Homemade airbrush spray booths

[NotWalkinBlind]

Just ran across this over at SlotForum.com... two page thread...

http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21091&st=0

[dyslexic]

that's an amazing project and the cost involved isn't to bad, I've been considering build one for myself for a while now but it would need to be a bit larger for R/C body painting.

I have several 120CFM Brushless computer fans kicking around that would be good for exhaust duty just need to figure out a way to mount them up.
The other big issue I have is that space in my shop is very limited and to have such a large booth wouldn't be fesable.

Anyone here have a spray booth or some type of vent hood they use for painting?
Don't be shy post up some pics maybe you can give the rest of us here some ideas.

[Merc4Stroke]

I used the blower unit out of an old home furnace. My Dad was a pack rat, sometimes it pays off.

Mine is not as nice as the ones posted in that other forum, but it gets the job done.

I'll post a pic or two soon.

Mike De

[dyslexic]

well after doing a little digging and some serious thinking I decided to build my own paint booth now I can spray spaz-stix and not have the wife spaz out on me over the fumes lingering throughout the house. I'm still building it but shouls have pics of the finished unit before the end of the weekend hopefully.

[Farwar]

I've built one and it sits in my garage. I use it for urethane paints. I used a squirrel cage type motor so the motor isn't directly in the way of fumes. The fumes are flammable so I had to be careful what fan to choose. Explosion proof fans are expensive. Here is mine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/Farwar/DSCN1310.jpg

[Merc4Stroke]

Ok guys, I finally got my photos uploaded, here's my booth. It uses an old blower from a furnace. It's vented outside through a dryer type vent. I wired everything up to the switch box where I can turn the blower, light and compressor on seperate from one another.

Thanks for looking,
Mike De

[suckfish]

now if I could paint better that's a great idea

[NotWalkinBlind]

Excellent booth, MikeDe... that piece of panelling you have at the top on the front is a good idea... keeps more of the spray in the booth.

But even with a booth, guys... you should still be wearing a respirator.
http://www.keysan.com/thumbnails/smmm3502.jpg

[davec-nitro-rs4]

Ok guys, I finally got my photos uploaded, here's my booth. It uses an old blower from a furnace. It's vented outside through a dryer type vent. I wired everything up to the switch box where I can turn the blower, light and compressor on seperate from one another.

Thanks for looking,
Mike De

Mike, nice setup.

How loud is it? and, is it very drafty across the work area? Does it affect spraying?

With a setup like that I could even smoke cigars in the house, I bet.

[MaxxThrasher]

Right up until your wife catches ya!

Fan, shman...I told you not to smoke in the house mister!! :mad:

[raffaelli]

What do you think is the ideal direction to pull the paint mist? Down? Sideways? Doesnt matter?

[Merc4Stroke]

now if I could paint better that's a great idea

Suckfish,

Note all the paint on the back wall of my booth...... I practice all the time LOL. I'm nowhere near some of the guys here, but each body I've painted turns out a little better than the last one.

Keep practicing!

Mike

[Merc4Stroke]

Thanks for the compliments, everyone, I warned you, it's not a thing of beauty, but it works.

I had a girlfriend, at the time I built this booth, that was very sensitive to the "stink" of the paint. She used to complain every time I'd fire up the airbrush. After building this and venting it outside, she couldn't tell when I was painting.


Not Walkin Blind,

You're right about the respirator. I'm a bad guy I guess, I don't have a resp, but I do wear a mask. I figure it's better than nothing at all.

davec-nitro-rs4,

The loudest part on my setup is the compressor. If you have a forced-air- furnace, listen to it next time the blower kicks in that's how loud it is if the comp isn't running.. You can hear the blower, but you can still stand right next to it, and still carry on a conversation.

Raffaelli,

I would say it depends on how you paint, as to where the fans should pull the mist. I hold my brush in my right hand, and the body in my left. As I'm spraying, the paint hits the body, and then bounces to the right towards the filter, that setup seemes to work well for me. (otherwise, I've painted so many bodies that I'm just used to the way the booth is set up.)

As for the draft, I don't really notice it, you can feel the suction if you put your hand next to the filter, but if you put your hand in the middle of the booth, you don't notice the draft. I've never had a problem with the paint not going where I aim the 'brush.

Thanks again to all, for the compliments.

[dyslexic]

Well after reading up on the both on the slot acr forum I was determined to build my own and right now i'm 98% done still need a few cosmetic details but it's ready for painting at least with waterbase until I can get the duct attached should be another day or so for that.

and on to the pics.

This one gives you a sense of how big it is and an idea on how strong the sucktion is.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/regg151/paint%20booth/24-01-200711-40-25PM_0005.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/regg151/paint%20booth/24-01-200711-40-22PM_0004.jpg

here you can see where the duct boot is and the box I built around the fans.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/regg151/paint%20booth/24-01-200711-51-51PM_0002a.jpg

So far I've only tested it with burning incense but it's got a fairly good draft it can pull the smoke in from about 3 feet away from the front of the booth, that will most likely not happen when I get all the ducting in place but even if it goes down to just infront of the booth it will still be more then enough.

the dimensions of the booth are 24" high in the front 16" high in the rear 28" wide and 18 inches deep. the fan box is about 10"x15"x8" with a 4x10" duct boot to 6".

the fans are 12V DC 100CFM Brushless X 6. since these are muffin fans I used 6 of them to make sure I could get the air moving well. I may be replacing them with something a bit more powerful in the future but for now they work well enough.

raffaelli To answer your question about direction of exhaust you would preferably want the overspray to enter to the rear of the unit rather then the bottom or the top since this is the direction you would most likely be spraying in. if you vent to the bottom you give the overspray to settle on the shell you currently painting, To vent from the top you run the risk of accumulated paint falling off the filter to fall onto your still wet shell, and you would need to move considerably more air to overcome gravity. venting to the rear in our application is the best option and ensures optimal airflow throughout the booth. :teacher: :wave:

[MaxxThrasher]

6 fans at 100cfm each? That should be plenty. Ideally you should only need 200 to 300cfm, but that depends on the size of the booth you build. If your duct work needs a long route to get out of the room, you could always mount another fan at the end to help pull the fumes the distance.

Nice job!

That sure is a beautiful green!

[raffaelli]

Thanks for the input!

[dyslexic]

6 fans at 100cfm each? That should be plenty. Ideally you should only need 200 to 300cfm, but that depends on the size of the booth you build. If your duct work needs a long route to get out of the room, you could always mount another fan at the end to help pull the fumes the distance.

Nice job!

That sure is a beautiful green!

I did some checking up on the whole CFM equation and although the CFM of the 6 combined fans is impressive at 600CFM after adding in the ductwork (less then 8 feet) and factoring in the static pressure of the air in the duct it actually drops the effectice CFM down to about 130CFM or there abouts, I found a site that gives you all the formulas to calculate all of the above. So at the moment at least on paper the setup I have should work the real test is if the wife smells the fumes from the laquer or not. should be a week or two before I get to test it out.

the Green is Spaz Stix Candy Apple Green backed with Createx Black. :D

In case anyone needs or wants the formulas and the more technical explanation of why you want the exhaust in the rear, here is the L I N K (http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial.asp?TutorialID=23&CurPage=1)