Check out my new econo-spraybooth

ModelMann,

That sounds good. I bought those Comair fans on Ebay for something like $35 for two of them. They sell for $69 each from Grainger.

Mike

*sigh* It's gotta be a forum thing :P :D

I meant the AC fans. Yeah, everyone's posted about those really swell brushless monstrosities to be had from Grainger....these babies from COMAIR are just the right size for my cabinet.

They even have a DC brushless model that's $25.

Mind you, that filter exhaust on the opposite side of the cabinet's only a 3" hole, but the 3 mounting screws are perfect for this scenario. I had no idea such a thing existed. At 40cfm, it's perfect. That cabinet's really good, and simply needs a decent airflow (we used one of those cheapy personal fans from behind into the cabinet to keep the fumes in the cabinet...worked like a champ).

LOL I think it's sweet when two grown men get along so well......

QUOTE: Originally posted by ModelMann OMG Mike I could kiss you!!!

My wife might have something to say about that!

What did I say that you were so happy about?

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV QUOTE: Originally posted by SFPROPS I thought that any decent shop-vac that is designed to pick up water would have to have it's motor (and therefore, the brushes which makes the sparks) sealed off from the rest of the unit. Otherwise, I'd think you'd introduce electrocution risks wouldn't you? The water doesn't pass through the electrical circuit at all and neither would the paint fumes physically pass through the motor, but being that the paint fumes are a vapor and not a liquid the chance of them getting into the motor is much greater. Although as I said before, if you are not using a flammable thinner or paint you should be alright. QUOTE: It might not be fool-proof, but I would think it would be safer than just using a regular open non-sealed fan, wouldn't it? Since the Shop Vac is a sealed unit inside, I would think it is more dangerous than a fan in open air. Another alternative that I think would work well if you used non-flammable mediums would be a box fan with a furnace filter in front of it. I would even think that a brushless motor fan such as the ones that Comair/Rotron makes might even work well with paints thinned with isopropyl alcohol, although I can't gurantee that nor am I advocating that. Those fans I am referring to are 10" fans and produce 550 CFM of air movement. Here is a photo of one from Comair's web site: Maybe Gip could chime in here as this is his area of expertise. Mike

OMG Mike I could kiss you!!!

I bought this for $50 on sale at Harbor Freight...removed those heavy rubber gloves (would've been good, but they're too thick and not good for the fine control an airbrush needs). It has, as you can see, a built in Flourescent (plenty of light) and a conical filter on the right side. It's a abrasive blasting cabinet, but has worked well for my son and I. The problem was getting the fumes out of the cabinet. This and a dryer vent solves the problem big time.

Here's the link if anyone's interested. It's a fairly heavy cabinet, but it works very well for modelling. I've painted 1/48th scale models in this baby. Anything large would be a problem.

Very clever. Thanks for the share. Necessity is the mother of invention.

For acrylics I have the box fan/ac filter and housing set up. For anything else, I admit I'm a bit more reckless and do it with a dust mask (industrial with cartridges etc.) and open air in the garage. Because of the evaporative quality of the drying agents in petroleum or laquer based paints, the atomized paint dries almost immediately. So I'm not worried about dust, dog hair or small birds etc. getting stuck in wet paint.

Although I will embarassingly admit too that if its a small job....I set it on the stand and shoot. No mask, no booth, just pure dumb luck.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by SFPROPS I thought that any decent shop-vac that is designed to pick up water would have to have it's motor (and therefore, the brushes which makes the sparks) sealed off from the rest of the unit. Otherwise, I'd think you'd introduce electrocution risks wouldn't you?

The water doesn't pass through the electrical circuit at all and neither would the paint fumes physically pass through the motor, but being that the paint fumes are a vapor and not a liquid the chance of them getting into the motor is much greater.
Although as I said before, if you are not using a flammable thinner or paint you should be alright.

QUOTE: It might not be fool-proof, but I would think it would be safer than just using a regular open non-sealed fan, wouldn't it?

Since the Shop Vac is a sealed unit inside, I would think it is more dangerous than a fan in open air. Another alternative that I think would work well if you used non-flammable mediums would be a box fan with a furnace filter in front of it. I would even think that a brushless motor fan such as the ones that Comair/Rotron makes might even work well with paints thinned with isopropyl alcohol, although I can't gurantee that nor am I advocating that.
Those fans I am referring to are 10" fans and produce 550 CFM of air movement.
Here is a photo of one from Comair's web site:


Maybe Gip could chime in here as this is his area of expertise.

Mike

I understand the concern with safety (I mostly only do acrylics anyways) which is why I was thinking about the shop vac as an inexpensive (if you already have one) alternative

I thought that any decent shop-vac that is designed to pick up water would have to have it's motor (and therefore, the brushes which makes the sparks) sealed off from the rest of the unit. Otherwise, I'd think you'd introduce electrocution risks wouldn't you?

It might not be fool-proof, but I would think it would be safer than just using a regular open non-sealed fan, wouldn't it?

QUOTE: Originally posted by SFPROPS You know, I was just thinking about sources for fans/ventilation and was wondering why no one has tried to hook their spray booth outlets to a wet/dry shop vac? It should get a good pull of air, and I'd assume that the motor is somehow sealed off as well (being that water can go through the system). Any thoughts?

If there was anything flammable in your airbrush medium you would have a potential fire as Shop Vacs produce a lot of sparks in their motors. If you sprayed non-flammable acrylics and thinned them with water you would be alright, but if you thin with isopropyl alcohol then there is a potential fire hazard.

Mike

You know, I was just thinking about sources for fans/ventilation and was wondering why no one has tried to hook their spray booth outlets to a wet/dry shop vac? It should get a good pull of air, and I'd assume that the motor is somehow sealed off as well (being that water can go through the system).

Any thoughts?

Hi ya viper11 ...

Great idea ... don't have a kitchen vent in this house ... but, it is really a great idea!
I hope it works well for you Thanks for the picture.

excellent idea!!

Mine is a bunch of 1X 1's screwed together, and sheet metal. I have two lights in it, and a powerful exhaust fan...It's HUGE!!! I may have to shorten it at one point though!!!

Well, looks better than what I got. My spray-booth is a bunch of cut up cardboard boxes taped up with duct tape and a hole cut out in the back for a computer cooling fan to blow it all away from a venting hose.

Actually mike...you might be right, but I'll wait and see how it turns out .
maybe I will devise some form of shield to protect from falling particles if that turns out to be a problem but my previous setup was also top mounted and I never had problems as long as I run a vaccum cleaner once in a while on the fan blades to prevent excessive accumulation. The airflow generally keeps the dust going through the fan.
...good point though

Disregard this. I double-posted.

Pretty cool Jimmy.

I would put the exhaust in the back of the booth though if possible as it is much more efficient than the top. You may also have particles fall back onto the model with the top vent exhaust like you have which I have read is sometimes a problem.

Mike

New girlfriend.....doesn't argue much yet ! LOL

Looks great Viper. I'll bet the wife loves it when you set that up in her kitchen and start spraypainting....

Rich