Hey all! I’m working on Monogram’s F-4G in 1/32, and it seems my off the shelf booth just won’t cut it anymore. I’m looking to build a fairly large paint booth on my own, something, say, 1m^2. I have a hookup to a 6" duct that goes straight outside, so right now I’m looking for an exhaust fan that’s both explosion proof and powerful enough to really suck out all the fumes. Any recommendations?
When I briefly considered building a paint booth, I found a large selection of suitable fans on Amazon.
Thanks for the advice. I’m looking at fans on Amazon, and I believe I should be looking at brushless fans. I spray lacquers from my airbrush, do you think such a fan would present any issues?
The motor should be rated for the application. The ones I saw tended to be expensive enough I settled on a Pace 24 inch booth rather than try and make one.
Pace also has a 36 inch one.
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Call Grainger (yes they’re in Canada). One of their Dayton fans is sure to fit the bill.
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I rigged up a computer rack cooling fan that works pretty nicely. Scavanged from the old pile of computer parts, we used it to cool large rack systems that had amps, controlled lighting, high end av components etc so it had to move alot of air, just set it up in reverse and it draws out the fumes just fine. Used dryer ducting and made my own box out of the corrugated plastic stuff like yard signs are amde out of with a pretty standard furnace filter in between the booth and fan.
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I did the same with 4 240V computer rack fans, all from the scrap bin, except UKP£2.00/USD$3.00 for the fleecy paint trap gauze.
(MontanaHunter, except, I would turn the fan round so that it sucks rather than reverse the polarity of the fan, might last longer?)
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You need to look for a fan that has enough CFM throughput for your needs. Look at the specs for the PACE fans for ideas.
Basic idea is a fan with brushless (reduces spark risk) and/or a squirrel fan, where the body of the motor is outside the airflow. Use mains electric powered appropriate for your location.
Also make the rear of your booth to fit the furnace filters that are most cost-efficient for where you live, and consider Lexan/Corex panels for light weight and see through sides/top, makes fitting LED lighting on the outside easier.
Good luck
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Yup, I just flipped it around to draw vs blow (if that makes sense). Electricity and I don’t speak the same language so I don’t get into wiring etc if I can help it. Sometimes simple solutions are more elegant.
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I recently built a new spray booth and used the blower assembly from an old clothes dryer. It works well, moves plenty of air, the motor’s not in the airflow and the price was perfect - free. Wiring’s a little unusual but nothing too challenging. My hobby room’s a bit of disaster right now but if you’re curious, I’ll try and get a picture this evening and figure out how to post it.
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Here are a few pictures of my home made booth. The base is a sink cabinet from a kitchen reno many years ago. The basic booth was built over a weekend and I then felt the need to spend another week adding unnecessary bells and whistles.
Here’s a general overview.
A view showing the space used up in the cabinet.
Motor mounting position.
and a view inside the cabinet with the filter and grill removed.
I regularly try and spray lacquers and my wife hasn’t mentioned that pleasant aroma since I built the new booth. That alone is worth the price of a few wood slivers. No vapors pass through the motor (so no safety concerns) and everything vents directly outside.
Good luck in your search.
Colin
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