Grow Tent for Spray Booths

armedmosquito

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Joined
Dec 22, 2015
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2
Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this scene and returning to models since my youth when I used plastic cement from tubes and messed up mostly all my models plastic by using too much! Bah, those days those are what lead me wanting more! Anyhow, I am really happy to find there are communities to join and share knowledge with.

My Introduction Post: http://www.scalemodeladdict.com/SMF/index.php/topic,12889.0.html

So as most people who have been away from modeling for years I came back and did my research on needed equipment.. what I found so far is its actually all affordable up to when you tell yourself its time to try airbrushing. A nice or good, decent airbrush runs about 100-160 and a mini compressor with tank regulator and moisture trap attached can cost about 70-130. Now back to my point here is I could afford all this including my basic tools and so fourth glues and all (not paints).

However, I myself living in a wintry environment up in the rocky mountains of Colorado can't go outside with issues of paints being ruined to the below 33F temps. So I was checking spray booths out to do all my work indoor the cheap ones you see from ebay and so on collapsible ones I have seen, cheap fold up styles, totes and case fans.

But not one really looks like it would work as you would truly want for inside use not in a basement.. this is where I introduce you my new concept in the making..

I would use a Mylar or on Mylar indoor growing hydroponic tent...! These guys have 2 air duct outlets to add an inline duct fan and the ability to pull fresh air in from or sometimes through the mesh of the canvas or vents. They have a pretty paint resistant Mylar but not too important there I think. They come in different sizes and can actually cost less than, say a $70.00 collapsible booth or whatever. One of my favorite features is you can zip yourself inside use a paint suit for all I care or sit with a dust mask on and paint for hours if vented properly. Air coming in and air pushed outside the house.

So I ask you to either give me any creative ideas on this and or maybe any insight to fumes, because right now I calculate CFM required to properly clean the tents fumes constantly should be like 190 CFM. So to save money I would leave room for upgrades on my inline fans. But if required I could buy say 440+ CFM inline fans..

I never did any airbrushing or heavy paint booth spraying, however do you all feel this type of setup could work out? I really think I am on to something for a cheap spray booth.. Oh, that brings me back to the total price would be around 150 for a truly nice tent setup including fans and such. Keep in mind they make nice accessories to for these tents might be good for more than just lighting.

Thanks for reading my book! I hope it not only inspires some others to try this idea, but to lead me in the right direction if you notice me going stray.
 
I live in the Colorado rockies too, so I feel your pain. What I do is either prime stuff outdoors on a sunny day in winter, or at night I just open a door and hold the model outside and quickly prime, then bring it inside to cure overnight (usually in my garage as the fumes can spread through your house. Even in summer, I never prime stuff indoors.

For airbrushing, fumes aren't really an issue with most acrylic paints. Lacquers have nasty fumes that you'll want to control. I don't find myself using lacquers very often, though. But you'd definitely need to open a window and wear a respirator with lacquers.

The main issue with airbrushing is the paint dust, which you can easily breath in, and once it's in your lungs it stays forever I'd imagine. I always wear a good quality fume/dust respirator with replacable filters when I'm using my airbrush. Not one of those crappy cotton masks, but a real respirator mask rated for fumes and fine particulates, with a rubber seal, adjustable straps etc. I think they're about $20-30 at Lowe's or whatever. Critical piece of safety gear, IMO.

I built my own spray booth out of wood and use a bathroom fan with a HVAC type filter taped over it, and it seems to do a good job at collecting most of the paint dust. I'd say the total cost was about $150, including the fan and lighting and wiring etc. I have a small bit of ducting that takes the exhaust from the fan and blows it out the window, but honestly the filter catches most of it. There's plans you can find online if you want to go that route.

It does take up a lot of space, and it's kinda heavy (I keep it on top of a shelf when not in use). So your tent idea might be a good one if you have limited space.
 

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