Spray paint booth and paint dryer

Nigel Chapman
At last I'm getting on with this build. My garage is full of dust from spray painting and contained in separate block to the rear of my house with no lighting or power supply.
So I've bought an 84 Ltr and 20 ltr plastic box by Really Useful Box which will be mounted back to back with holes cut for the fans. The boxes come with lids so will easily store and keep dust free.
Two 5v USB fans will be used connected to a battery pack then a kitchen extractor pipe mounted to a third A4 size box to vent outside.
Fans can easily be replaced with 12v or 240v ones in the future.

Nigel Chapman
A little tweaking to ensure the fans fit properly. I used draft excluder around the mdf fan mount to fill the space and ensure it's airtight.

David R. Meizoso
Looks awesome!

Treehugger
Please make sure you actually test the ventilation effect afterwards. You can light an incense stick, and watch the smoke go in, or not go in, as the fans are running.

In my experience, high psi airbrush work is out of the question in a spray booth, and psi ought to be around 20 or less. No idea if the additional fans was a bad idea or not, but it worked ok.

I had such a diy spray booth, using the most powerful Noctua fan at the back, and six other ones at the front side.

Spanjaard
very nice. that reminded me to post the pictures of my own contraception 🙂

Nigel Chapman
Thanks everyone. Treehugger thanks for the tips
At the moment the booth is for spray can pants only.

Bill Newcomer
Nigel, I used 4 12vdc muffin fans and a variable power supply. Ducted out the window. I can paint IN THE HOUSE without the wife objecting.

Paint booth | Album by musclecarfan (1:25)

Make sure you have LOTS of light. I wrap, rewrap the inside of mine with "Press and Seal" periodically to keep the interior surfaces from getting dirty.

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Bill. I have some suitable lighting

Treehugger
I remember adding led lights on mine. But the led's were exposed, and so I simply airbrushed the outer transparent plastic casing, with a thin layer of Vellejo white primer, which diffused the light. 🙂 The led product I had was like a stiff rod with removable transparent protective cover. I had three of these I think, one on top and one on each side. Might be better to invest in proper room lighting, or have some other LED light around your workspace.

Simon Nagorsnik
Fantastic idea! I've to remember this!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Chaps. I will look further into the the lighting.

Nigel Chapman
Virtually finished.
The paint filter is off eBay and cut to size from the 1 metre square I bought. It simply pushes into the 10 mm electrical trunking that was cut to fit the box.

Nigel Chapman
Paint booth now finished and ready for use. The third smaller box works brilliantly for attaching the flexible hose.
A chat with a car modeller at the IPMS Telford show last year and he recommended getting a cheap food dehydrator, removing the bases of the trays with the Dremel and using it to dry painted models. Temperature can be adjusted and model gets an even dry all over.
So two new toys to try!

Spanjaard
i would have never thought of using a food dehydrator for drying of paint. really curious to know how it goes. be really careful with temperatures 😉

Nils Steyaert
thats genious! i might to make something similar 🙂

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Nils

Bill Newcomer
I have heard other express the virtues of a dehydrator. I remember 105F being the optimum temperature.
I would have one already but I have nowhere to keep it. My hobby room is maxed out.

Dominik Weitzer
the idea with the dehydrator is great! but i think, my wife didn't like that, if i use "hers" *lol*

you use the both for spray cans? is that correct?

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Bill, though with the weather in the UK around 71F I don't think I'll need the dehydrator!
Yes Dominik just spray cans. I'm just lazy and spray cans so more convenient!

Nigel Chapman
First painting with my Nasvan as Guinea pig.
Well the booth works. The paint finish is a lot better than I used to get so the dust and residue is clearing through the filter and fans. Body feels smoother as well so should be less rubbing down between coats.
I think in the future a 3 or 4 fan system may work better.

Nigel Chapman
A days intense painting - four different colours plus clear coat and really pleased with end results.
I made some body stands from old pallet wood will 2 mm holes drilled at regular intervals. Plastic coated garden wire can then be inserted and bent to shape to support the body.
I've be trying out various paint drying times with paint dryer. So far 25mins max at 40C (104F) seems to work.
Things to do -
wear disposable gloves - saves painting my hands!
Get a turntable - I forgot to buy one
Keep it clean - amazing just how much crap you get from painting. The filter gets very dirty quickly as you would expect. I have been brushing them between use which seems to be ok. I tried putting one through the washing machine on a 15 minute wash though not sure if I achieved anything. I guess their lifespan will not be very long.

Bill Newcomer
Glad to hear you like your paint booth. Body stands work do for holding and rotating the body as it is painted, but have some access/mobility limitations. I use CA glue to attach a fat sprue rod to where a dome light would be in the headliner. This allows me to use an alligator clip on a bamboo skewer to hold the body with one hand. This permits getting very even paint coverage on the lower edges of the body such as the valences. It also lets me rotate it at any angle to check coverage under all lighting angles. Wearing gloves is a good idea to keep your hand clean. I have two Tamiya turn tables, I rarely use them due to the versatility of the above mentioned sprue/clip/stick method. It is also one less "dirty" item introduced into your airstream. With a lot of fans, you can get more spraying time out of a filter as they will pull air through the additional paint build up. It makes for less cost and/or waste. How much space do you have between the back side of the filter and the incoming side of the fans?

Nigel Chapman
Thanks for the tips Bill, that does solve the body problem. I did two coats of paint, 1 with body upright and 1 with the body upside down.
The filter frame is about 1 inch from the fans, however the material being flexible is probably touching them. I had noticed the various paints reacted with the filter - the blue especially went everywhere, the black and grey were alot better.

Jv
Looks like a great set up
I did have a look at hippyguys set up
His only gets sucked out at the bottom only a small strip
I believe that is to achieve better suction
I believe that is a good setup fumes and dust and paint is sucked down and away from what is sprayed
And can also use a small filter
If you got color going through your filter just double it up
I am Looking at trying to mod mine a bit LOL
Thanks for sharing your build pics so we can all get ideas from it

Nigel Chapman
Thanks JV for the tips. I have considered doubling up the filters and I think another fan would help.
I have seen various types of pipework/fittings for paint booths both from the top and bottom.
With my current set up the results have been much better with less dust and debris than I had previously.

Jv
That's great and yes you have special requirements sense you use it very you got no power
Great to see you got something that works for you
I haven't got a drying cabinet yet
The reason I want it is cos I spray inside the house
And like to cut fumes
Let me know how it works for you when the hydratior

Jv
I remember you talking about the hydratior before

Bozzer
I don't know how I missed this, but it looks awesome mate!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Bozzer, it's worked well though I am considering adding extra fans

Bill Newcomer
Sufficient fans and low air restriction is the key. I run 4 12vdc fans in the same plate. My filter is 16x25x1. My exhaust duct is a very low restriction 14"x14"square that is only 25" Long before it exits the window.

Nigel Chapman
Thank Bill extra fans it is

Lex Jassies
I do like these DIY builds and the inventiveness that comes with it 👍

Nigel Chapman
Thanks for gen Roland. Yes, I will install more fans in the new year

Nigel Chapman
Lex thanks 👍

Bozzer
Merry Christmas lads.
Nigel, I also liked the science behind Roland's info. I'm sure that he would be a great help, to many of us?
Also curious to know what he thinks of my endeavour? And I find, instead of killing your washing machine, with your filter, just leave it on the washing line, for a few weeks. Nature takes care of everything 😉

Nigel Chapman
Thanks for the tip Bozzer, I just disposed of 2 filters!!

Nigel Chapman
A couple pictures to show the paint booth is still up and running in its current guise in my garage.
Still considering getting another couple of fans but will have to modify the smaller inner box or loose it altogether if the area is too large.
I've bought more filter material and inherited a turntable which is really useful.
So far I've managed to avoid 'painting' my Mercedes parked outside!
The paint dryer is also working fine and occupies the downstairs toilet. Why? Because there is an automatic extractor fan so it limits the paint odour and is shut off from the rest of the house.

Carlos Proença
Very good ideas!!!!! Well done Nigel.

Nigel Chapman
Thankyou