DIY Spraybooth

OP, I also cannot see your pictures. I had my Uncle's tin-knocker make my paint booth after I designed it. I cannot remember the exact dimensions, but it is pretty big. The filter in the rear is 16x24x1" for reference, and the plane is a 1/48 PBY Catalina. Although not pretty with all the spray foam, I switched out the blower for a much more powerful one I got from work for free. I rolled and welded a 4" duct stub, and installed it in a 1x6" board cut to the size of my window. Everytime I use the booth, I just open the widow. put the board in, and close the window on top. I can spray the nastiest smelliest crap there is, and you cannot catch a whiff of it in the room or house. It is the best thing I ever did. Now I can paint year-round, In the house. Being in a wheelchair, it is a real pain to take kits and parts back and forth to the garage, try not to drop them on the steep ramp in transport, etc. It has increased my modelling enjoyment and productivity 20-fold. The switch on the side controls a fluorescent light, and the blower. I recently started using "press and seal", which is like part saran-wrap and part wax-paper, to protect the inside of the booth. I hope yours works out as well too! - Rudy

My spraybooth is multi task with my wife spraying some of her crafts with rattle cans. So I have the option of back or down draft or both as the need arises. I can block off portions of each exhaust area as needed. Also not pictured is a baffle on the bottom to open up to further reduce the airflow if needed. Short vent tube and a strong blower keeps up with everything just fine.

Might try alum. foil, shiny side up for a bottom liner, would help reflect light to the lower sides of the object being painted.  And can be tossed or recycled when it gets too much paint on it.

Rambo

That's a good idea for the duct work I got some around here. Also on the liner I was thinking of using a piece glass that I could clean easily after use or something disposal like your calendar idea thank you

 

To prevent having to remove and clean the glass under the light frequently, I made tearoff strips to put over the glass.  These are successive layers of transparent tape that race drivers and riders use on their helmet visors, and can remove one at a time when they get dirty.   I just cut several pieces of that clear packaging tape, doubled back a little on the ends to make tabs, stacked them together, and stuck them on the glass. I put five or six on at a time- lasts quite awhile until I have to do it again, and the glass never gets dirty.

Made mine basicly the same only I started with a kitchen cabinet I spotted on the side of the road. The rest is like the one above with an angled filter in the top rear and vented out the window. I had the dust problem while waiting for drying. My wife came in one day and handed me a sheer curtain that fit over the front of the booth. All I had to do was mount the thin curtain rod on the top of the opening and the other on the bottom of the opening. When I'm done spraying, I slide the curtains together and leave the exhaust fan on for a while. Every once in a while, my wife takes them off and puts them in the washer for a cleaning. I was really surprised the first time I saw how the sheers caught all the dust. That's one of the reasons that I'll keep her.

Hope that this helps someone.

Jim  

I built my own booth a few years ago, I also used 1/2" plywood and used a furnace filter. It works well. The nice thing about building your own booth is you can size it to your needs, I figured the biggest thing I'd likely build is a 1/72 B-29 so I sized mine around the dimensions needed to paint a B-29 as seperate wing and fuselage assemblies.

One thing I noticed is it sounds like you are using the common flexible dryer vent hose. It sems like everybody gets those because they are cheap and easy, but those are terrible for air flow. They create something like 10x as much resistance as a piece of aluminum vent pipe. You can increase the efficiency of your blower considerably by using better ducting.

As I didn't have a nice straight shot to the vent I also had to use a flex pipe, but used a short piece of 6" flexible metal heater ducting. It only costs a little more than the plastic dryer hose, and it really increases the airflow of the blower.

I like the idea of misting water before use to reduce the dust, I hadn't thought of that.

I usually turn the booth on a few minutes before I'm going to use it to help draw any dust in the air out of the booth and then leave it running for a few minutes after to ensure all the fumes get out.

I use old desk calenders (the big 2-3 foot type) to line bottom of the booth. One month / page makes a great disposible liner and helps to keep the booth clean. Last years calendars can be found cheap (often free). I got 4 or 5 from the mail room at work that hadn't been used and were getting thrown out so I'm set for several years.

I figure a top mounted filter gives the best performance, but I wanted a light in the top, so have mounted the filter in the back, angled slightly towards the front, in my current (and last previous) booth.

Can't see your pics OP.

When I spray, I have a furnace filter on top of a box fan with cardboard box on it side, shooting into the open and top.  Naturally I cut most of a side away so the airflow will get sucked through the filter by the fan.  Hang what I'm spraying with fishing line (through holes in the top).

I have my spray booth so I can attach a front cover with a filter to keep dust out while drying.

GMorrison

Nice project!

If you can, set it on a piece of rubber restaurant floor mat.

I missed where you put the switch. That’s always a thing, esp. if you are holding something in your hand.

 

Nice project!

If you can, set it on a piece of rubber restaurant floor mat.

I missed where you put the switch. That’s always a thing, esp. if you are holding something in your hand.

yes and no the constant flow of air will help. What I do is I keep a spray bottle with just plain water in it and mist around the area I'm painting in that will knock down any dust in the air. If i'm painting for a long time I will do it a few times. The other thing I do is i have a rubber made container with lid big enough for most 1/48 aircraft and 1/35 tanks that has always been kept upside down after painting something I open it up place the model on the lid and click the container down on top to keep any dust from landing on it while the paint drys.

TY for taking the time to post all this. Well done.

Is a spray booth purposed only for the removal of  the fumes ?  I don't have much of a fume problem but the "dust bunnies" on my finish drive me crazy. Would a spray booth like this solve my problem ?

Now just need to install the filter

10 Filter in" alt="" />

and wire the motor up now make sure you check the wire guide thats always going to be on these motors and if your not sure get take it to someone who is licensed

11 Wired up" alt="" />

Last thing I did was took a scrap piece of 3/4" plywood that I used as a subfloor in my down stairs bathroom cut it down to 33" wide to fit in the window. Cut a 4.24" hole in in to take a outside dryer vent hooked a piece of flexable 4" hose to it caulked it now im ready to start painting.

This motor is rated at 175cfm and i've got 4' that I have to run it to the window so thats great. now if your going say 5' to 10' you would want something more in the 225cfm range longer then that again more cfm it all has to do with static pressure

also I need to pick up a piece of plexiglass to use as a top that i can sit a light on so I can see what i'm painting but that can wait till the next time i'm at mendards

If anyone has any questions i'm happy to help

Next is when I noticed that the blower had no way of hooking to the booth so using some scarp wood and some caulking made a braket to hold it in place. Its just dryfit right now in the photo thats why it looks off center

7 Blower and Bracket" alt="" />

Next up was building the filter holder I had bought a cheap 12x24x1 filter with out thinking first so i had to trim it down to fit you would want to use one thats 20" to 22" instead

8 Wood for filter holder" alt="" />

After getting the holder built and caulked i was able to put it up on a card table by the window i'm just using that untill i get something more stable

9 Temporary table" alt="" />

Next I took it up to my model room, turned the air pressure up to 80psi and hooked up the brad nailer.

4 Nailing it togeather" alt="" />

Next was working on the blower I picked this up at a good price a few things with it. I only spray acrylic paints if you use enamels you must use a blower that has the motor outside of the airflow. the motor is kinda in the airflow on this one the entire motor is sealed from the air but the housing is in the airflow.

5 Blower and 2 inch square to 4 inch round" alt="" />

Also had to make my own two inch square to four inch round adapter from things i had laying around

6 The blower" alt="" />