Paint Booth: Display, Ideas, Suggestions...

[rickerzipper]

Hi All,

I started this thread to get your ideas/suggestions about paint booths for scale modeling. I also want to see how you have set up your booths. Believe me, I would love for everyday to be sunny weather for painting, but that is not the case here in Vancouver. Any and all comments are very welcome!

I'll describe mine now:

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.





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.




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.

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!



Thanks for looking. Your ideas/suggestion for more upgrades is appreciated. I look forward to seeing your setup as well.

Cheers,

Rick

[tigeraid]

Pretty badass. Where'd you get the "house fan" btw, and do you know if it's safe for vapours?

[rsxse240]

Originally Posted by tigeraid

do you know if it's safe for vapours?

this has been the only thing that has kept me from building my own booth. I am quite concerned with igniting the vapors with a non sheilded/non spark free fan. I am considering using a oven hood vent that has 2 squirrel cage fans that run off of a motor that is not in the "air stream" but it is quite difficult to find one that still works, that doesn't cost 2 million dollars.

my idea was to do a very similar setup as yours, Rickerzipper. but I planned on using the spray booth AS my dry box as well.

I'd planned on having my spray booth so I can seal it tight when I'm done spraying, then have a 100watt light bulb in a seperate "heater" box and use a computer fan to blow the hot air into the paint booth. this will hopefully save room and cost.

[tigeraid]

Originally Posted by rsxse240

this has been the only thing that has kept me from building my own booth. I am quite concerned with igniting the vapors with a non sheilded/non spark free fan. I am considering using a oven hood vent that has 2 squirrel cage fans that run off of a motor that is not in the "air stream" but it is quite difficult to find one that still works, that doesn't cost 2 million dollars.

my idea was to do a very similar setup as yours, Rickerzipper. but I planned on using the spray booth AS my dry box as well.

I'd planned on having my spray booth so I can seal it tight when I'm done spraying, then have a 100watt light bulb in a seperate "heater" box and use a computer fan to blow the hot air into the paint booth. this will hopefully save room and cost.

The problem is that so few fans actually list whether they're safe or not. On the other hand, DOZENS of modelers here on AF have used kitchen ranges, house fans, bathroom fans, you name it, and apparently never had any trouble... so maybe we're just worrying over nothing.

I had planned to buy a kitchen range at Home Depot and just make it the top "side" of the booth, personally.

[racingminiatures]

I think you would have to have a pretty concentrated mist of solvent to cause a problem with ignition. That being said, I built my paint booth with a used blower fan I picked up at a hydroponics supplies store. Cost me CDN $40 and the motor is out of the air stream so no chance of any ignition there. It also moves more air than a kitchen type fan.

Regards,

Ron
Racingminiatures
www.racingminiatures.com

[rickerzipper]

Originally Posted by tigeraid

Pretty badass. Where'd you get the "house fan" btw, and do you know if it's safe for vapours?

I took it from my wife's storage . I don't know if it is safe for vapours. To tell you the truth, I did not consider it. Good call! I believe it will be safe because I used it in an previous paint booth. I think I will be installing a smoke alarm in the gararge to be on the safe side. Also, I will not leave the fan on unattended.

Thanks for your response, keep them coming if you have more to add. Please post your pictures if you have any.

Cheers,

Rick

[brady_381need72c10]

thanx this thread will give me some ideas!
right now all i use is a tv box for a spray booth

[cyberkid]

Hey there.. well here's my setup:





Since I don't live in a place with a garage I have to make the best of all the space I can.
Materials used:
(NTD is the currency for Taiwan..1.00 USD = 32.3067 NTD at time of post)
10W light *1 = 100 NTD
Plastic storage box *1 = 250 NTD
4" Fan *1 = 238 NTD
wiring setups (wire+switch+plug) *2 = 180 NTD
White packing tape *1 = 30 NTD
4" Aluminum tubing * 2= 380 NTD (these are 12 ft long when fully expanded)
4"x3.0mm x 4m pipes *2 = 350 NTD
4" 90 'elbows' *3 = 390 NTD
4" Flange type things *2 = ??
4" mesh covered cap*1 = ??
insulating tape *2=??
The items listed in blue I got from work (I'm a delivery man for a plumbing supplies store) My boss charged me 803 for the lot. The prices are the MSRP prices.
I roughly spent 50$ US on the whole setup.
As for the fan I have sprayed thinner directly at it while cleaning my AB with no problems so far. ( Not wise, but I stopped once I read about the fire hazard )
I'm thinking about 'upgrading' it into a 6 or 8 inch as the fumes aren't all sucked out.
The mesh covered cap is specifically ment to stop bugs from coming in I don't know some of the names of these part in English so forgive me

Rick, I was wondering about your dehydrator, could you tell me a little more about it? Brand, price, functions, where to get etc...

Steve

[swollen]

here's some shots of my spary booth.





If you paint the inside fo your booth white, there will be no need for reflective material on the sides. You'll have no trouble seeing what you're doing then.


-mike-

[rickerzipper]

Originally Posted by cyberkid

I roughly spent 50$ US on the whole setup.

Rick, I was wondering about your dehydrator, could you tell me a little more about it? Brand, price, functions, where to get etc...

Steve

I like your setup Steve, The tube work in great. Price is good too.

To answer your ??? above, I have a Nature's Way Equi-Flow System. I think it came with 6 trays. Anyway, it is big enough to fit 1/24 scale models. I can fit at least 2 car bodies in there at the same time.

The dehydrator has a heating element and fan inside. Also, it has a variable temperature. I do not think this brand of dehydrator is manufactured anymore, one can only by it used. I bought it locally (Vancouver) from a hard-nose-no-haggle seller for $75.00. The price was on the steep side for me, but that was much cheaper than the new ones that have a front opening door listed on ebay.

Originally Posted by swollen

If you paint the inside fo your booth white, there will be no need for reflective material on the sides. You'll have no trouble seeing what you're doing then.


-mike-

I agree, Mike, I was thinking the same when I was building it. I figured I would use the foil because after many uses of the booth, I could easily replace the paint splattered foil instead of repainting white again.

BTW nice big booth there. Does your stove range exhaust the fumes from the booth?

Good to see another BC builder here on AF.

Cheers,

Rick

[swollen]

I don't vent into the range good, thats just where I took the picture. I have some vinyl ducting that runs to a tin piece I put inot an open window. The booth is at my parents house, we just moved into our new house, or I would take some pictures of the booth in action.

-mike-

[CeeElle]

mine is just an upended produce box standing on my back porch.