Spray Booth
Don Stauffer
Wsax wrote:
>
> I would appreciate any suggestions, plans etc. for building a spray booth.
> Fan and filter to use, etc. I would like to vent it out a window using
> dryer hose.
> Thanks:
> Walter
I have collected most of the parts to make a new booth. I had promised
to post pictures after I finished, but I sure am slow getting started.
Anyway, I use a discarded large cardboard box for the booth, an
automobile air cleaner for the filter, and a Radio Shack muffin fan for
the fan. Filter and fan are mounted to a piece of hardboard, and
dropped into a cutout in top of box. Weight holds assembly in place.
Only thing I have not got yet is the dryer hose and the fittings to hold
the hose at each end. I may start to build the booth even before I pick
up these last items. My previous two boxes made this way were not
vented, but I do intend to vent new box.
--
Don Stauffer in Minneapolis
Jerry Gardner
On 2 Jun 1997 19:49:39 GMT, ws...@aol.com (Wsax) wrote:
>I would appreciate any suggestions, plans etc. for building a spray booth.
>Fan and filter to use, etc. I would like to vent it out a window using
>dryer hose.
I built my booth using a particle board box measuring 30x16x16" bought at a
local hardware store and a Dayton 950 CFM exhaust fan bought at Grainger. I'm
using a disposable furnace filter to keep paint out of the fan. I vented the
fan using 6" vent pipe through a hole in the garage wall.
You really need a fan this big to have an adequate airflow. Don't believe
anyone who tells you you can get away with a muffin fan or a bathroom exhaust
fan. FSM did a review on paint booths a few years ago and concluded that only
the models built with the big Dayton fans had sufficient air flow.
Remember, a Dayton fan may cost $120, but how much does a new pair of lungs
cost?
--
Jerry Gardner, W6UV | Bill Clinton has all the steely resolve of
(w6uv at ccnet dot com) | a kamikaze pilot on his 37th mission.
Gene K
Walter
Here's how I do mine (disposable, in a manner of speaking):
1. Buy a bathroom fan at the hardware store - the kind that mounts
flush on the ceiling. Wire an on-off switch into an electrical cord
that will plug into wall outlet (or plan to turn on-off via plugging
and unplugging).
2. Get a cardboard box of whatever size you can accommodate, place on
side so opening is facing you and mark out mounting hole on the bottom
(your choice as to top, bottom, or sides - I put mine on bottom
because I felt it would do better job of clearing overspray). Don't
take flaps off the box - I fold mine nearly all the way back in to
trap any swirling paint that may not be sucked out by the fan. Cut a
large position of the "top" of the box out and cover with Saran Wrap
(disposable), this opening being for light -- I swing my lighted
magnifying lamp over the top to use it as my light source.
3. Mount the fan just like you were mounting to a ceiling, and seal
edges on the outside with duct tape ( airtight and also easy to
disassemble).
4. Attach dryer vent (you may need an adapter to get right size). I
didn't worry about plastic vice metal since it doesn't get hot as with
a dryer.
5. Cut a piece of cardboard the width of your window and about 6
inches high. Cut a hole to accommodate the exhaust end of your hose
and mount this cardboard piece on your window sill, closing the window
on top of the cardboard to trap it use strip of foam rubber along
edges if looking for a tight seal - or call on (ta dah) duct tape.
Again - disposable and easy to fabricate with Xacto knife and ruler.
6. Line the inside of your new booth with white paper -- helps
lighting, is handy to do test sprays, and is disposable (there's that
word again).
7. Turn the booth on 15-30 minutes before you spray to expel any dust
in the room, and then spray to your heart's content. I don't worry
about explosions and sealed motors since I doubt I could generate the
required combustible mixture. Many folks on RMS, however, have
cautioned about explosion hazard -- I've been doing this for 20 odd
years with no bang. As for health, I still use a good cartridge
respirator when doing the nasty stuff like lacquer and dope -- can't
be too safe.
8. As for a filter, I use a porous air conditioning filter cut to size
which lays on bottom of the booth on top of top of the exhaust fan.
9. For cleaning the airbrush, I spray into a plastic quart milk
container filled half with water via a straw going into the container
near the top and going down into the water. Poke small pressure relief
hole near top. Booth catches fumes and water catches thinner, etc.
Of course, you could use wood, plexiglass, etc to make a permanent
booth, but the above is fast, easy, and adaptable!! Not bad for $23.
Good luck
Gene K
On 2 Jun 1997 19:49:39 GMT, in rec.models.scale you wrote:
>I would appreciate any suggestions, plans etc. for building a spray booth.
>Fan and filter to use, etc. I would like to vent it out a window using
>dryer hose.
>Thanks:
> Walter
Nick Corea
OK... my turn.
I have a window right above, and behind, my work table, so this is very
convenient.
Step 1: I bought a window fan from Target. The kind that has two 8" fans
side by side. It's about 12-14" tall and 24" wide, with expandable,
sliding plastic sections on each side (to fit "any window").
Step 2: I then built a cardboard box that fits around the outside of the
window fan unit, and extends "into the room" about 18".
Step 3: I keep it in the closet. And when it's time to paint, I open my
window (and another window across the room), stick the new "spray booth"
against the screen and VOILA! The fan pulls quite a bit of air. The
second open window helps the ventilation.
You may want to throw an air conditioning vent style filter in the box,
against the fans, to catch the paint. This is if you dont like your
screen looking like a Greatful Dead T-shirt in a few weeks.
You could design your box dimensions to fit a particular filter size,
but then the box may not fit your fan so well. This then requires more
design and eventually a wobbly thing that falls appart after a few
moves. Steps 1-3 produce a fan unit with a box taped to it.... it's
simple, sturdy, and mine has lasted me 3 years!!! My fan unit comes with
a handle at the top, so I carry it by that, the box weighs nothing, so
it hasn't started to fall off yet.
As for explosion hazzards... well, I use only Gunze and Tamiya paint. I
thin with basically alcohol. I don't think this is a risk. Also, there's
a lot of air moving through this system, I can't imagine any stagnate
quantity of flamable fumes or dust hanging arount the motors.
BTW: If I could afford the room... I'd build a nicely designed, easy to
clean, well lighten, silent, professional spray booth.
Well, that's my $.02
Bob Buxbaum
w6...@nospam.ccnet.com (Jerry Gardner) wrote:
>On 2 Jun 1997 19:49:39 GMT, ws...@aol.com (Wsax) wrote:
>
>>I would appreciate any suggestions, plans etc. for building a spray booth.
>>Fan and filter to use, etc. I would like to vent it out a window using
>>dryer hose.
>
>I built my booth using a particle board box measuring 30x16x16" bought at a
>local hardware store and a Dayton 950 CFM exhaust fan bought at Grainger. I'm
>using a disposable furnace filter to keep paint out of the fan. I vented the
>fan using 6" vent pipe through a hole in the garage wall.
>
>You really need a fan this big to have an adequate airflow. Don't believe
>anyone who tells you you can get away with a muffin fan or a bathroom exhaust
>fan. FSM did a review on paint booths a few years ago and concluded that only
>the models built with the big Dayton fans had sufficient air flow.
>
>Remember, a Dayton fan may cost $120, but how much does a new pair of lungs
>cost?
>
>
>--
>Jerry Gardner, W6UV | Bill Clinton has all the steely resolve of
>(w6uv at ccnet dot com) | a kamikaze pilot on his 37th mission.
Have to respectfully disagree about the bathroom exhaust fan. I have
been using one for YEARS with no problems at all. It dumps into 4"
aluminum dryer duct hose/tube. I clean the fan every so often and
that's it.
Bob Buxbaum
cpv...@erols.com
Jerry Gardner
On Wed, 04 Jun 1997 19:14:18 GMT, cpv...@erols.com (Bob Buxbaum) wrote:
>Have to respectfully disagree about the bathroom exhaust fan. I have
>been using one for YEARS with no problems at all. It dumps into 4"
>aluminum dryer duct hose/tube. I clean the fan every so often and
>that's it.
Oh sure, but remember, the damage caused by toxic organic fumes is cumulative
and gradual. You may not notice a problem for years--and then bang!
Kinda like smoking. No problems for years until you go to the doctor for that
minor cough and find out you have lung cancer...
Cathy/Andy Irving
Bob Buxbaum wrote:
>
> w6...@nospam.ccnet.com (Jerry Gardner) wrote:
>
> >On 2 Jun 1997 19:49:39 GMT, ws...@aol.com (Wsax) wrote:
> >
> >>I would appreciate any suggestions, plans etc. for building a spray booth.
> >>Fan and filter to use, etc. I would like to vent it out a window using
> >>dryer hose.
> >
> >I built my booth using a particle board box measuring 30x16x16" bought at a
> >local hardware store and a Dayton 950 CFM exhaust fan bought at Grainger. I'm
> >using a disposable furnace filter to keep paint out of the fan. I vented the
> >fan using 6" vent pipe through a hole in the garage wall.
> >
> >You really need a fan this big to have an adequate airflow. Don't believe
> >anyone who tells you you can get away with a muffin fan or a bathroom exhaust
> >fan. FSM did a review on paint booths a few years ago and concluded that only
> >the models built with the big Dayton fans had sufficient air flow.
> >
> >Remember, a Dayton fan may cost $120, but how much does a new pair of lungs
> >cost?
> >
> >
> >Jerry Gardner, W6UV | Bill Clinton has all the steely resolve of
> >(w6uv at ccnet dot com) | a kamikaze pilot on his 37th mission.
>
> been using one for YEARS with no problems at all. It dumps into 4"
> aluminum dryer duct hose/tube. I clean the fan every so often and
> that's it.
>
> cpv...@erols.com
-- Mines been going for 15 years now with occasional cleanings and
protected by a furnca filter in front of the inlet, same with the dryer
vent.
Genius will out, right Bob?
Benjamin Ngai
On Wed, 4 Jun 1997, Nick Corea wrote:
> As for explosion hazzards... well, I use only Gunze and Tamiya paint. I
> thin with basically alcohol. I don't think this is a risk.
Although I am not a toxicology expert, as an MD, I agree strongly with
Nick's suggestion. Acrylic paints is quite dangerous if you drink a few
bottles (I'll see you in the ER) but they are nothing compared with the
oil based stuff because of the solvents. See Paul Boyer's "Painting and
Finishing Scale Models,"
Kalmbach p.24-29 for ideas about spray booth and what those chemicals
cause to your health.
As a kid I was sparying enamal in my Apartment! I don't know how much
toxic stuff I inhaled and there were no acrylic paints then!! I wish I
had know better! Also I was wiping off the paint on my hands with thinner
-- the thinners can be absorbed through skin!!
Also if you have kids, (or when I see a mom or dad buying model paints
for kids), I cannot stress the importance of starting them on acrylics.
It may be difficult for someone who is comfortable on enamel to change
but since I have seen stunning models painted with acrylics there is no
reason to START with organic stuff when you have an alternative.
Twice I suggested to two moms in a Modelling store not to buy the cheapest
Testor enamels
for their under-ten-year-olds, but my advice had fallen on deaf ears.....
Sigh!.... Can't beat the almighty $$$???
Sorry, can't keep my MD venting even during play.....
Benjamin Ngai
Ontario, Hamilton