spray booth Finally Found a Proper Spray Booth...and now I have some questions

[GU-11]

At long last...I finally bought a proper spray booth! Just happened to see it being brought in at my local hobby store.

While looks like a Tamiya Spray Work booth, it's not.

It's a no-name model (there's logo with the name My Hobby on it, but the company doesn't seem to exist), but the specs are pretty decent. It can suck in 3 cubic meters of air per minute, which is at least 3 times that of what my current makeshift fan can do.

The question is, will it be strong enough for me to use spray cans, enamels and lacquer paints indoors?

Here are the specs:

Fan Power: 20 Watts

Voltage: 110 Volts

Air Flow: 50 LFM

Absorption Capacity: 3 cubic meters per minute

Thanks in advance for any advice!

BTW, many of the sites selling this and other brands of spray booth keep saying these are "not intended for use with flammable or explosive materials." Thing is, alcohol and solvent based paints are always flammable, whether it's acrylic (except for the specially-formulated water-based ones), enamel or lacquer.

In any case, since the fan is actually located to the side and out of the way of airflow, shouldn't that make it safe against flammable paints?

Is that just some legal gibberish that I don't have ot worry about?

Edited October 29, 2013 by GU-11

[mickyg]

I've got the same one. No idea about flammability. I will say the fan is online with the exhaust though. There's a labyrinth of panels inside, with filters folded throughout.

I'm not sure about the design of the blower but types that emit sparks are not terribly common in this size.

Wish I could help you out a bit more.

[GU-11]

Thanks for replying, MickyG!

I'm glad to say it should be safe for lacquers and enamels. After googling for hours and getting nowhere with the conflicting info, I stumbled on a DIY spraybooth article, which explained that "squirrel cage" blowers are preferable to the common axial ones, because the motors are usually located away from the direct airflow and therefore safe from the risk of sparks.

Armed with a flashlight, I peered into the exhaust and found that the booth does indeed use a squirrel cage blower. That means it's safe to use lacquers and enamels on it. I guess that "not intended for flammable paints" clause was just pasted there for all lower-end booths that typically use axial fans, like the Master, Expo and Sparmax...except this particular one actually happens to use a squirrel cage blower instead.

tl;dr, just found out it uses a squirrel cage blower, which means it's perfectly safe for lacquers and enamels.

The question now is, is it strong enough to use with these more more toxic paints?

BTW, what do you use for filters on this thing, MickyG? Will the common kitchen hood filters do the trick?

[mickyg]

I've not changed it yet but it just looks like a white scouring pad type material. There's a lot of it though! I doubt it'll need to be changed unless you're using it constantly.

Sorry, that's a little vague!

I took it apart to put the motor in the other side (the exhaust vent was not on the right side for how I wanted it set up next to my window). When I had it apart, I saw how the filter material sort of snakes around this maze of guides inside the body of the unit. My thoughts were that it was a good way to filter without being overly restrictive with the airflow. Gut reaction? Unless you're using it hours per day, all the time, I think the filter will last years. Plus, the paint will dry and likely add to the filtering effect. In order for the filter to stop working, there'd need to be an awful lot of paint all over the metre or so of material (if I recall correctly). I don't know about you, but I try to get the paint on my model, not sprayed down the throat of the booth.

Word of advice, get a really good light you can shine into the opening when you use it. The black color is terrible when it comes to seeing what you're doing.

[EXO]

I use the A/C type. Cheap! There's also sprays that are charged with positive electrons to give the filters extra pull but it turns out it doesn't need it. The filters probably already have that built in.

This is what MickyG is talking about...

http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/141241/catalogs/paasche-airbrush/accessories/filters/paasche-two-paint-filters-for-hssb-booths/

I forgot mine is custom built... pretty much what my shop uses.

[GU-11]

I've not changed it yet but it just looks like a white scouring pad type material. There's a lot of it though! I doubt it'll need to be changed unless you're using it constantly.

Sorry, that's a little vague!

I took it apart to put the motor in the other side (the exhaust vent was not on the right side for how I wanted it set up next to my window). When I had it apart, I saw how the filter material sort of snakes around this maze of guides inside the body of the unit. My thoughts were that it was a good way to filter without being overly restrictive with the airflow. Gut reaction? Unless you're using it hours per day, all the time, I think the filter will last years. Plus, the paint will dry and likely add to the filtering effect. In order for the filter to stop working, there'd need to be an awful lot of paint all over the metre or so of material (if I recall correctly). I don't know about you, but I try to get the paint on my model, not sprayed down the throat of the booth.

Word of advice, get a really good light you can shine into the opening when you use it. The black color is terrible when it comes to seeing what you're doing.

Glad to hear that I won't need to be replacing those filters too often. My DIY booth needed a filter replacement after every 3-4 paint sessions; good thing those kitchen hood filters are pretty cheap, and I only need a small sheet of it.

And thanks for the heads-up on the lighting. Even on my DIY booth, the lighting was pretty poor, and I had to make a holder out of cardboard for a mini flashlight to hold over the rim of the booth (ghetto-style, baby!). Guess it's time to get a proper lamp for the job.

I use the A/C type. Cheap! There's also sprays that are charged with positive electrons to give the filters extra pull but it turns out it doesn't need it. The filters probably already have that built in.

This is what MickyG is talking about...

http://www.artistsupplysource.com/product/141241/catalogs/paasche-airbrush/accessories/filters/paasche-two-paint-filters-for-hssb-booths/

I forgot mine is custom built... pretty much what my shop uses.

I've tried looking for AC filters everywhere, but it seems the local hardware stores just don't sell them. In Malaysia, almost all AC units are split types and the condenser units are mounted high up the walls, instead of at ground level like what I've seen in pics of American AC condensers. Almost no one services their own AC's here, other than the occasional washing of reusable filters in the indoor unit.

BTW, those Paasche filters look almost identical to the kitchen hood filters I'm currently using for the DIY booth, and the price is more or less the same. I guess I can continue to use those, in this case.

[EXO]

As long as they can hold on to the particles. Seems kinda flammable for kitchen use though.... lol.

[GU-11]

Haha, that's nothing! You should see how some people in my country cram up to five electrical plugs onto one multi-socket adapter!

[GU-11]

One last, and kind of off-topic question.

Can I use industrial lacquer thinner on my Tamiya acrylics or should stick to the more expensive Tamiya lacquer thinner to be safe?

Edited October 30, 2013 by GU-11

[Vifam7]

Let us know how your new spray booth works out when you actually start using it. If it can do a good job of sucking out Tamiya lacquer sprays, then I might get one myself.

[GU-11]

Let us know how your new spray booth works out when you actually start using it. If it can do a good job of sucking out Tamiya lacquer sprays, then I might get one myself.

Sure thing. I don't have any ongoing projects for now, but I'll probably have it set up and tested out before the end of this year.

BTW, it's 3 cubic meters per minute airflow (or 107 CFM) is the bare minimum recommended by OSHA. Not the greatest, but at least it makes the cut for lacquer and enamel airbrushing, considering the price. I guess rattle cans aren't recommended for this thing.

[thegunny]

I've had one for years and spray cans can quickly overwhelm it if you get carried away.

The filter is just plain old filter foam available from most plastics stores (well in Aus anyway). It is washable and the unit comes apart fairly easily. It does get a lot of build up through the maze and on the fan cage but once again easily cleaned.

Here's what it looks like inside

You do need to keep it clean as you can see by the pic that the pissy little fan has to suck to fumes through all that foam and once the foam gets a bit clogged it becomes near on useless. I've found that I can do around 4 to 5 full MG Gundam kits before the performance starts to drop off.

I use some LED strips stuck around the inside for lighting.

Edited November 1, 2013 by thegunny

[GU-11]

Many thanks for the heads-up, Gunny!

I don't usually do more than one MG sized kit at a time, so clogging shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm a rather "economical" painter when it comes to AB'ing and spray cans, so the booth should be able to handle spray cans if I'm careful. I don't usually do any mass spraying, as in spraying dozens of parts in a single pass.

Question: If I use lacquer or enamel paints, do the filter and booth hold up to (industrial) lacquer thinner if I use it for cleaning?

Also, do the LED strips from Ikea work with this? The top of the booth is curved, and I'm not sure if the LED strips can bend that much, if at all.

[David Hingtgen]

One last, and kind of off-topic question.

Can I use industrial lacquer thinner on my Tamiya acrylics or should stick to the more expensive Tamiya lacquer thinner to be safe?

They say Tamiya thinner is:

40% methyl-iso-butyl-ketone

40% isopropanol

10% isobutanol

10% diacetone alcohol

If anyone can compare to industrial/generic lacquer thinner...

[GU-11]

They say Tamiya thinner is:

40% methyl-iso-butyl-ketone

40% isopropanol

10% isobutanol

10% diacetone alcohol

If anyone can compare to industrial/generic lacquer thinner...

Thanks for the list, David!

I did a search, and most other off-the-shelf lacquer thinners have more or less the same stuff, except some also contain acetone, toluene and a few other hard-to-spell chemicals.

I wonder if the extra stuff would make much of a difference.

[ARK 3]

I've seen that work not good look ay my post& topic's you can make a LOT better then that junk , the Fume's still escape

a friend at Denver sci-fi con had one like it & he was forced by con, staff to shut down,

found a new Possible way of making the Quite Exhaust part some { not on the web }

told me sometime back about his sanding table it has a Down ward draft box .

I just happen to be look in wood working on AMAZON.COM ,lol,

and also found Portable Version so I went looking in Bing / image's,,

& found lot of the missing part's I was looking for.. tell what do you think,.

spray booth? how I make this cheaper

& Better

[ARK 3]

you have what my friend had , & I needed something I know would work & then deseeded to make my own about a year back after another friend blew me off & he told all I need was the money & found out the cost., all ways look at what's out on market & how easy would it be to make & Repair is BEING the big thing & replacing the COST of the part's.

it just one of the thing you will face in the future. that's the Baggiest thing I looked at from the Start, because of all the

hobby's I work with.

all I ask is every one looks at the fact's before shopping & yes you'll have to make it portable ,

, if you don't own your Home.

me I was luck to find a old medium Projection screen TV , at first I was not going to get it till I saw it had Roller's

on the underside.

that how 1/2 the cost went down faster then taking a solid wood desk & converting that

to a spray booth. so If I do move, all I have to do is roll it out on to the truck.

I hope every one dose think before they act.

when it comes to Spray booth's in their Hobby's

the big thing is I can spray any thing in it & wont have to worry about any mess's wherever I work with thing's

[ARK 3]

I just posted a folder of Spray booth pic's to help any one plan what they want & can read small note's ,,

look in my Gallery of pitcher's. hope the info will HELP Anyone who need's it.