Home air brush booth?

[onebullet]

Santa is bringing an airbrush with him this christmas and the only place i really have to use it is inside the house in a side room. This paint reeks when i open the lid and im sure when its busted up into tiny floating particles it wont help.

What is your solution to air brushing indoors?

I have an idea to use a big cardboard box, some filter material and pc fans but wanted to see what everybody else came up with.

Any building tips?

[Stormin2u]

I have a room in the house for my hobbies and I use a small commercial booth (Paashe) with a good fan to exhaust the fumes outside. I started with a portable spray booth (ebay cheap) it had a tiny fan and couldn't pull the fumes. If you paint a lot don't choke at the cost to do it right the first time.

[apsilon]

I made one years ago when I was doing more scale models. Basically bought a plastic storage tub of an appropriate size, turn it on it's side so the top is now the opening facing you. I cut a hole in what's now the top (side of the tub normally) used a DC plug pack with a strong 120mm PC fan and a dryer ducting kit to allow me to vent it outside. Plug it in to get the fan going, throw the end of the ducting out the window and spray away. When you're done put the lid on to keep dust etc out while the paint dries. When you're done using it throw the ducting and other accessories in the tub and store it on a shelf.

[onebullet]

Originally Posted by apsilon

I made one years ago when I was doing more scale models. Basically bought a plastic storage tub of an appropriate size, turn it on it's side so the top is now the opening facing you. I cut a hole in what's now the top (side of the tub normally) used a DC plug pack with a strong 120mm PC fan and a dryer ducting kit to allow me to vent it outside. Plug it in to get the fan going, throw the end of the ducting out the window and spray away. When you're done put the lid on to keep dust etc out while the paint dries. When you're done using it throw the ducting and other accessories in the tub and store it on a shelf.

that is a really good idea, i had thought about using a plastic tote but never thought about it being able to store itself.

Whad did you use to power your 120? I have 2 delta 120 fans that i took out of my pc because i got sick of the constant sound of a vaccum cleaner haha.

here is a video for reference on delta fans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amp7fw3WsRY

[apsilon]

Just a plug pack thing. Not sure what you call them over there. Plugs into a wall outlet and converts from AC to DC, in his case to 12v DC and IIRC around 500ma. Didn't get fancy, just wired direct to the fan so if you plug it in the fan comes on but you could add a socket and switch on the tub if you wanted to.

Delta fan would be perfect. You want as much airflow as possible.

[onebullet]

do you mean like a cell phone charger?

I was thinking of using a laptop powerbrick/cord

Im not great with wiring and to be honest the thought of something going up in flames because i wired it wrong scares the crap out of me.

[apsilon]

Pretty much. There's nothing to it as it's DC at that point so just negative and positive from the plug pack connected to the same on the fan. Worse that should happen if you get it wrong is the fan will spin backwards.

That said I'm not familiar with US power other than it being 110v AC I think whereas we're 240v AC (I think officially 230v now). I'm fairly certain that's the only difference in regards to this but hopefully someone will confirm.

[SMW]

Have you tried faskolor paints that are waterbased ? They are designed to be sprayed on lexan and I am very happy with them. Odor is almost nil ,and overspray can be easily caught using a hepa furnace filter attached to the back of a cheap box fan set on low . You can build a cheap foldable spray booth using 1" thick foam panels, held held together with duck tape. The fan can be placed in the back wall of the booth, blowing out. Filter on the inside of the booth. Works great with no smell and no overspray settling anywhere but on the filter. The only faskolor I had problems with was the glitter that you add to faskoat. That can be messy and clogs the airbrush easily. The best part is clean up. Since its water based you can spray water or a little windex through the airbrush till it sprays clear on a paper towel, then wipe the cup with the paper towel and your ready to add the next color. Drying between coats is easy with a hair dryer. I don't think I will ever use solvent based paints inside the house, even with ventilation. Good luck and happy spraying !

[onebullet]

Originally Posted by SMW

Have you tried faskolor paints that are waterbased ? They are designed to be sprayed on lexan and I am very happy with them. Odor is almost nil ,and overspray can be easily caught using a hepa furnace filter attached to the back of a cheap box fan set on low . You can build a cheap foldable spray booth using 1" thick foam panels, held held together with duck tape. The fan can be placed in the back wall of the booth, blowing out. Filter on the inside of the booth. Works great with no smell and no overspray settling anywhere but on the filter. The only faskolor I had problems with was the glitter that you add to faskoat. That can be messy and clogs the airbrush easily. The best part is clean up. Since its water based you can spray water or a little windex through the airbrush till it sprays clear on a paper towel, then wipe the cup with the paper towel and your ready to add the next color. Drying between coats is easy with a hair dryer. I don't think I will ever use solvent based paints inside the house, even with ventilation. Good luck and happy spraying !

actually faskolor is what i would like to completely switch to!

I got alot of duratrax paints as a gift and i would rather not waste them. I have a couple bottles of faskolor and i love it.

thanks for the input

[JatoTheRipper]

I just got an airbrush this summer. I've only practiced on cardboard, paper, and paper towels, but my goal is to eventually spray RC bodies.

I'm using Createx water based paints and even when I spray outside I feel the effects of breathing that stuff in. I also want to make a booth in my basement, but I think the fan and filters will need to be pretty decent.

[onebullet]

If i was doing this in a basement I would just build an enclosed structure or use a ready made structure.

Basically put up some sort of frame that you can attach plastic sheet to and have a strong exhaust fan pulling either up or across near the top and an intake fan near the bottom on the opposite wall and filters on both. This would make dust/dirt management much easier

For me im doing this in basically a very big closet with 2 windows in it and just wanted something to pull the fumes away from my face.

no matter what paint you are using you should have some sort of dust mask or respirator so you arent breathing in atomized chemicals.

[winsler]

I made one by mounting a kitchen stove exhaust to a three sided wooden box and put a dryer vent thru the wall of my garage. Best part I found it free on Craigslist and I was able to adjust the amount of draw