I bet a cardboard box has ruined more model finishes than the famous fingerprint has.
Cardboard boxes (the ones made of the tan corrugated board) have trapped dust on their surfaces and in the flutes of the corrugations, it gets there during the manufacturing process. (the dust from the cuttings goes directly into the flutes)
If a person wanted to use a box, it would be better to build the box yourself, using something like the plastic covered foam core board, with white cardboard liners taped on all five inner surfaces so you can replace those as they get paint sprayed. That way you can control the size, and if you taped your liners on with the smooth side facing your work area, you would have a smooth, dust-free work area.
Our budget solution was one of those small, cheap TV/Stereo stands, we assembled it without the doors and drawers, and set it on a table, with a glass door over the compartments. It gives me one large area for working, and another area next to that for the plastic boxes that hold aircraft while the paint "fumes out".
Tools, the airbrush regulator setup, etc can all be bolted along the outside and in small openings along the bottom. When I am done for the day, I just put the models into the plastic boxes, cover them with lids, stack them up,,,,,,,and close the glass door. If I absolutely "have" to leave a model out, then I just don't put any of the tools back in the large area before closing the glass door.
Rex