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Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

Airbrush Spray Booths


GusMac

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Hi all, been familiarising myself with my new airbrush set-up for a few weeks now and I think I need a spray booth (ie I've been told I have to get one!). I've seen various videos on Youtube of DIY builds but I'm not sure I can be bothered with that. Are there any commercial ones that are actually worth the money - some look pretty insubstantial - and how good is the filtration?

 

Thanks again for any advice for the rank amateurs like myself on here.

 

Gus

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Hi Gus,

 

Here is a YouTube review of the paint booth that I bought a few years back. I have been very happy with it. You can also by two and set them up side-by-side for larger projects. Best of all, it is comparatively inexpensive; I have seen them priced as low as $65.00 US; the reviewer mentions that he has seen them on Amazon for as low as $45.00. The filters are also easy to find but you can also find the same filter material at your local hardware store and cut it to fit.

 

 

For a bit of perspective, here is the link to a photo of mine in my closet, er, I mean workshop:

 

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/efrick12/20130728_184247_zpsf15fa70d.jpg

 

Regards,

 

Ed

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Thanks Ed. I've seen these for sale here in the UK at very reasonable prices but wasn't sure how good they were. 

Your endorsement makes me a bit more certain that that's the route I'll go.

 

Regards

 

Gus

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  • 3 weeks later...

I made my own booth.. Well two booths! I have one at work.

 

I found all the ones that I looked at weren't large enough to house a 32nd twin.... So I used a wooden shipping crate and added an extractor fan, and a couple of 5500k strip lights.

 

I have a photo somewhere, I will try to dig it out.

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  • 2 months later...

Howdy Gus, I made my own too. Total cost about $125. The frame is a 4 shelf Gorrila Rack from Costco with the “booth” framed in to the top shelf with particle board. The vent is an over the stove type that vents out of the man cave.. The inside of the booth is lined with marker board material for easy cleanup. It has an inexpensive light bar. It is about 48” wide by 28 inches deep. Big enough to do most large projects. I will add some pictures as soon as I figure out how to post them.

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Something to bare in mind with a spray booth is explosion risk.

 

Depending on what you're spraying, a fine atomised mist of spirits, lacquers, alcohol etc is potentially very explosive.

 

I'm not saying that the home made ones are definitely going to blow up! However, the units with specifically designed motors have a system where the armature is fully enclosed - to prevent a stray spark causing ignition. If you use acrylics with water - there's no problem.

 

Whatever solution you go for, try to get something that vents outdoors. While the filter media inside the unit will sort out the particulates, to get rid of the smell you either need a (relatively expensive) carbon filter or to get that solvent laden air out of the room.

 

Have a look on eBay. I bought a unit called a Glu Booth (designed for using pretty noxious spraymount indoors) which has a 24x18 inch working area. This was 2nd hand and cost me about £50 when new they're more like £500. Works well - shifts a lot of air - takes air from below (like the unit Paulster shows) which means paint is being drawn down towards the model.

 

Matt

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My spray booth is called "I work in the garage". It has its drawbacks - heat in the summer, cold in the winter, and ferking little spiders that get webs all over everything in high summer (I literally have to take WIPs inside at the end of a session). But the venting is amazing.

Yes I have trod that lonely path. Open both doors and it vents a treat. I live in Canada though, so in the winter, the paint crystalises into ice and shatters on the floor before reaching the model.

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