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 Posted - February 23 2012 : 9:43:38 PM
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These are images of the spray booth I built last spring after having used cardboard boxes with filters and a fan for about a year. I had researched several designs and found that most were built of plywood and fairly cumbersome or designed to be stationary, like a table-mounted bench tool. In my garage, I needed portability (to be able to move it when needed) as well as economy (under $25.00) as the primary goals to be met.
I used hardboard (Masonite) and pieces of fir or pine as framing, so that I could nail the hardboard to a rigid structure. I purchased a "Lampi" mini flourescent lamp at Home Depot for about $12.00 and a durable ball bearing turntable ring ($5.00) also there. The rest of the materials were in my shop (the wood, the box fan, fasteners).
I researched the pulling power of various fans (and their costs) and came across an old Wood magazine study that revealed that a plain old 3-speed 20" box fan, with a filter set across it's back side, resulted in an airflow capacity (for sawdust particulates, mind you) that was almost as good as the mid-priced ceiling hung air systems sold to woodworkers for shop use.
I also found that some of these spray booth articles mentioned th benefit of a light for the interior of the booth cavity, as well as a 2-3 inch polenum (space) between the filter and the fan itself. As you can see, I set a 14 x 20 filter into a frame at the rear of the booth, with a plenum after that. The filter is easily and cheaply replaced after about 20 uses (I reverse the filter halfway thru the cycle top to bottom to top, as most of the spray hits the lower portion).
and recently have begun using a filter cut to fit from a synthetic material sheet (make your own filter) found at WalMart.
I had to open up the mini-lamp to disconnect the cord to run the wires thru the side, as I didnt want to cut a larger hole for the plug to fit thru, and I painted the interior in a Behr brilliant white color left from a recent interior garage repaint job. The lamp gives plenty of white light and I put a piece of plywood covered by a plastic plate on top of the turntable ring.
I ran the cord down the interior side with a cord-minder plastic sleeve I had left from something long ago.
I sized the booth dimensions after one of the online boths I researched, with a bit of adjustment for the materials I had at hand. There is plenty of room in the booth.
The recent paint jobs you see when I post projects are all from this booth, either from spray can or airbrush sources. When I spray, I have the garage door open and the garage ceiling fan on as well. The filter seems to be quite effective and I have virtually no pass-thru spray on the fan blades (well a little bit, but in the form of dust that can be easily cleaned with alcohol on a rag).
If anyone has further questions, I believe I also drew a CAD drawing of this before I started assembly and can give you dimensions (or just measure the booth, either way) if needed.
Siouxlake/Ron
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Posted - February 23 2012 : 9:45:48 PM
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| That open space behind the filter is a PLENUM- my spelling error!
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 12:51:03 AM
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Dear Ron,
Please get out of my head. First the switcher, now this which looks like my getto paint setup except yours is awesome. In a few days I'm showing off a new project, I know your version will be even better and I'm just not ready for that  
Seriously that's a GREAT paint booth build. If I ever upgrade mine to a real setup I'd definitely like to do something similar.
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 02:10:40 AM
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Chris- it's not that I am an expert of any sort. I used to WORK for engineers, but was never trained as one. All I am is a plain old HS shop teacher, jack of a few trades, master of none, albeit with computers those days.
Whatever project I do is first preceeeded by research (thanks to the Internet), and I try to be frugal. My days of ordering stuff from Trainworld every three months are long gone, as is going to my LHS to buy something on the spur of the moment- both thanks to the present economy. With gas going up weekly, and no raise in 3 yrs, my hobby choices are made based on what I can do with a little. Hence the spray booth made with a very minor investment ( that fan in the pictures is 20 years old!), and my quarterly expeditions to flea markets put on by the local model rr club.
In the Budd RDC project I am still involved with, I specifically got the Model Power Multi-figure pack of unpainted people, as it is cheaper to paint them myself, and I am not on a clock to get the job done ASAP. If
I screw up, they get dumped in 91 alcohol and I try again- no cost except time. The spray booth also has
some rubber feet, if you look at the images closely. I had those forever in my parts drawers, but even they
are only $3 a pack or so.
I guess I am training myself for retirement by working like this- if I can afford to retire, that is!
Siouxlake/Ron
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 02:16:50 AM
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Oh, by the way, that work bench you see the paint booth sitting on is a old metal framed+mdc paneled wheeled cart i rescued from the garbage dumpster at a previous school 7 yrs ago. I put three 3/4 inch pieces of MDF on top, covered by a replaceable Masonite panel. The sides are two pieces of laminated fir 1x4s, stained then polyurethane coated. And the one vise you see in the images is one of two I bought from someone for $5.00 each that were rusted shut, but which I cleaned up and fixed to operate. I look for scrap wood at school from bookcases being tossed out, etc. Not quite a pack rat, but my eyes are always open!
Ron
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 1:20:36 PM
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Thanks for posting this... I see your craftsmanship extends to the work environment also. I like the interior painting idea but I don't imagine it would stay clean long once I use it, heh heh.
I've been stockpiling some painting projects and will have a few more coming online soon, so I might mock up something similar with a cardboard box just to try it out.
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 5:07:09 PM
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just a suggestion, souixlake You could use a old metal blade box fan too
I think metal blades move the air alot better than plastic blades
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Posted - February 24 2012 : 9:20:38 PM
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Moving MORE AIR is NOT the issue in a paint booth. It's moving enough air to get the fumes out and prevent die back.
I remember an old body shop owner called me one day and said he was getting a lot of dirt in his auto painting booth. I went to his shop and as we were standing there at a distance watching his painters paint a car, one of the guys open the paint booth door and stepped out. With the fan running in a paint booth, opening the door is the worst thing you can do. The fan draws dirty air from the shop area when the door is opened...
I told the owner , "right there is your problem, Charlie"...
AS for the fan, you don't want to create a dirty draft moving across your project... Moving too much air will cause you more problems...
Walt
Luck, usually comes dressed in work clothes...
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Posted - February 25 2012 : 06:45:59 AM
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Walt- that's exactly what I found in my research. One spray booth article referenced various fans available from Grainger (a commercial equipment supplier), their cfm ratings and also discussed use of multiple fans, as well as ducting for the exhaust air. I can see the ducting for a spray booth in the house or basement, but this fellow was also writing the article at a time when many were using solvent-based paints with their airbrush and the volatility of the fumes was the primary point of concern.
The airflow issue starts becoming a bit overdone, when small bathroom fans move too little, while industrial cage-type blowers move too much. My simple test, aside from the Wood magazine article ( which dated from 2002-03, relatively recent) was to take an old cotton t-shirt shop rag and a piece of paper towel, cut a 1 foot square and hold them in the booth, turn the box fan on to each power level (1-slow to 3-fast) and see how suction created by the rear of the fan moved each item. As both were moved significantly by the level 2 & 3
settings on the fan, I reasoned that was enough to draw paint fumes and particulates into the filter.
I use water- based acrylics in my airbrush and the less-volatile spray cans (remember, the Feds made manufacturers change the propellant years ago due to environmental concerns), so ignition is not a big concern. The airflow draw of the box fan combined with the pleated filter surface area, and the synthetic fiber filter I also use, does the job without buying a $50.00 industrial blower.
Now, I use my booth "outdoors" in an open well-ventilated garage, so closed spaces might require a different solution, but simple works for me!
Siouxlake/Ron
With spray paint from a can, what doesnt
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 Posted - February 25 2012 : 1:25:56 PM
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That looks like a great piece of home-made equipment! Thanks for posting. I'll definitely have to do something like this 
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Posted - February 26 2012 : 01:47:45 AM
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Excellent paint booth design, Ron! I like the look of your shop as well. 
Just be sure the fan is facing the right direction. 
The Tyco Depot
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