[skid solo]

You certainly did Paul. Just picked up most of the bits for mine too.!! LOL.

Nice start rueboy.

[skid solo]

You certainly did Paul. Just picked up most of the bits for mine too.!! LOL.

One question: I was given two computer fans but fear they may be too small. What size did you use Paul?

Bice start rueboy.

[beowulf]

al.....they are identical to the ones rueboy is using.......i cant check mine as they are tucked away in the back of the box....lol

[rueboy]

Skid solo, my fans are 120mm the place I got them (Maplins here in the UK) rates them at max airflow is 79.2 CFM (2200 Litres/minute)each.

Here are a few more pics, its pretty much done now, need to fill a few gap but she sucks well lol. just need to place it by the window and check for hight etc.

[skid solo]

Thanks for the info rueboy.

Sugar, the ones I was given are 80mm power supply fans. Looks l;ike I'll have to head for Maplins.

[beowulf]

al....dont worry......very cheap as i remember

[skid solo]

Paul, nowt's as cheap as free!! LOL

[skid solo]

I sourced some fans AND washable filters on e-bay:

Fans

Filters

The fans are each 75cfm so that should give me a total of around 225 cfm.

All up price for three fans and three filters inc shipping.... GBP17.73. (about $26 US. $32 Can. $39 Aus or Euro 20 )

Got all the gear, so now I have no excuse not to get it done, right? LOL. Tell that to 'er indoors.!!

[skid solo]

Just thought I'd share my take on this great idea of Paul's.

Pretty much the same, only for ease of construction I used a second smaller plastic box for the airbox. I vented mine via the side because of space constraints.

Also instead of buying tumble drier vent kit, I bought a 3mtr length of flexible hose and two external vents, (cheaper that way for me) one of which was butchered to fit the airbox.

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[rueboy]

looks neat hope it works well for you, mines doing a great job best £30 I spent.

[beowulf]

like the idea of the second box for the chamber, might have to try that when i do mk.2 later in the year, although it might make the overall depth a bit too long for my window ledge

[stevegt738]

lqdmindz, on Dec 29 2008, 11:35 PM, said:

Im really happy btw...my first air brush comes tomorrow...i managed to pic up an Iwata just like peters for 195 off ebay... ...my dad will be sorting out a compressor...what sort of attachment would i need from the compressor to the airbrush? are they pretty standard?

Here are some pics of my set up. All fittings came from Bunnings. Quick release male/female fittings.

In line water trap



adaptor to fit airbrush line


Hope this answers your question. Now i need to build my own paint booth to go with it .

[ndru]

The first thing I noticed after starting to use my airbrush is the level of paint that quickly build up in my modelling room and how long they take to dissipate. I decided not do any more airbrushing until I could exhaust the air out of the room via a mini spray booth.

I looked at getting a Sparmax mini-booth. They are very good but they are also expensive for a hobby (not much change from $300AU), retailers rarely keep them in stock to have a look at and I would need to rely on a retailer following through on my order. Therefore, I decided to make my own booth after being inspired by this excellent thread. You can see the finished product in my gallery.

I use the term "finished" loosely because there's still a few things I want to do it before I can call it finished.

The cost of the booth was:

• $10 each for the fans (I had 2 left over from a previous PC build)
  
• $12 for the storage tub
  
• $3 for the plywood
  
• $0 for the transformer - I salvaged it from an obsolete PC peripheral
  
• $6 in screws and washers

Total: about $60-$70.

The fans are basic PC fans with a low RPM - around 1200 each I think. They are very quiet but they only pull about 40CFM each. I think that 6 working together is enough to pull most of the fumes outside even with my airbrush working hard. I'll put the booth through its paces over the weekend. I may end up needing to replace some of the fans with higher revving ones later.

I started out thinking that I might salvage and old PC power supply. The only one I had available was one that needed a short circuit somewhere in the motherboard connector to trick the supply into thinking it was connected to the motherboard in order to supply the other supply lines. I couldn't be bothered working out how to do this considering that a 500W power supply was overkill for this project and I had and adequate 12V transformer handy anyway. In the end, the transformer had a longer 12V wire than the PC power supply, which made the booth easier to connect to the fans and power socket in my wall.

I didn't make up an exhaust duct as others did because I can just mount my booth temporarily in my sash window and can sit quite comfortably at my window. In fact, the way it is mounted provides an excellent source of for the booth if used during the day. I might work on an exhaust duct later if I find sitting at my window gets uncomfortable and I want to have the booth at my desk.

I want to cover the fans with some kind of basic filter to reduce the paint build up on the fans. I've got some fan filters on order that should arrive soon. I'm not sure what to use as filter material long term in the fan filters. I'll start out with some of my wife's old pantyhose sandwiched between some cheap plastic flyscreen, which should work without reducing the airflow too much. I've read that Scotch Brite pads are also good at catching particles without reducing airflow too much.

Some other improvements I'm going to work on are:
- adding in a small turntable to mount the object being sprayed
- using a piece of cardboard or ply to blocking the remaining space in the window next to the booth to prevent air returning through the window
- adding a light to the outside top of the booth

[skid solo]

Interesting Andrew but I can't find your gallery!!

[ndru]

skid solo, on Apr 8 2009, 12:33 AM, said:

Interesting Andrew but I can't find your gallery!!

Oops - sorry. Forgot to make the album public. Here's a link to the album, or here's just the pictures anyway


Window in which I mount the booth:


Booth mounted in left window:



Wiring on back of booth (ugly but it works):


Transformer used to power the fans:


Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the booth turned out and how easy it was to build. Its not a complicated project and anyone with access to a basic power drill and jigsaw should be able to complete in only a few hours.

The booth is made of nearly transparent plastic so I simply placed a small, cheap desk lamp with a high output fluro bulb on top of the booth to provide light to the subject - it works well.

I'd definitely recommend placing a small sheet of plywood or similar at the back of the booth (bottom or the tub). The main reason is that cutting six holes in the back did reduce the booth's ridigity and the plywood goes a long way to restoring the booth's structure.

I used the booth for some light spraying and paint decanting yesterday. It works pretty well and I didn't notice any build up of fumes in the room. I also used some glue in the room later that day, which stunk up the room. I turned on the booth for about 30 minutes and it seemed to have done a good job at getting rid of them. I think I'll use the booth for whenever I open up a container of paint, glue or solvent and not just airbrushing.

I've just received a small turntable to mount in the booth, similar to that used in the Sparmax mini-booth. I'm also going to attach some fan filters this Easter weekend and see if it significantly impacts the airflow.

[beowulf]

bump for Nyok whos planning on building one


and as an update............mine is now 16 months old............lost count how many kits ive sprayed in it.........ive had one fan pack up a few months back...cheap and quick to replace.......every few months i take it outside and give it a good clean...........only major prob i have is that it dosnt like rattle can paints too much...........it coats the edges of the vanes of the fans too quickly.....and yes i know thats my fault for not using a filter ....i just let the paint dry then use a sharp knife to cut/snap the paint off the vanes......im still happy with it but plan on building a mk2 next year with a few improvements

[nyok]

@beowulf

thanks for linking me here! looks like everything that i need is already here. ill go post some screens once i have the material and some time to build it. great work guys!!!

[CentexModeler]

You guys have stumbled across a brilliant solution to a major problem. I know a lot of folks don't spray with a vent system and they're breathing in all that stuff. Well done! I have one in progress and nearly complete as well.

I took my inspiration from a fan plenum from a scrapped computer network server rack. Here's what I started with:


I initially used the included fans, but I didn't seem to be getting the draw I wanted. Mind you, my first paint booth was a box fan duct-taped to the back of a 2'x2'x2' cardboard box. That box fan pulled air like crazy, but the paint particulates killed it after only a year.
Here is the next phase. The "box" of the rig has been fleshed out with 1/4" fiber board:



When I realized that it wasn't pulling the air the way I wanted, I made a major shift and bought a circulation fan from a hydroponics supplier. It set me back about $114 US. But, I'm happy with the change. I kept two of the old fans and will use them on the other end of the 4" dryer duct if the run is too long. Note the switches on the front. One controls the light and the other the fan.

[Kaaru]

Hello guys,

I'm new to your forum and I am also having a go at building a SB based on the storage bin design. I have most of the components purchased and I will start the building soon.

Stay tuned

[Benjamin Linus]

So many good & useful ideas to build a Paint booth .. i gotto start somewhere .. so i will purchase a clear container .. then i will work from there .. i gotto figure this out .. i have a blower type apperatus that used to be installed on a wood stove .. could this be of USE ? ? IDK .. maybe .. for me .. this in its self will be a huge project .. this will DEFINATLY stall my future builds .. thats SAD because i have NOT yet built a model of yet ! .. Regards !