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Hobby Spray Booth

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Posted by maxman on Thursday, November 10, 2022 11:31 AM

 

Here's a photo of mine, built from plans in the January, 1988 MR.  Article was called the Paint Shop Spray Booth by Andy Sperandeo.  Had all the information you need.

 

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 10, 2022 11:30 AM

NVSRR

I took one of those clear plastic storage boxes cut a hole in the bottom. And mounted a squirrel cage fan.   I got that off eBay for 50. The box was damaged.  Only damage to the unit was a bent flange.    A little large at 450cfm. But has a hi low feature.  That vents into a hazmat carbon filter. For the rare times I use solvents.    Works well.   And space for the large scale in there 

shane 

Thanks, Shane, something to consider. 

Are CFMs the key consideration for a spray booth blower?

Rich

 

Alton Junction

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Posted by NVSRR on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:50 AM

I took one of those clear plastic storage boxes cut a hole in the bottom. And mounted a squirrel cage fan.   I got that off eBay for 50. The box was damaged.  Only damage to the unit was a bent flange.    A little large at 450cfm. But has a hi low feature.  That vents into a hazmat carbon filter. For the rare times I use solvents.    Works well.   And space for the large scale in there

 

shane

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An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:37 AM

Thanks for your reply, Wayne. 

What is a two-stage respirator? I have not heard that term before. 

I have been planning to buy a 3M Half Mask Respirator, but the term "stage" is nowhere to be found. 

Regarding the spray booth, is there a minimum sized exhaust fan that must be used to adequtely vent the fumes?

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by PennCentral99 on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:30 AM

Hello Rich,

I use an old residential kitchen exhaust hood for my spray booth. I laid it on it's back, mounted it to an old workbench, inverted the motor/fan blades to give me more working room inside the booth, and use cheap 12"x12" filters to capture the overspray before it reaches the motor. I do my spraying in the garage and mainly use acrylics, so odor isn't an issue.

I think the cfm rating would also depend on the length of run for the exhaust. The location (inside the house/in the garage) would be a consideration for the size of cfm. If your spraying lacquers/enamels, the fan should be intrinsically safe as to not create a spark or fire hazard.

If I were to build another spray booth, I would use a squirrel cage fan blower.

Another consideration is lighting. For me, I need LOTS of light while airbrushing, I want the best visiblity to see exactly how it's being applied.

Terry

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Posted by mbinsewi on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:29 AM

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.

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Posted by doctorwayne on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:19 AM

richhotrain
What do others do for a spray booth? I welcome all suggestions and advice.

I made my spray booth using part of an old end table, some left-over sheets of Masonite, and some "L"-shaped aluminum left-overs from installing a drop ceiling in the basement....

...the picture above shows it in my basement workshop, but I later moved it into a very small custom-built room in our 180 year old garage.
I added a turntable, cut from some 3/4" plywood, supposedly meant for painting items, but have never needed to use it...I simply hold the item to be painted, either wearing a nitrile glove over one hand, or stick a piece of wood into the body shell of the item being painted.
The plastic vent pipe has been replaced with metal furnace pipe, and I used spun fibreglass furnace filters, cut-to-size, and slipped into wooden tracks in the roof of the spray booth.
Directly above the filter is a small fan, swiped from an old air-hockey game - it vents the fumes from the sprayed paint directly outdoors, while the excess paint is caught in the filter material.

The spray booth has been in use for almost 40 years. 

When airbrushing, I always wear a two-stage respirator, which prevents inhalation of both the sprayed particals and the fumes from the various types of paint. 

With the respirator properly worn, you could probably dump a gallon of lacquer thinner and not even smell it.  I'd suggest that a two-stage respirator be on your shopping listm, regardless of the types of paint that you use.

Wayne

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 10, 2022 10:14 AM

SeeYou190

This is the link to the thread about the Ultimate Hobby Paint Booth that I built.

It cost over $1,000.00 to build, but for my needs, it is perfect.

Prior to that beast, I used a cheap one from Micro-Mark Tools for about twenty years, and it was fine.

-Kevin 

Kevin, the cost to build nearly scared me off, but I read through the entire thread. Some very useful information there. Thanks for posting.

Rich

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, November 10, 2022 9:36 AM

This is the link to the thread about the Ultimate Hobby Paint Booth that I built.

It cost over $1,000.00 to build, but for my needs, it is perfect.

Prior to that beast, I used a cheap one from Micro-Mark Tools for about twenty years, and it was fine.

-Kevin

 

Living the dream.

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Hobby Spray Booth
Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 10, 2022 9:24 AM

I have decided to buy an airbrush and compressor, but I am hung up on the issue of a spray booth. I am torn between buying a commercially available spray booth or building my own.

A decent commercially available spray booth starts at about $135 and up. I would like to build one for under $100. The main issue seems to be the exhaust fan. What size should it be? How powerful should it be? Lots of technical data about CFMs, etc.

What do others do for a spray booth? I welcome all suggestions and advice.

Rich

Alton Junction

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