHM_n-epAlVG9qaaDiUreFrWaetd9oYbl6y8G-aLX0xYGNRZRLmv7AxoCElEQAvD_BwE
Along with the fan, I bbought a 25' flexible duct to vent fumes.
https://acinfinity.com/hvac-home-ventilation/ducting-clamps-grilles/ac-infinity-flexible-four-layer-ducting-25-ft-long-6-inch/
Next up, I plan to purchase a Badger Airstorm 180-15 compressor.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain I need to purchase a compressor and face respirator.
3M has several models that work well. This is the one I have been using. https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-Reusable-Painting-Valved-Safety-Mask/5000575669
Rick
hbgatsf Rich, how did this project turn out?
Rich, how did this project turn out?
I had some very nice cabinet grade 3/4" plywood left over from a project at my daughter's house where we turned her unfinished attic into a 2-room office/playroom space. So, I used this plywood to build the spray booth. I need to take a photo of the finished spray booth, but here is one that I took as a progress photo.
I have actually made more progress than this photo shows. What you are looking at is the front of the spray booth. I have added the back panel which sits diagonally with a 6" diameter circular hole to hold the exhaust fan. In front of the exhaust fan, I will add some trim to hold a furnace filter in place. The final piece will be the top piece to more fully enclose the booth.
I have the fan and the filter, but I still need to install them. I also have a 25' flexible roll of duct to vent the fumes to the outside of my garage where the spraying will take place. I need to purchase a compressor and face respirator. A very kind friend of mine surprised me with a brand new airbrush. So, now, I just need to get moving and finish these preparations so that I can move on to the paint spraying phase.
richhotrain Nah, I may be guilty of overanalyzing these issues but not to the point of paralysis. Thanks to the two threads that I have started and all of the great replies, including your own, have given me all of the information and understanding that I need to move forward. I have now decided on an airbrush, compressor, exhaust fan and respirator, and I will build my own spray booth. So, I am ready to rock and roll, and I am excited to move forward. I look forward to posting my results in the coming weeks. Rich
Nah, I may be guilty of overanalyzing these issues but not to the point of paralysis. Thanks to the two threads that I have started and all of the great replies, including your own, have given me all of the information and understanding that I need to move forward. I have now decided on an airbrush, compressor, exhaust fan and respirator, and I will build my own spray booth. So, I am ready to rock and roll, and I am excited to move forward. I look forward to posting my results in the coming weeks.
My brother built a spray booth from a cabinet he found on the roadside. The details are here https://sites.google.com/view/rmahome/ , go to downloads for Railway Modeller Australia and go to July/August Issue. There is a lot of information about jigs in the same article.
Admittedly here in Australia, we do not have the extremes that we can use a spray booth in a shed even in winter but it may be useful to someone here,
Cheers
Trevor
My exhaust duct is only 5' long from the paint shop to the outdoors, and I have an adjustable louver, low on the wall of the paint shop, to permit an inflow of clean air from inside the garage, which provides an easy means of keeping the exhaust flow moving.
In the winter, I run a portable electric heater in my paint shop, usually for about an hour, mainly to warm the oil in the compressor before I bring out the items that need to be painted. Depending on how cold it is, I usually leave the heater on LOW or Medium while I paint.
Wayne
gmpullman richhotrain The other would be in the basement by the layout where a window would be opened to route the duct to the outside. Would you have to leave the window open while the exhaust fan was running, Rich? The reason I ask is that unless the hose can get some distance away from the open window you risk pulling the fumes right back into the basement. There's lots of ways to fit a duct hood into an existing window frame. https://www.dryerventhq.com/basement-window-dryer-vent/
richhotrain The other would be in the basement by the layout where a window would be opened to route the duct to the outside.
Would you have to leave the window open while the exhaust fan was running, Rich? The reason I ask is that unless the hose can get some distance away from the open window you risk pulling the fumes right back into the basement.
There's lots of ways to fit a duct hood into an existing window frame.
https://www.dryerventhq.com/basement-window-dryer-vent/
I haven't actually determined yet where to place the spray booth. I don't have a work bench or work area, per se. I have a few homemade "tables" spread around the basement that I use for doing various layout related tasks.
Up until now, when I have spray painted with rattle cans, I have gone out to the garage, opened the overhead doors and the rear garage door, and then spray, using large sheets of cardboard on the garage floor and as a backdrop to catch overspray.
In my last home, I mounted an exhaust fan on a sheet of plywood. The basement windows were removable, so I would remove the window and replace it with the plywood holding the exhaust fan. Here is a photo.
I still have the fan, but I have never used it in my current home because the basement windows, although removable, are a different size than the old windows and I have never taken the time to remount the fan.
At least initially, I plan to treat the spray booth as mobile rather than stationary. So, I may cut a piece of plywood to fit the basement window opening and run the duct through a hole in the plywood, connecting the duct to the exhaust fan which will be mounted on the rear panel of the spray booth.
richhotrainThe other would be in the basement by the layout where a window would be opened to route the duct to the outside.
I have six (seven, forgot the clothes dryer) exhaust hood outlets in various places around my house. Some vent through the basement joist band and others through the eaves.
Regards, Ed
gmpullman maxman Get the flexible metal stuff, not the plastic. I was going to suggest going with 6" or even 8". The corrugations actually slow down air movement. I don't know how far Rich would have to go with his "permanent" paint booth to vent outside. 6" 4 layer aluminum flex duct: https://a.co/d/dNPCHYx
maxman Get the flexible metal stuff, not the plastic.
I was going to suggest going with 6" or even 8". The corrugations actually slow down air movement. I don't know how far Rich would have to go with his "permanent" paint booth to vent outside.
6" 4 layer aluminum flex duct:
https://a.co/d/dNPCHYx
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZPC5GTX?tag=layoutsparks-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1
I have two possible locations for the spray booth. One would be in my attached garage near the back door of the garage. The other would be in the basement by the layout where a window would be opened to route the duct to the outside.
maxmanGet the flexible metal stuff, not the plastic.
I was fortunate that I had a 16" x 36" void behind an upstairs shower stall that I could run strait sections of galvanized duct work straight up through to the attic and vented to the eaves. I have a dual-cage industrial blower connected to this with a variable speed control.
gmpullmanat least you can get some flexible dryer vent duct
Get the flexible metal stuff, not the plastic. The plastic eventually rots and falls apart.
gmpullman Hello Rich, I've been following along a bit here from the balcony. From your most recent post what I believe I'm observing, if I may politely say, is a bit of analysis paralysis. I think you might be trying to tackle this beast from all sides before you even have the airbrush in your hands.
Hello Rich,
I've been following along a bit here from the balcony. From your most recent post what I believe I'm observing, if I may politely say, is a bit of analysis paralysis. I think you might be trying to tackle this beast from all sides before you even have the airbrush in your hands.
richhotrainFor fume hoods at research labs the face velocity is typically maintained at 100 feet per minute. Based on that: CFM = face velocity x area if your hood opening is 24 x 18 (2' x 1.5') then CFM = 100 x 2 x 1.5 = 300 CFM
Don't confuse fume hoods with spray booths. Two different animals. I worked on dozens of fume hoods at GE and the specs mentioned above are very important for OSHA standards and employee safety.
Many of our hoods were used to vent very poisonous gases. It was imperitave that they worked. I could go on about the ins and outs of designing and maintaining these things. The air velocity of a fume hood is considerably greater than what a paint booth would require.
My advice to you is to take a step back and maybe get the airbrush (or two) of your choice and a source of compressed air. If you want to "play" with a booth use some of the suggestions from above and set up a simple box or perhaps a larger storage container, mount a larger "pancake" fan in the top or side or back and place some furnace filter material over it to keep the paint solids from gumming up the works.
Set up your temporary "pilot operation" in a well ventilated area, maybe a porch or garage, or at least you can get some flexible dryer vent duct and direct it temporarily out a window. Then get familiar with your actual airbrush painting technique.
Once you have a feel for that and have an idea of what paints you'll be shooting you can get a better grasp on what kind of "atmosphere control" you would like.
In my setup I simply have an overhead exhaust fan to pull the VOCs out of the air and pull in some "make-up" air from other parts of the train room. I placed a register on the basement door so that when my exhaust fan is running some make up air can be drawn into the room. For every cubic foot of "bad air" you're trying to get rid of you have to have a cubic foot of good air come in from... somewhere.
Many of my painting projects are large structures and the average hobby paint "booth" wouldn't give me the necessary "elbow room" to navigate in. Some modelers, however, don't have the need for anything too large since they primarily focus on locomotive and rolling stock painting and/or weathering.
Hope that helps, Ed
A few examples from my "minimalist" school of car painting.
This is from an unpainted Bowser PCC car. The paint is done with rattle cans from the hardware store and blue painters' masking tape. I printed the decals myself on my inkjet printer. The model came with no window glazing. It looks like I made at least a windshield with a piece of acetate.
Here's another trolley. This one is a Bachmann Peter Witt model, which I got undecorated and unpainted. It came with flush with the surface plastic window glazing. Again, rattle can paint and tape for masking.
Finally, a pair of very old Tyco streamline passenger cars. These were all aluminum bodies and only had a sheet of fogged acetate stuck inside as window glazing. Flush-mounted plastic windows would have improved the model. I got some of thes in an old box of trains, and some from ebay decades later, so I guess all the detailing was oringinal. The box of trains ones had some applied decals, that were literally peeling off, so I just removed them.
The car on the right has been done, the car on the left has not. I'm not sure if I painted them or just thoroughly cleaned them and applied a gloss coat of spray paint. Again, masking was done and the stripe applied with rattle can paint. I used store-bought decals for numbering and created a decal on my printer for each car's name tag. The car on the right is a dining car. It is named after Alferd (yes, that's how he spelled it) G. Packer, the only person in the United States ever convicted of cannibalism.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
NVSRR Cfm cubic feet per minute. It is the rating measure of the ability of any air moving device. In a spray booth, you want enough air moving to pull 5rough the filter so the booths purpose is fulfilled. The cfm rating of 5e blower thought completely depends on the booth size. Smaller booth, smaller blower. Maybe somebody here remembers the formula for figuring that out based on the volume of the booth. My booth is large because I do large scale at times. Your target will most likely be 150 to 200cfm.
Cfm cubic feet per minute. It is the rating measure of the ability of any air moving device. In a spray booth, you want enough air moving to pull 5rough the filter so the booths purpose is fulfilled. The cfm rating of 5e blower thought completely depends on the booth size. Smaller booth, smaller blower. Maybe somebody here remembers the formula for figuring that out based on the volume of the booth. My booth is large because I do large scale at times. Your target will most likely be 150 to 200cfm.
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/282494/3246026.aspx#3246026
Here is what the poster had to say about determing the appropriate CFMs:
For fume hoods at research labs the face velocity is typically maintained at 100 feet per minute. Based on that:
CFM = face velocity x area
if your hood opening is 24 x 18 (2' x 1.5') then
CFM = 100 x 2 x 1.5 = 300 CFM
use the above formula and adjust for your face area. A thin filter probably has a pressure drop around .25" when somewhat dirty with paint. The duct pressure drop if short and say 1 elbow maybe adds another .25". So if you can find fan data that includes the CFM and pressure, using the above example, pick a fan that moves 300 CFM while developing at least 0.5" pressure. If, say your CFM works out to be 400 CFM, find a fan that produces 400 CFM again at 0.5" pressure.
Thanks for that post, TF. I really do like the idea of the inline duct fan because it also provides an attachment to vent the fumes outside of the work space. For those fans with brushless motors, the spark issue is eliminated. So, that seems to me to be the exhaust fan of choice.
Good morning Rich
As cost effective as they are, I thought I'd point out that I've used those inline duct fans through the years in construction for different reasons. That's what I plan to use when I make a spray booth as well.
I remember when they were 15 - $20.00 bucks. Now-a-days they're 40 - $60.00 for the higher CFM ones but still a reasonable price for your objective.
I had one running constantly through the wall to an exterior wall closet that used to get mold on the walls. I'd flip the switch every late fall and that thing ran all winter. Later I got smart and put a thermostat switch in the closet. That thing ran over 15 years and was still working when I sold the house.
TF
doctorwayne richhotrain What is a two-stage respirator? I have not heard that term before. I first learned of them when I started my job in a steel mill. The respirator is equipped with elasticised straps to hold the face-portion tight against the face, so there's no chance of fumes getting past the mask. The term two-stage refers to the fact that the filter cannisters, which screw onto the mask, will prevent both particulate matter, and fumes from the paint, from entering your lungs. Here's a picture, luckily without the mask on my face...didn't want to scare anybody.... When I'm airbrushing, there's no smell of paint or thinners and no paint-dust residue on the hairs in my nose, either. In a steel mill, the filter cannisters often needed to be changed daily, and sometimes several times a day. When using a ventilated spray booth, the filter cannisters can last for months or even years. The mask and cannisters should be available at any outlet offering safety gear. It's always puzzled me why many spray booths have the filter screens and vent ducts at the back of the spray booth, directly in the path of the sprayed paint. Seems to me that you'd have to be changing the filters every time you painted an item.I've painted over 40 freight cars in a session and in some cases, did similar work daily for a couple of weeks, before the top-mounted filter needed to be changed. Sure, there's lots of overspray on the back of the booth, but it's stuck there for good, and not hurting anything. Wayne
richhotrain What is a two-stage respirator? I have not heard that term before.
I first learned of them when I started my job in a steel mill. The respirator is equipped with elasticised straps to hold the face-portion tight against the face, so there's no chance of fumes getting past the mask.
The term two-stage refers to the fact that the filter cannisters, which screw onto the mask, will prevent both particulate matter, and fumes from the paint, from entering your lungs.
Here's a picture, luckily without the mask on my face...didn't want to scare anybody....
When I'm airbrushing, there's no smell of paint or thinners and no paint-dust residue on the hairs in my nose, either.
In a steel mill, the filter cannisters often needed to be changed daily, and sometimes several times a day. When using a ventilated spray booth, the filter cannisters can last for months or even years.
The mask and cannisters should be available at any outlet offering safety gear.
It's always puzzled me why many spray booths have the filter screens and vent ducts at the back of the spray booth, directly in the path of the sprayed paint. Seems to me that you'd have to be changing the filters every time you painted an item.I've painted over 40 freight cars in a session and in some cases, did similar work daily for a couple of weeks, before the top-mounted filter needed to be changed. Sure, there's lots of overspray on the back of the booth, but it's stuck there for good, and not hurting anything.
Your comment about the position of the filter screen intrigues me. I have no answer for why most filter screens and vent ducts are mounted at the back of the spray booth. Placing these two parts at the top of the spray booth does make sense to me. Perhaps a more knowledgeable reader of this thread can provide an answer.
I don't want to leave anyone out here. I appreciate each and every post. So, thank you, Terry, maxman, Mister Beasley, Joel_W, Dave and David.
PC101 I would want a paint booth with an external blower motor. If you are using flamable vapor paint, cleaner or paint remover or non-flamable vapor paint you would not want the paint mist and vapors passing over/through the motor. Motor brushes ware and make sparks, sparks and flamable vapor make for an exciting time at the least. It is also easier to clean the paint residue off the squirrel cage only then the squirrel cage and the motor. I can say that I don't recall hearing of anybody that blew off their exhaust pipe. My home made all sheet metal spray booth with an external blower motor may very well be over 30 years old. A lot of air and flamable Floquil and other brands of paint went through that blower wheel. Heck, one time even a chipmunk came down the exaust vent, past the blower wheel and chewed it's way through the filter.
I would want a paint booth with an external blower motor. If you are using flamable vapor paint, cleaner or paint remover or non-flamable vapor paint you would not want the paint mist and vapors passing over/through the motor. Motor brushes ware and make sparks, sparks and flamable vapor make for an exciting time at the least.
It is also easier to clean the paint residue off the squirrel cage only then the squirrel cage and the motor.
I can say that I don't recall hearing of anybody that blew off their exhaust pipe.
My home made all sheet metal spray booth with an external blower motor may very well be over 30 years old. A lot of air and flamable Floquil and other brands of paint went through that blower wheel.
Heck, one time even a chipmunk came down the exaust vent, past the blower wheel and chewed it's way through the filter.
richhotrainWhat is a two-stage respirator? I have not heard that term before.
I spray paint out of doors, on my deck. I just lay some newspaper down to keep the paint off the deck. Keeps the paint smell out of the house.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
Hi Rich,
I built my own spray booth mostly out of stuff I had laying around the garage.
I used:
- a 16" square 3 speed box fan,
- 16" x 16" fibre furnace filters,
- scrap 1/2" plywood,
- a small LED light bar,
- a power bar (optional),
- a pressure regulator with gauge (optional),
- various hose fittings,
The shape of the booth looks fancy but it was dictated more by the size of the plywood scraps than function.
The pressure regulator and gauge are there for convenience. They are not necessary. They just save me from having to walk to the compressor to make fine adjustments.
The power bar allows the fan and the light to be shut off all at once. You could also plug a small compressor into it.
The filters clog up very quickly so they have to changed on a regular basis. To test how clooged the filters are, turn the fan on and then pull the filter away from the fan. If the fan speed increases noticeably then the filter needs to be replaced regardless of whether it looks clogged or not.
Suitable fans can be purchased on eBay for peanuts. Here is one example. This one is 16" x 16". It doesn't mention whether or not it is a brushless motor (i.e. no sparks) but IMHO you would have to be putting a lot of overspray into the air before there is a risk of explosion. That is highly unlikely when painting models (let the debate begin!!) Just make sure that the area is well ventilated:
https://i.imgur.com/ZQbaFWx.jpg
As you are probably aware, you can buy either dedicated air brush tankless compressors, or slightly larger multi-purpose compressors. Here is one example of a dedicated air brush compressor:
https://www.amazon.ca/Timbertech-Professional-Upgraded-Airbrush-Compressor/dp/B07VT2F5N9/ref=sr_1_5?crid=38880MHHP24SW&keywords=airbrush+air+compressor&qid=1668129761&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjg3IiwicXNhIjoiMy4wOCIsInFzcCI6IjIuNDUifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=air+brush+compressors+%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-5
I suggest considering the larger option just because it may come in handy for a whole bunch of other uses. Note that there are huge differences in the noise levels between the various designs. My old 'pancake' compressor was deafening! My new unit makes very little noise. It is similar to this:
https://www.amazon.ca/California-Air-Tools-CAT-1P1060S-Compressor/dp/B01LYHYHEA/ref=sr_1_20?crid=QTIJS7XMPA2&keywords=air+compressors+portable&qid=1668129584&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjY0IiwicXNhIjoiMi4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjEuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=air+compressors%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-20
Keep in mind that the prices are in Canadian dollars.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Joel_W richhotrain The issue of sparks and combustion has come up several times. It is a warning worth heeding. Thanks for the reminder, Shane. Rich Brand new member here, and basically a brand new model railroader as it's been 35 years since my last and previously only layout. My other modeling interest is scale plastic race cars. Currently I have 3 Grex air brushes each dedicated to a specific task. I also have a spray booth purchased years ago on ebay which seems to be one of the most popular units sold. I've never until just now heard of any issues with combustion of flamable paint due to sparks from the fan motor. Is this issue geared more towards a home made unit rather then a commercial one? joel_W
richhotrain The issue of sparks and combustion has come up several times. It is a warning worth heeding. Thanks for the reminder, Shane. Rich
The issue of sparks and combustion has come up several times. It is a warning worth heeding. Thanks for the reminder, Shane.
Brand new member here, and basically a brand new model railroader as it's been 35 years since my last and previously only layout.
My other modeling interest is scale plastic race cars. Currently I have 3 Grex air brushes each dedicated to a specific task. I also have a spray booth purchased years ago on ebay which seems to be one of the most popular units sold. I've never until just now heard of any issues with combustion of flamable paint due to sparks from the fan motor. Is this issue geared more towards a home made unit rather then a commercial one?
joel_W
mbinsewi I need to do the same Rich, I've been putting it off, using the garage when weather permits. I'll be watching! First time with an airbrush Rich? That booth Kevin built is awesome, almost like a "commercial" version, I remember his build thread on that. I'll be doing something more in line with what Wayne built. Mike.
I need to do the same Rich, I've been putting it off, using the garage when weather permits.
I'll be watching! First time with an airbrush Rich?
That booth Kevin built is awesome, almost like a "commercial" version, I remember his build thread on that.
I'll be doing something more in line with what Wayne built.
Mike.
Cfm cubic feet per minute. It is the rating measure of the ability of any air moving device. In a spray booth, you want enough air moving to pull 5rough the filter so the booths purpose is fulfilled. The cfm rating of 5e blower thought completely depends on the booth size. Smaller booth, smaller blower. Maybe somebody here remembers the formula for figuring that out based on the volume of the booth. My booth is large because I do large scale at times. Your target will most likely be 150 to 200cfm. Either by a squirrel cage blower or induction motor type. So you don't have the fire risk. Other motors have spark producing elements and have 5e motor mounted in the air stream. Something to keep in mind
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Rattle cans, a cardboard box, and wait for a nice day works for me. I just don't do enough painting that it would be worth it to invest in an airbrush. Retired, so there's no time pressure. And there are always plenty of other projects.