DIY Spraybooth question....

[Eloveless]

I know this may be a DUMB question, but when building a Spraybooth why have a fan? I have a window in my hobby space, should that be good enough just to leave open? Also do you guys wear a small mask when airbrushing? Just curious. 

 

Thank you! 

[Belugawrx]

An open window is not enough, you need air, pulling the fumes and overspray away,...

A mask is never a bad thing,.,...

Be prepared for a long read, on this subject, or, go herehttp://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/56874-spray-booth/#comment-671750

Cheers

Edited March 13, 2016 by Belugawrx

[Eloveless]

Bruce did you try sending a link? Don't see one. 

 

[Belugawrx]

there it is up in my post

[Jhedir6]

yes you need a fan, to extract the fumes. otherwise they just sit in your room. if you're spraying in an enclosed space you absolutely should wear a respirator. Not a fabric mask you want one that industrial painters use. they're an added expense yes, but well worth it.

[Ace-Garageguy]

If you spray indoors, you DEFINITELY need some kind of extractor fan. Period.

And you ALWAYS need to WEAR A RESPIRATOR. Period.

Unless, of course, you're blessed with unlimited medical insurance coverage and a source of cheap new lungs. The solvent vapors can cause a wide range of other serious health problems. Just like smoking, some people can be exposed to paint and fumes and suffer no ill effects...but you won't know until it's kinda too late to prevent the problem.

This type of organic-vapor respirator with replaceable particulate pre-filters is fine for model use. Some of these are intended to be fully disposable, but if you take care of them and replace the pre-filters when they load up, they'll last for a long time doing model work.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[High octane]

Definitely use a respirator, or you may pay for it later. Those paint fumes not only go to your lungs and damage them, but they also go to your liver.

[Miatatom]

If you build a booth that is enclosed and equipped with a fan exhaust to someplace outside, you don't need to wear a respirator, or as we called it in the nuclear industry, "sucking rubber". You know, your nose never itches until you get one of those things on.

Mine is enclosed and exhausted to the outdoors. I never smell any fumes.

[Eloveless]

Tom do you have a pic of your booth?

[Ace-Garageguy]

Sorry if I seem like an ass, but anyone who tells you don't need to wear a respirator while painting needs to sign a certificate of responsibility to pay for your medical costs in the future.

Home-made booths rarely work 100% efficiently, and a $30 respirator that will last for several years with good maintenance is really cheap insurance.

If you CAN build a good booth with effective fume extraction, and you NEVER smell anything, you're OK with no respirator...but why risk it?

But hey, it ain't MY problem. 

Just FYI: The last shop I worked in had an industrial bead-blasting cabinet with huge air-extractor fans and filters, all vented to the outside. It had pneumatic seals on the doors and protective gloves that inflated when the box was evacuated. I ALWAYS wore a respirator while working on that piece of equipment too...because on the days in the beginning when I didn't, I'd get home and be blowing black snot out of my sinuses and have a scratchy throat...and I never smelled anything. God only knows how much silicon and other toxic dust went in my lungs.

Got a respirator, no problem.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Roadrunner]

My new booth, once complete (with two squirrel cage blowers operating in tandem), will move roughly 424 CFM (Nom.), but I'll still wear a respirator most of the time while painting.

[Miatatom]

Tom do you have a pic of your booth?

I've made some changes to it since these first pics. I've got 4 flood lights on a bar above the booth with a clear glass top. Hey, I'm old and can't see! The intake is in the back at the top and the exhaust is still out the bottom as pictured. I don't use the plastic sleeves in the other pic any longer either. I might just do a short write up of all the changes I've made.

[Spex84]

Yep, definitely use a respirator. You might think you don't smell anything, so you're OK...and then some hours later you'll blow your nose and the tissue will be tinted Ford Engine Green

I have a fan on my spraybooth, but since I only have 1 of the extractor ports hooked up (didn't want to cut 2 holes in my wall) it doesn't move as much air as it could and I still notice some fumes escaping...so I always wear a respirator.

The other thing that exposure to spray paint and other fumes can cause is chemical sensitivity--there are people who can't even use a spray can without their throats closing up (almost like an allergic reaction) because they spent years exposing themselves to the stuff and their bodies just can't take it any more. Happens with various types of glue, too.

 

[Eloveless]

Will def get a respirator ASAP. I already experienced different color snot. Looking into buying a spraybooth now. I saw some for around $80. Thanks for the advice. 

[slusher]

Sorry if I seem like an ass, but anyone who tells you don't need to wear a respirator while painting needs to sign a certificate of responsibility to pay for your medical costs in the future.

Home-made booths rarely work 100% efficiently, and a $30 respirator that will last for several years with good maintenance is really cheap insurance.

If you CAN build a good booth with effective fume extraction, and you NEVER smell anything, you're OK with no respirator...but why risk it?

But hey, it ain't MY problem. 

Just FYI: The last shop I worked in had an industrial bead-blasting cabinet with huge air-extractor fans and filters, all vented to the outside. It had pneumatic seals on the doors and protective gloves that inflated when the box was evacuated. I ALWAYS wore a respirator while working on that piece of equipment too...because on the days in the beginning when I didn't, I'd get home and be blowing black snot out of my sinuses and have a scratchy throat...and I never smelled anything. God only knows how much silicon and other toxic dust went in my lungs.

Got a respirator, no problem.

Bill your giving real good advice. I have 2 respirators one pictured and a welding Respirator i wear just for a quick shot and i paint outside. Always spay a test shot and stand away from the direction the paint drifts because it gets on your skin and clothes. I have used the bead blaster also and the leak...