Spray Booth Example (new member, first post)

Hi Everyone,

--------If you want to skip my personal intro skip down to SPRAY BOOTH section below--------------

I have to credit this board with getting me back into modeling after a 13 year hiatus.

I attended a vintage car race at Road America in Elkhart Lake and fell in love with a 1:1 Porsche 356 Roadster replicar. You can buy then as kits (just add engine, trans, & steering). Well I didn't have the $25k to spare so I figured I could at least build one a 1/24th scale. In my search for 1/24 model I bumped into this board and the FAQ and have once again rediscovered my passion for this hobby.

I am in my thirties and feel like an old timer here. :frown: I have discovered what some would call more "mature" forums but nothing beats the enthusiasm, energy, and great how-to tips on this board. I also appreciate the international presence here. I am excited to finally put this new knowledge to good use. I finally have the answers to modeling questions I have had for years. Many thanks to Pman because I feel I can finally pull off a good paint job.

Step 1 for me was to get some new kits. Wow, was I impressed with the selection an HLJ and have 2 kits from them and 4 more on the way. Plus I accidently discovered last week that my work 10 minutes from Venture Hobbies in Wheeling, IL which is just about the best modeler hobby shop I have ever seen.

Step 2 was to setup a workshop. Compared to my youth I have little time now, but finishing college, establishing a professional career, getting married, buying a home, and having babies has left me in the perfect situation: a full basement of my own and a few hundred dollars of cash to burn to get setup (and plenty of stress to relieve). That's what 13 years of good living will do for you!

I dug out the old box from my parent's home where I packed my Paasche VL airbrush and compressor. A few new parts and some cleaning and its good as new. I am very concerned about safetly and the health of my family now so I knew before I even start a model I needed to build a modeling Spray Booth to avoid filling my lungs and my house with fumes.

--------------- BEGIN SPRAY BOOTH SECTION -------------------------

Doing a search on the web revealed various options to buy or build a modeling spray booth. I decided to build and setup a dedicated table with built in airbrush setup. I had plenty of wood left over from other home remodeling projects so this whole thing cost me less than $100 dollars. I see no reason why someone could not build something similar out of carboard and rigid back to mount the axial fan. You would just need a drill, a small saw to cut a hole for the fan, and some screws.

There is a great spray booth tuturial and DIY spray booth design here (http://modelpaint.tripod.com/booth2.htm). Many thanks to Klaus for writing this up. I used Klaus' basic design and dimensions and modified it to fit my needs. I used one fan and integrated a flourescent worklight along with some electrical wiring to suit my needs.

Klaus goes into details on fan selection and one large source of controversy is the safety involved with the different types of fans you can use. There is a concern that if you use a computer type fan, where the airflow passes around the motor, an electrical spark in the motor could ignite fumes. My personal feeling as that for induction motor type fans this risk is low and I also feel the risk is low to get the right fuel air mixture for anything to ignite. So keep reading at your own RISK, I am not a flammability expert!

I selected a 150mm (6") round axial fan with AC power. The fan I chose is a tubeaxial EBM w2s130-aa25-44 (http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/ebm-fan-w2s130-aa25-44.PDF). This fan is rated at 225 CFM at 0 Sp (static pressure). 0 static pressure is when the fan is pumping air without any kind of exhaust tubing around the fan. As you add exhaust tubing your Sp goes up and the ability of the fan to pump air, the CFM rating, decreases. Read Klaus' tutorial for more details. You can see the static pressure CFM derating curve on the specification page.

The fan is available from McMaster Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com) for $50 and is listed at McMaster Part #: 1976K77 This is an AC powered fan, 115VAC at 50 or 60Hz. In the USA this mean you just need a power cord and you can plug it into the wall. If you use this fan, McMaster also has the power cord which plugs into the fan on one end and plugs into the wall on the other. I used McMaster Part #: 19155K63 which doesn't have the wall plug, but if you look on the catalog page for this part number you can get a fan power cord with the outlet plug.

I used 8" flexible duct and 8" collars for the exhaust venting. The larger the tubing the lower the Sp. Flexible duct has terrible Sp ratings (rough walls make it difficult for the air to flow). But I kept mine as short as possible and use the largest diameter I could. I vent out a window well in my basement so the flexible duct is very short.

Here is what the finished booth looks like (plexiglass lid closed):

http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/spraybooth1.jpg

I have three electrical switches, one for the fan, one for the flourescent light, and one for my small airbrush compressor via a switched outlet.

I only used 1/8" acrylic "plexiglass" which was cheaper ($14 for the 2' x 4' sheet at www.usplastics.com) Here it is with the plexiglass lid open:
http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/spraybooth2.jpg

Spray Booth Picture 4 (without the exhaust venting or duct collars installed)
http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/spraybooth3.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/spraybooth4.jpg


Now all I have to do is figure out if I can still model!

First up, the Tamiya Audi Quattro Road Car! I build the Rally version 16 years ago so I want to see if it will improve with all my new found knowledge.

Many thanks!

All the best,
Ricardo

Wow, Nice to met you internet wise! I'm a 30 something as well and have the same sentiments you expressed. This board got me into the groove again, and as you said, I utilized the P-Man's paionting technique and the results are outstanding!

Thanks for the link on the spraybooth. I do a lot of my stuff out in the garage. Yours looks excellent and the price is right too!

Again, welcome back and Welcome to the AF community!:bigthumb:
Chris

First of all, WELCOME on AF.

You've found the best modeling forum around the world. :bigthumb:

It seems that you are somebody very organised and that you want to do a good job in everything you do. Your spraybooth :eek: , it's DYI but it's very well done.
I can't wait to see what you will do with a model.

I read in your post "Porsche356 replica" , "Audi Quattro", if you continue like this you'll be one of my best friend :biggrin:

Go on with your first model and don't forget to show your progress pics.

deedlit :smile:

Hi, and welcome! You seem useful :) Could you tell me about the filter you used?

Alex

Welcome to the board. I'm fairly new here, and this board is GREAT. No need to feel like an old timer, there are plenty of older guys here. I'm slowly creeping to the big 3-0 myself. Only a couple years left. Being young at heart, that's all that counts.

I've been going back and forth on building a spray booth. I think your post with pictures has finally given me the inspiration to finally build one. Thanks.

Firstly, welcome to the forums, and thanks for contributing such a useful thread.

I've been lightly tossing up the idea of a spraybooth reciently, so much so that I've made up a cardboard mock-up, but without terribly successful results. I've been meaning to make a proper wooden one for a week or so now, and with this info there's no reason why I shouldn't.

Thanks once again for the info.

Welcome to the AF Ricardo.

You've put my poor DIY cardboard box spray booth to shame..

If your attention to detail in your booth is anything to go by I carnt wait to see your models..

Are you going to install a turn table in your booth?
I found an old broken record player at a carboot sale (like your garage sales in the US) for £5 ($8).. With a bit of stripping down and a old spray can fixed to it makes the purfect base to spray car bodies..

Good luck with your Audi...

MrH

Welcome! I used Klaus' info to build mine too, it works beautifully! :smile:

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I think I set the expectations for my future models too high! Spraybooth woodworking is much more forgiving. Yes, I am capable but super rusty with little experience. At least I feel I have infinite patience now which will go a long way toward improved the finished quality.

Deedlit, I am a VW/Audi/Porsche fan. I have a the Tamiya '66 Beetle, Fujimi Enthusiast Porsche 356A coupe, 356 B/C coupe, 356 B/C Roadster and the 1969 911S kits. I also have the Hasegawa Type 2 Single Cab Microbus and finally the Audi Quattro Roadcar. I wish there were more Audi models. I also just bought the Fujimi "Garage" kit just for fun. I want to make a "design evolution" series which goes Beetle, 356A coupe, 1969 911S, and Porsche 959. Perhaps cars all same color arranged in a single case. Talk to me in 5 years and see if it turned out!

Alex, the filter I used is a 16" x 20" x 1" furnance filter available at Home Depot for $3. I stayed away from the 3M "allergy" filter because I felt the pressure drop would be too high across the filter, they have very fine filtration, they cost around $12. What I selected I thought was a good compromise between filtration and pressure drop. There are also the fiberglass $0.75 filters but you can see the air gaps around the fibers (not enough filtration I felt).

MrH, haven't thought about a turntable, as I start using it regularly I will see if that would help. I can see how it could. Plus I am very curious to see how well the overall airflow will work. Before I installed the exhaust tubing it felt as if I was sucking so much air that the paint from my airbrush would never hit the model and just start curving towards the fan! I will update this thread down the road with comments about the fan and if I feel I could go with more or less CFM.

All the best,
Ricardo

(need to work on a fancy sig)

Welcome Ricardo:wave:

AF has brought many peopl out of their modeling hiatus's. Glad to hear your modeling passion is revived again and we hope to see some work from you soon. What did you get from HLJ then? Great spray booth btw, its inspiring me to build a better one than i currently have.

Thats very cool man.:bigthumb:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?s=&postid=169116

What more can I say?!? :D Did you find us through Google, or something else?

Hi and welcome!!!:smile:

Very Impressive, amazing paint booth man, looks like you did some serioous planning to do that, you've inspired me to make my own paint booth now. think im gonna go try and figure something out now!:bigthumb:

This is what I ordered from HLJ.

http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/ricardo-cars.jpg

At my local hobby shop I also picked up the Tamiya '66 Beetle and the Fujimi garage set.

A 1983 BMW 320i was my first car.

All the best,
Ricardo

Ricardo, welcome from another 30 something. There's a few of us 'older' guys here, but it's very clear that the youngsters here have alot to share when it comes to models. They're churning out some amazing kits and have some great ideas about what makes a car look good.

Nice booth. I just 'disassembled' mine since I went through a move. Now I have an opportunity to build a new one and you've got some nice features I might need to 'borrow'...:smile:

Hope to see some of those kits in the booth!!

Murray

Cool to have another VW/Audi/Porsche Fan around :bigthumb:
I don't feel "alone" anymore :biggrin: :wink:

Lot's of kits in your order interest me, I'm very impatient to see a progress thread of one of these. Especially the T2 Pickup truck.

What will you begin first?

Hi, I'm in my early 30's too, helping to raise the age average :smile:

very nice work, but how do you intend to keep the clear front clean of paint ?

Wow, Deedlit, I just went through the thread you have on the scratch building of the teardrop trailer. Nice work. I love it.

I am starting with the Audi Quattro kit because it is my least favorite of what I ordered and it is my test project to get back into the hobby. This is my practice build for all the new techniques I have learned from this forum and elsewhere.

Or_rs, obviously when I use the spray booth the plexiglass lid will be open and there should be no overspray spilling out of the booth to get on the plexiglass, that's the whole point of the booth(to exhaust the fumes and overspray out through the fan). So I hope it stays pretty clean over time. The purpose of the lid is just for me to have a dust free space for drying.

All the best,
Ricardo

Thanks for showing us your great work, I m sure it will be an inspiration to many of us... And I m eagerly awaiting to see some of your nice cars you are planning to build...

oh and :wave: welcome to the jungle !

Olivier

Welcome from another old guy here. Love the spray booth setup. Hope to see some progress threads real soon! :iceslolan

Scott

ricardo-

just wanted to say "thanks" for posting this wonderfully informative message. you've inspired me to finally construct a proper spray booth. it's actually must less intimidating once you just sit down and read the information that guys like you and klaus provide!

my first stop tomorrow is grainger to buy the fan. i think i will contsruct the booth itself out of lightweight MDF - a very interesting material - so it will be nice and stiff, but not so heavy that i can't move it easily.

since your a VW-Audi-Porsche fan, and in chicago, you might enjoy the annual VW Treffen on August 23rd. i'll be up there showing my 1992 VW Corrado. i've been before - and it's a great time. more info here:

http://www.chicagovw.org/

take it easy!

Ricardo,
You mentioned that your fan at 225 CFM may be too much. I was wondering how that worked out for you?

welcome, got to be the best post from a newbie since I can remember!
there is a lot of talent on this board as your well aware, the young modelers
on this board are as impressive as the older ones! I myself am 25, not the youngest either. lookin forward to seeing what kinda
modeling talent you have there Ricardo. ;)

-Danny

Turns out you can never have too much CFM. So far the booth has been working well. I have only used it a few times. But it does a terrific job getting rid of overspray. The immediate area around the spray booth does not become "fume free" but it definitely is a huge improvement over having no spray booth. It keeps the rest of the house free of fumes and I have no overspray problems coming out of the booth with both an airbrush and a spray can.

I have gotten sidetracked from modeling pursuing my other hobby of photography and helping a friend with to design his basement home theater but I do have the body color on my Audi Quattro almost finished. Still need to respray the hood and clear coat.

I also got sidetracked building an Estes Rocket, Mercury-Redstone, to launch with my 6yr old nephew and brother. Pictures below! Great fun!

http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/mercury-redstone.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~ricardo.david/af/liftoff.jpg

Welcome to AF. I look forward to seeing the Quattro.

Thanks for the pointers on the spray booth. At the moment I rely on spraying on top of boxes in the middle of my garage. Fortunately it's not connected to the house so there's no danger of gassing out my g/f. A spray booth such as this would be a vast improvement, and this has definitely given me a nudge in the direction of the hardware store. Thanks!

BTW, you don't need to feel like you're completely surrounded by whippersnappers (unless you consider 28 to be a whippersnapper :icon16:)

I saw from the pictures that the gap between the filter and the fan was not covered. If this is true then there is bearly anything being sucked in through the filter. Its easier for the fan to get the air it needs through the gap than the filter.
I've built about 4 for my family members and I found out that after sealing the whole booth with silicon to make sure that the fan only has one possible way to get the air (through the filter) the fumes were almost gone.
The one i built for myself has three fans leading into a single exhaust. I've recently had to give away my "Hobby" room so i spray paint in my bedroom and I found that this combination was excellent. Its a bit louder than just 1 fan but there are no fumes left. Im sure i could get away with out a filter on there but then my fans would get paint on them.

I saw from the pictures that the gap between the filter and the fan was not covered. If this is true then there is bearly anything being sucked in through the filter. Its easier for the fan to get the air it needs through the gap than the filter.


Perhaps you are referring to the top which is covered with clear plexiglass. In the pictures it looks like nothing is there. The plexiglass allows my light to shine through but also seals the top of the plenum chamber. The plenum (the gap between the filter and the fan) is a completely sealed chamber. The purpose of the plenum chamber is to help distribute the vacuum, created by the fan, evenly across the filter.

Hehe, ya I couldn't see it from the pic but i now know that you had it all covered

Hehe, ya I couldn't see it from the pic but i now know that you had it all covered

Those pictures are right after I removed the clear plastic covering which protects the plexiglass during construction so it won't get any cleaner than in the picture!


One more point... I still use my respirator when spraying and can't recommend that enough, especially with the Tamiya spray paints. Like the said, the booth takes care of the overspray and a lot of the fumes but not all of the fumes. With the respirator I never smell a thing and the spray booth keeps the "lacquer smell" only in the immediate area of the basement.

I imagine without this booth my wife upstairs would quickly start complaining how I am poisoning the her and my young son!