A Small Airbrush Spray Booth

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
This is one of those slightly flippant purchases that I hope will turn out to be a good idea!

I already own a spray booth, but having integrated that into some kitchen units in the garage / workshop to make it permanently ready for use, at this time of year with the temps dropping I find it difficult to justify heating up the entire garage just to do a small spot of painting.

To that end, a spot of surfing on eBay turned up one of the Chinese 'rebrand' as whatever you like spray booths for £54 delivered. Ordered on Wednesday evening, it arrived today so I've spent the afternoon putting it to good use.

Size wise, its nice and compact when folded up, the overall package measuring @ 420 x 155 x 200mm.

SB1 All packed up.jpg

The clear plastic cover on the front lifts up (when a small flap that hooks on the underside of the cabinet is released)

SB2 Front flap lifts up.jpg

The bottom of the booth is then pulled out from in front of the filter

SB3 Base fold out.jpg

and the sides are lifted up and clipped into place in what was the front cover, that now becoming the top of the booth.

SB4 Sides folded out and clipped in.jpg

A small door in the side of the cabinet holds the power supply, a 12v adaptor.

SB5 Power supply.jpg

It comes with a 190mm lazy susan turntable that will fit just in front of the filter element when its all packed up. Size wise, the opening is 410 wide and 350 tall. The filter element itself is @180mm tall.

SB6 turntable and opening.jpg

A full set of extract nozzles and hose is supplied, the hose looks like the classic 2m long jobby and the outlet is at least shaped to be fairly thin for aiming out of the window.

SB7 Extract Hoses.jpg

Its does of course come with an instruction manual from which the important words are often missing :D

SB8 Dumb Ass warning.jpg

Noise wise, its stated to be about 47dB but it seems to be to be the equal to my ears of my other spray booth which is 58dB. Airflow is reckoned to be 4m3/min (240m3/hr) so quite a lot smaller than the other booth at 355m3/hr. My other booth is a GraphicAir BV300SD which was recommended by a few other people including the Guv. At £280 though, its five times the cost of the cheapy currently sat on the desk. Its is far more capable though, the biggest difference between the two is that the GraphicAir one is OK for use with just about everything apart from oil based vapours, whereas the cheapy should be limited to non-flammable / explosive vapours as indicated in the instructions.

SB9 Cloud warning.jpg

That does effectively limit the use of the cheapy to acrylic paints, but that suits what I spray indoors anyway. It is however a point to bear in mind if one bought this intending it for use in all situations.

In operation, it certainly has enough airflow to capture overspray from an airbrush running up to 40psi (I rarely spray with that high pressure but its a good test) particularly when painting small items. There is a fair bit of overspray dust on the area in front of the filter but the sides are clean and free from dust so its done its job nicely. I've been running with a piece of paper out the back of the fan to see if any particles make it through the filter - looks OK so far.

SB10 Small things.jpg

Gauge 1 stuff looks like it will be fine and dandy too

SB11 G1 Wagon.jpg

The Gauge 3 I'm less sure about. Single plank wagons will be fine, full height wagons are going to create a large dead spot in front of the booth and I doubt that there will be enough airflow around the edges to contain all the overspray.

SB12 G3 Van.jpg

Overall, I'd have to say its pretty good, especially for the money. Ebay has just sent me an email delightfully informing me that you can now buy one these spray booths for less than £50 delivered - thats dropping a pound a day! How much lower it will go I have no idea, but if you are in the market for a cheap spray booth to use indoors, and you spray acrylics / non-flammable materials only then I'd struggle to come up with a reason not to get one.

I plan on exercising it a lot over the winter months, I'll keep the thread updated of any issues or problems during its use.

Steve
 

Sandy Harper

Western Thunderer
Hi Steve, I have had one of these for a couple of years now (I paid about £130!!) but it has a mains powered extractor fan rather than your 12volt.

Useful bit of kit but I found that the plastic hinges were a bit vulnerable. Eileen's sell replacement filters if required.

Regards
Sandy
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Thanks for the heads up on where to get the filters Sandy, that was going to be one of my next tasks :)

As for prices, thats a heck of a deal Simon! With free postage its almost worth a punt, its just the usual gamble of whether you'd be caught for import VAT and the associated handling fee. Still cheaper than UK stock mind, and it comes with a light.

I shall be firing mine up again later...
 

Yorkshire Dave

Western Thunderer
I've used one of these for years as well (mains powered fan) with acrylic, enamel and cellulose paints without any problem. Although I rarely use enamel and cellulose paints.

For replacement filters I'd just source a roll from an industrial supplier and cut pieces off to fit. Maybe cheaper in the long run given you have another spray booth.

The Gauge 3 I'm less sure about. Single plank wagons will be fine, full height wagons are going to create a large dead spot in front of the booth and I doubt that there will be enough airflow around the edges to contain all the overspray.

At that price you could buy a second unit and use them side by side after removing the relevant sides.


.
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Dave,
You probably shouldn't use it with cellulose or enamel if it's not flameproof. Should the vapour ignite on a motor brush spark or similar the flame would be aiming straight for you...

Steph
 

michael080

Western Thunderer
Dave,
You probably shouldn't use it with cellulose or enamel if it's not flameproof.

Steph, I took a look into the funnel of the one I use. It uses a 230VAC fan RAH1238, which is actually a "shaded inductor" type of motor. This type has no brushes and does not produce sparks in normal operation. Low voltage fans as used in Simons link use always electrically commutated motors that do not use brushes either.
If the fan fails or if there is any spark from another source, you may ignite the vapour, but in normal operation, it is safe to use.
This is only my private opinion as an electrical engineer, so don't call me if your booth explodes... ;)

Michael
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Michael,
Useful clarification. I was assuming the comment in Steve's instructions about the use of flammable paints was genuine and translated to the other booths under discussion.
I'd still not want to be using enamel or cellulose indoors though!
Steph
 

kenjazz

Active Member
I too have that in 240V. I always mask the inside faces and turntable before use though. It will quickly get bunged up otherwise. Of course you leave the filter unmasked.
 

Tony Overton

Western Thunderer
Not knowing too much about such things what you say is very helpful.

So if I wanted a small airbrush spray booth where I could use etch primer, cellulose and enamel paints as well as acrylic paints whose booth would you recommend – for use in a dedicated hobby room. Looking around there is so much choice, but it’s making sense of it all and then choosing the right one.
 

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
If you want to spray an O Gauge coach you really need two units, side by side. I have had mine for several years and like it but coaches simply don't fit!
 

John TAYLOR

Western Thunderer
You really need only one unit ...but it`s better to get the more expensive version with LED lights. that before Covid days was a little over fifty pounds from Amazon.

I use mine in a shed (even in winter using electric fan heating to prevent condensation) be prepared to collapse the sides and use a turntable in front of the unit so that an O Gauge coach can be rotated.

This an earlier example without lighting which I wore out.

DSC04484.JPG


This is my replacement with a removable lighting unit around the top edge of the canopy
RM9.jpg

Be aware, these excellent booths will tolerate enamel and acrylic paints using white spirit and acrylic thinners.

The booth sides will melt if strong solvents like Acetone and Xylene are sprayed into the booth.
 
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