Paint Booth, Suggestions?

Hey Guys,

Just wondering who here has made a little paint booth for there modeling and wondering if you care to share?

Currently I am using the cardboard box idea and doing it in my garage. However my wife is pregnant and has been complaining about it. So i have been thinking about building a little paint booth.

I figured something around 2 feet wide, 1 foot deep and then 2 feet tall made out of a think wood or acrylic if I can find enough of it laying around. on the back i was going to have a slot made to slip in a furnace filter for collecting the paint dust and other partials in the booth and then on the side have a heapa filter to allow air to get into the book for off gassing and to keep the pressure? On the back where the furnace filter is i would hook that into either my central vac unit which is right there or one of my wetvacs so that i would be able to set up everything for painting turn on the system to clear out any dust sitting in there turn it off spray down the items wait a second for paint to drop on to the model and then turn on the vac to keep the dust off the mode for 10 mins or so until the surface has dried then turn off the vac and leave it alone for a few hours until i can handle it by hand and then move the model into a holding Tupperware container for curing?

Does this sound over zealous?

Hey Guys,



Currently I am using the cardboard box idea and doing it in my garage. However my wife is pregnant and has been complaining about it. So i have been thinking about building a little paint booth.
[COLOR=black] Does this sound over zealous?

I 'd like to hear too, i m using a cardboard box right now, works decent.
I suggest IKEA or samsung. I am upgrading to a PS3 box soon, whee!

Oh, and this is a long shot, but I think a maxicosi would be the king of non-ventilated spray-areas, be sure to dump its contents first tho.

here you go, uses 9mm plywood and a common bathroom fan in the top with a 100mm tube out of window, bathroom fan is a 100mm type, mounted underneath the top with the exit sticking out the top of the box, dont put the front grill on the fan just reduces performance, and keep the exhaust tubing as short as possible, just reduces performance otherwise. disclaimer, all at your own risk, fan is rated semi splash proof and I have blocked the route the power cables take with a piece of bluetack. if you need to make loads of volatile vapours with your airbrush, get an airbrush cleaner as in the picture much easier. If one bathroom fan is not enough just add a second one!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/2168752820_a6062602c1_o.jpg
Wood used is a standard size from B&Q UK, other than the diagonal cuts, the rest can be done by the hardware store before you get home.

NOTE Ignore note about adding thickness of wood

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/2181548602_631d82fbb1_o.jpg

Here is a thread I started a while back showing mine:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=724272

It works pretty well, although next time I'm going to ditch the PC fans in favor of a bathroom fan. Since my house is brick, I didn't feel like drilling another hole for dedicated exhaust. I found a T connection at the hardware store and routed the duct through the dryer vent. Works pretty well, although a more powerful fan would definitely help out!

Here's my paint booth. Built out of 1/4" plywood & 2x2's to reinforce all the edges. Its 2ftx2ftx2ft, so 8 cubic feet
in volume.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/cave1.jpg

The fan is a Dayton 468 CFM exhaust fan, that works excellent. The fan has only been on it for about a month, and it
makes a huge difference over the bathroom fan I had on it before. I had been using a 60 CFM bathroom exhaust fan,
and it worked ok, but I had paint fume issues w/ it. That is no longer a problem at all w/ this much stronger fan.

I was reading an old back issue of Fine Scale Modeler awhile back, and in that particular issue was an article on
building your own paint booth. It discussed in the article how to choose the correct fan for your application. It
stated that you take the height of the opening into the booth in feet, times the width of the opening feet, and
multiply that number by 100, and that is about what you should use for a fan. So in my case, 2'x2'x100= 400CFM.

I was reading an old back issue of Fine Scale Modeler awhile back, and in that particular issue was an article on
building your own paint booth. It discussed in the article how to choose the correct fan for your application. It
stated that you take the height of the opening into the booth in feet, times the width of the opening feet, and
multiply that number by 100, and that is about what you should use for a fan. So in my case, 2'x2'x100= 400CFM.

Ok, so where does one get an exhaust fan like your Dayton? I can't seem to find 'em anywhere...I need one! Also, how much did you pay? Thanks!

Daniel

I've seem Dayton fans going on Ebay for reasonable prices.

I got mine off ebay. It was a used unit, and w/ shipping I paid about 70 dollars from it. Look back, I wish I'd waited, and gotten it through Grainger. The company I work for has an account w/ Grainger, and for about 15 dollars more, I could have gotten the same model brand new. But thats life.

Here is one I just found on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dayton-Blower-465-CFM-Exhaust-Fan-Hydroponics-HPS_W0QQitemZ280190753118QQihZ018QQcategoryZ3186QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638. m124

This model seems to come up quite a bit listed in the Hydroponics section of ebay.

Ok, so I've pretty much decided I need the 465 CFM blower as my opening is 2.5 ft by 2 ft. What other things will I need for the actual mounting of the blower? (I know all the ducting, etc.) Are brackets included, or separate? Did you fabricate the exaust vent setup you showed in your pic?

Thanks for the advice! I need to do this now as my I just found out that my wife and I are expecting our first bundle of joy! :biggrin:

Daniel

First off, congrats on the impending parenthood.

I made the mounting brackets for the fan out of wood. I had to space the fan up off the box, so that the flange on the exit port wouldnt hit the box. I took a piece of 1/2" or 5/8", not sure which, wood, and cut a ring out of it. Made the ring about 3/4" thick all the way around, and then screwed that to the top of hte box, over the opening I cut in the top.

I then decided what angle I wanted it to point, and put my upright supports up against it. The housing isnt round, so once you get your supports in, it wont move much. I also used 1/2" foam rubber window insulation strips, to help isolate the fan. I put it down on the ring, that the fan sits on, and I also put it on the uprights that are supporting the fan. That way the foam will help absorb some of hte vibration from the fan running. So far it seems to have worked great, I have very little vibration from the fan, but the fan doesnt have much vibration to begin w/.

As far as the exhaust. I had to make the adapter b/c i didnt like the ones i found on the internet, but if you search for "Dayton Exhaust Adapter" in Google or where ever, you'll probably find ready made ones.

I then just ran a 4" flexible hose to the window. Something else I did, was I built a panel that goes into hte window w/ an opening in it so that I can paint when its cold or raining outside, and I dont have to worry about that coming into hte house.

When I get home from work tonight, I'll try to take some better pictures of my whole setup. Its a little hard to explain how I have it layed out.

Ok, here are better pictures of my paint booth.

The first pic shows the hole i made in the top, that the fan pulls the air out of hte booth w/

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/paintbooth01.jpg

The second is pretty much the same shot, just w/ the filter pulled up in place. I wasnt sure how to hold the filter in place, and then I realized that I could do it w/ just 4 screws & 2 rubber bands. Put 2 screws in on each side of the filter, and then run a rubber band between each part, and voila, the filter stays perfectly in place, no movement at all.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/paintbooth02.jpg

Here are a few shots of the top.

Here you can see the ring I made to space the fan up away from the top of the booth. You can also see the black foam rubber insulation I used to help hold hte fan. You can also see the verticle uprights used to hold the fan.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/paintbooth03jpg.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/paintbooth04jpg.jpg

And in this last pic you can see the duct adapter I made so that I can vent the fan. I used some really thin metal and made my own adapter. It may not look the greatest, but it works perfectly.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh218/RangerMach1/Models/paintbooth05jpg.jpg

Sweet! Thanks!

Daniel

Hi there,

Here are some ideas to add. Below is my booth/dehydrator combo from a previous thread.

Congrats on the new addition to your family. I swear, pregnant women can smell the slightest odor from miles away. Good to see you are taking precautions to protect you and your family.



Materials:

1 Old TV stand/cabinet
2 sets of "under the counter" lighting (wall outlet power)
1 2.5 meter vinyl duct tubing
1 food dehydrator
Tin foil
2 buckets
Packing tape
Hockey tape
Masking tape
8" diameter house fan
1/4 screws
Thermometer
Loose air filter material

Most of this stuff, with the exception of the food dehydrator, did not cost much. For tools, I used a drill, large drill bit, screwdriver, razor knife and jigsaw.

Here are the food dehydrator and paint booth connected by a piece of vinyl duct tubing. I cut the wholes side-by-side to the diameter of the tubing with the jigsaw. The idea here is to have the warm air from the dehydrator move to the paint booth to be sucked outside by the fan. I have added a thermometer to the dehydrator.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1882.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1885.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1887.jpg

Connected to the back of the booth is the fan. I cut the bottom out of bucket, and then cut the bucket in top and bottom halves. The diameter of the bucket fit the fan's dimensions perfectly. I connected the front part of the fan with one half of the bucket and back with the other. I used packing and hockey tape to secure and seal the connection. The purpose of using the bucket is to get a connective part to the booth/fan and the fan/vinyl tubing. Screws were used to secure the fan to the booth. I used one more bucket, which was tapered, to connect the tubing to the rear bucket/fan. The tubing, of course will be directed outside to remove fumes from the booth.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1889.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1890.jpg

I cut a whole in the back of the booth to accommodate the diameter of the bucket. I nice tight fit is good here to get maximum suction. I also put in two notches for the florescent light power cables to go through to the back. Inside the booth bucket is the air filter material. The purpose of it is to soak up the paint before it hits the fan and to create a drag so the force of the fan's suction does not suck out the paint/air too quickly. Can you imagine if your paint got sucked out of the booth before it hit the parts. :lol:

I attached two 16" florescent lights in the corners. I did this so if I choose to make a retractable roof, I do not have to fuss with the position of the lights. And finally, I placed aluminum foil beside the lights for maximum light intensity inside the booth. That is it!

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/rickerzipper/Workshop/IMGP1883.jpg


Cheers,

Rick

Well,

I got my booth installed, Now i still need to finish it. I have not decided what i am going to finish my desk top with but i think i will finish the booth with that as well to give it all a clean finish.

Running a 230 cfm inline fan ( Yes i called and paint fumes are no harm) directly out of my house, Installed a 150 watt flood light to provide plently of light and made the booth 3 feet long by 2 feet deep and 2 feet tall. Using a furnance filter. I do plan on putting some sort of door on the unit however os far it working like a charm. Also took some 2x4 and ply and made little body stands.. lol

Also i put together my airbrush tank. Using a 65CF tank ( 3000PSI) installed a O2 regulator on the tank showing both my tank pressure and my output PSI adjustable from 0 to 200 PSI output. I installed a quick disconnect alowing me to switch between brushes if i am using different paints.

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/model/paint1.jpg

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/model/paint2.jpg

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/model/paint3.jpg

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/model/paint4.jpg

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/model/paint5.jpg

Awesome job man, that looks great. Eventually I'd like to go w/ a larger booth, but what I have now should work great for all but the largest models in my collection.