Do I REALLY need a spray booth?

I think so. You need it if you paint indoors, in particular with spirit based paints.

Ok, I have never used one, however, I do plan to build one for my new work area. I use lacquers, enamels, and acrylics, and figure in the long run it would be a good idea.

K4BeeTee

So being new to airbrushing, I'm still in the process of buying my stuff, and I've been reading up on airbrushing and tools and accessories. Im yet to actually use one. And one thing that jumped out at me which I haven't considered before - is "needing" an airbrushing spray booth...

I plan on doing little 1/72nd scale airplane models to get back into the swing of things, before moving back onto 1/48 and then 1/32, am I really going to need one?

Bt

 

bluenote

K4BeeTee

And one thing that jumped out at me which I haven't considered before - is "needing" an airbrushing spray booth...

 

Bt

 

 

I think it really depends on the kind of paint you plan on using.  I use Tamiya acrylics for the most part and the odour is pretty miminal.  As well, I use a double action (Iwata Revolution) and there is very little overspray.  In fact, all my airbrushing is done at my model desk.  I just use a piece of blank paper under the part I'm airbrushing and it's more than enough to protect my desk.

 

I will also keep a window open and have a fan on.  (I model in the basement).

 

I think if you will be using a single action then there will be a lot more overspray.  

 

I also only use acrylics but I do have a spray booth. Also use a respirator. While we're on the subject, safety glasses too. 

Do I "need" it?  I don't know.  Someone smarter than me will have to answer that.  I don't want to find out the hard way. The stuff wasn't expensive and the PPE is surprisingly comfortable.  

T e d

IMHO, basement or garage spraying no- house or apt yes.

I use a respirator for enamels or lacquers,and I really don't spray excessively 

I've used one for years.  Very convienient, vents out of my garage window.  No need for cardboard or newspaper is a big plus.  I still manage to get crap in my paint on occasion but helps with the fumes.   I dont think you need one but it sure is handy.  You can paint day and night in any weather, but consider humidity.

keavdog

but consider humidity.

 

This raises a good point - where I am in Townsville, summers get really hot and humid. The model room has aircon and so on, so I can run it on the "dry" function, but - what do I need to keep in mind on those especially humid summer days?

bluenote

I use Tamiya acrylics for the most part and the odour is pretty miminal.  As well, I use a double action (Iwata Revolution) and there is very little overspray.  In fact, all my airbrushing is done at my model desk.  I just use a piece of blank paper under the part I'm airbrushing and it's more than enough to protect my desk.

This is exactly what I had in mind....

You need to tell us more about your working area.  Do you live in an apartment where others may smell paint and thinner?  Do you work in basement, where you only need to keep wife or other family members happy?  If you work in a garage, not much of a problem depending on which paints you use.

In high humidity lacquers do present a problem.  Acrylics and enamels are not as bad, depending on what you thin them with (I know folks who use lacquer thinner on them- does create a problem).

Hi Don,

The work area will just be the 4th room of a 4 bedroom free standing house which is currently a disused guest room, turned into a hobby room. So it'll just be me and the wife sniffing up all the fumes :p

Then yes,I would try to get something.

K4BeeTee

 

This raises a good point - where I am in Townsville, summers get really hot and humid. The model room has aircon and so on, so I can run it on the "dry" function, but - what do I need to keep in mind on those especially humid summer days?

 

My house is very dry in the winter and dry (flash off) times pick up substantially in the dry air if the house is well up to temp. I've noticed with acrylics now that humidity has picked up some and the heat basically not running in the day, that they are slow to flash off or slower to flash off. So I use a hair dryer between coats which picks the flash off right up.

Don't try to spray lacquer in humid weather it will blush. And actually, if you have a hobby room as you mentioned and it's within your normal living area ( apartment or house) then the spray booth becomes more of a concern if you use solvent based paints in general. Back in the 1950's and 60's, we or at least I, thought nothing of spraying them even in my bedroom but lets just say as a society we have come to know better now lol. Don't try to spray lacquers and enamels at your work station and not vent it outdoors somehow is my suggestion.. Today there are many options from portable, even folding paint booths, if the room is dedicated to hobby use, in due time consider a booth for it. Now with acrylics and painting small parts you can find me spraying those into the kitchen trash can as well as using the booth. But not lacquer or enamel.

Enamel is especially forgiving about not blushing in humid weather by the way. But really when it gets like that I'm generally not painting anyway, I switch to tying flies in the best air conditioned room in the house for our annual trip to Maine in the fall salmon fishing.

It's not just the fumes... you are putting very fine (wet) dust particles in the air, some of which will dry & go further than you imagine, which your lungs cannot easily get rid of.

If for no other reason, a spray booth (lots of recipes using squirrel fans & furnace filters online) will get this paint/dust moving away from you/your household/pets & into a trap.

If you build one with a front door/flap, you will now also have somewhere to put your freshly painted models.

This will greatly help with domestic harmony.

Jon_a_its

... will get this paint/dust moving away from you/your household/pets & into a trap.

I see nothing worng with using a spray booth as long as you have a ventilation hose to a window. 

When I airbrush, I go outdoors... Do I need a spray booth in this case? In any case, are there any cheap spray booths for 1/48 and 1/35 modeling?

Also, I prefer to use enamels....do I need something else besides the eye protection?

John 3:16 KJV

When I airbrush, I go outdoors... Do I need a spray booth in this case? In any case, are there any cheap spray booths for 1/48 and 1/35 modeling?

You're outside aren't you? You're spraying in open air. I spray in my garage with garage door open (no spary booth) during summer months as long it's not humid out. There's are no standard size spray booth for 1/48 scale and 1/35 scale model kits. 

The only time I spray outside is when I'm using a rattle can on top of a cardboard box. Afterwards, I immediately bring it in the garage to dry. 

Tojo72

IMHO, basement or garage spraying no- house or apt yes.

I use a respirator for enamels or lacquers,and I really don't spray excessively 

 

I do not use one cause I paint in my garage. I open the big door, put my folding table near the entrance and turn on my floor fan to push the fumes out. 

Like Tojo, I use a respirator for Alclads. Regardless of what you spray, if indoors use a well vented booth and don't forget about having good lighting, preferably daylight bulbs. 

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

 

 

John 3:16 KJV

When I airbrush, I go outdoors... Do I need a spray booth in this case? In any case, are there any cheap spray booths for 1/48 and 1/35 modeling?

 

 

 

 

You're outside aren't you? You're spraying in open air. I spray in my garage with garage door open (no spary booth) during summer months as long it's not humid out. There's are no standard size spray booth for 1/48 scale and 1/35 scale model kits. 

The only time I spray outside is when I'm using a rattle can on top of a cardboard box. Afterwards, I immediately bring it in the garage to dry. 

 

 

Thank you, BlackSheep. 

Hey Bt,

I think this about covered, but from my perspective using 98% acrylics I implment a extraction spray booth. I use strong solvents to thin and cleanup the paint, and as such I use a respirator with my spray booth.

I would also suggest using nitrate gloves to reduce skin contact.

Enjoy.

damouav

I would also suggest using nitrate gloves to reduce skin contact.

 

I second what Damian said. Forgot to throw this in my previous post.

Even though I spray mostly acrylics. I built this for myself to exhaust out the window

There is no down side to a spray booth other than cost. If you search the fourms here and the web there are a plenty of homemade designs. You can even use cardboard or foamboard. 

Here is one nice homemade I found

https://vent-works.com/blogs/the-ventilation-blog/15945741-diy-hobby-spray-booth

Rob

here is a link to the booth I built

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/9/t/177122.aspx

Off topic: you guys made me order a respirator - made me nervous!

keavdog

Off topic: you guys made me order a respirator - made me nervous!

 

For acrylics I use the booth I built and general hardware store dust masks. Unless as I mentioned, it's a little test piece or a small part, then I just shoot it into the kitchen trash can. But for more extensive painting and my wifes ceramics clear coats I go with my booth.

If you're going to shoot solvent paints regularly I suggest a respirator as others have mentioned and all the more so a booth or some form of venting outdoors. For years I used an exhaust vent shrouded into an old window opening, it would clean the room out in about 10 minutes. But the shrouding is the important factor of a fan in a window, especially on a breezy day.