Substitutes for spray booths:

Thanks again for all your tips and suggestions.  Since I am an absolute beginner and will "only" be working on a few each year for now, I went with a simple, low-cost small booth for now.  Once I become more experienced in spraying and find that I need something larger, better built, and of course more costly re my budget, I can upgrade to it.  I went with this one from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Airbrush-Spray-Booth-Paint-Extractory/dp/B004ZH7RSM

My spray booth needs are mostly for odor control. Need one (or to find out how to build one) that keeps solvent vapors under control so I can actually paint inside the house instead of hoping the garage will cool down enough to take everything out there. With temps the way they are here that ain't gonna happen until sometime in November....

I get so little overspray with an airbrush I do not use my booth for airbrushing. I only use it for rattle cans.  These do produce a lot of overspray. I remember one company I used to work for had a very large and good art/graphics department.  Several of the artists had airbrushes at their desk/boards, and they did not use booths.

Do not use an airbrush as a spray gun.  Dial the pressure and flow down and just use it as a brush that doesn't make brush marks.  Negligible overspray.  I do make sure I move any completed assemblies out from center of my bench, but other than that just brush away.

I do this: a small corner of modelling heaven for airbrushing / rattle can brushing in the attic or garage space - addion to garage for example. I know not everyone has that luxury but it's an idea. Oh yeah, it helps if you have light and ventilation too.  :))

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

Cardboard box

Ok thanks CN Spots!  Can anyone else recommend a particular brand such as the one in the above link?  There are quite a few out there ranging in price form $79 to $500+.  I do not want a real cheap one because almost always, you get what you pay for.  At the same time, I do not have a budget for $400-500+!  I am looking at between $150-$300 if plausible.  All tips/advice are greatly appreciated!  Thanks . . .

Yes.  We u.se the larger version of that exact spray booth at work.  It has a charcoal filter, an oil impregnated filter, a filter like on your home a/c unit, a filter that looks like foam batting and a roll of cheesecloth like material on top that is pulled off and discarded to protect the other layers.  We use it for spray adhesive mostly and you can't smell anything.  There is also an add on plate in the back that you can hook up to two dryer ducts and vent out of the room either by hanging them out the window or mounting a thru-wall dryer fitting just like on your clothes dryer but is not necessary.

Is the spray booth in the link below the kind that has filters assist in trapping the fumes, i.e., It does not need to be connect to tubing that sends fumes out through a cut-out hole in the wall?  If so, this is what I am looking for please!  

http://www.dickblick.com/products/artograph-model-1520-economy-spray-system/?wmcp=amazon&wmcid=feeds&wmckw=52838-1008