[Finished] Homemade spray booth project, an attempt.

[Mike]

The gap around the exhaust fan might allow the pressure build up to bleed away

Proof of the pudding though.... do you have someone available to blow smoke into the booth, or a signal flare?

[bhouse]

The gap around the exhaust fan might allow the pressure build up to bleed away

So all the stuff you've just sucked out of the spray booth is vented back into the room. Genius!

[Housesparrow]

Hehe, no, the intake to the main vent channel is only partially "blocked" by the 7th fan. I expect any lol pressure from the six fans to push on past the 7th fan.

In the older image below, you can imagine the 7th fan is fixed at the center, with some spacing on the four sides.

Hm, been wondering how to test this. I don't smoke myself, but I guess I can try fire up some matches.

Also, the wiring is a nightmare. One mistake and the frustration will pile up.

I have 14 wires I have to carefully strip without a mistake, and then I have eh 6 more wires to strip that I can worry much less about.

Using a Tamiya sprue cutter to strip the wires, worked great so far, just have to be patient and careful.

Have to airbrush some white primer onto the other two LED lights now, and then brush them with one layer of Humbrol Clear, so I can fit them to the largest basket.

Update: LED lights painted white + gloss coat

Todo.. drill 4 holes and fix the two boxes together, fix the three LED lights, use glue gun to fasten "wiring box" (must roughen surfaces first), connect the wiring, add tape around the two boxes, voila.

Update2:

The four screws are in, and the two boxes should not fall apart. I really hope the ABS plastic don't crack. Hm, maybe more screws would be a good idea, I have plenty.

Update3: Added two more screws, now six in total holding the two boxes together.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I'll finish this tomorrow, want to relax the rest of the evening.

Heh, happy the wiring didn't snap earlier when I tried to lift off the smaller basket, not realizing all the wires were gathered together. Splicing the wires was terrible, and I don't have a heat gun to properly shrink the butt thingies that splice two wires.

Update: I just checked the 7th fan for fun. The wiring is working. I had to splice the wiring for this fan earlier, wasn't 100% sure it worked.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

There is only the wiring of it all left to do, and then I should be able to test it.

I used a glue gun to fasten the loose wiring to the abs plastic, and I think it worked out well.

The three LED lights are each held in place with two transparent clasps, that in turn are screwed into the basket. Before screwing in the screws, I made sure to drill a hole nearly the size of the screw. The pointy tip on the other side was made blunt, and then the glue gun was used to cover the remainder of the screw having perforated the plastic, preventing injury and hoping that the glue might help a little keeping the screw in place.

I have gambled that all the two pair of 10 wires will eventually fit into the sugar bit (or whatever it is called in English).

Edited November 25, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Mike]

It looks quite good now. I'm a bit worried that the gap between the big box and the plenum that is caused by the fans might end up with some fume leakage, so a visible smoke test might be a wise move to save gassing yourself. If it does leak, you can always strap it up with a few layers of duct-tape and hope for the best. Where are you venting the box to? I can see a jubilee-type strap there, so I'm guessing a bit of wriggly hose. I've got mine hooked up by a short length to one of those kitchen-vents with the weather-proof blow-out louvres. It took far too long to cut the hole in the wall though, as I had to chain-drill the thing because I didn't have a hole-saw that was either big enough or capable of doing the job.

One last word of "wisdom". You might consider cutting the top side back a bit to give you better visibility into the box. My home-made booth has a sloped front and cut-back roof with a daylight LED strip-light clipped in there to give the best view and some headroom for close work

[Housesparrow]

Thanks. Hopefully it will work as well.

Ah, too late to change the shape of the box at the front I think.

An aluminium airduct will be added (stretched to ca. 100cm), and then I'll sort of taper the end, and stick it out the window, or that is the plan. I think I probably have to use some styrofoam to cover the remaining opening between the frame and the window.

Hm, as I have a potentially very long aluminium tube, I want to try make the taper at the end a bit long, so that it sticks a little out the window, so the air doesn't get as easily sucked back into the open window.

I didn't think much of it, but I realize now that the mix of white and transparent has a certain style to it.

I forgot to add, that I have to add the tape to seal the gap between the two boxes.

The power converter was mounted to the whole thing. I thought it would be less of a risk having the wires being yanked out by mistake as I work with the wires.

Hm, getting all the wires at correct length seem a little tricky, so I think I'll take care making sure each one is of correct length, instead of assuming that every wire has x length.

Hm, I was initially thinking of placing this spray booth on the table, but if I am careful, maybe I can make a stand or something with some other stuff I have (without the whole thing toppling over and become damaged ofc). OR, I could simply use the small tall table that is seen in the image below to the right.

The image below shows what it looks like at the back. This fan is more powerful than the other six individually. Maybe equal to about two fans.

Update: Hehe, 10 wires now stripped.10 to go.

Update2: Hrm, apparently the box that is supposed to encase the sugar bit won't have space for all the 20 wires in the outer most opening, I have to toss it and just use insulating tape. All the wire connections does fit.

Update3: Finally, all 20 wires was stripped without any damage. I used a sprue cutter to pull and a small knife to carefully cut into the wire, little by little, tugging, and cutting, and eventually the insulation can be pulled off very carefully.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

It's aliiive!

Note, the lighting looks different in real life. The digital camera I have can't show the lights as they are, and I don't know how to fix that if that is even possible. The Vallejo white primer I airbrushed onto the LED's really helped removing the glare from before. Now, the LED's are even pleasant to look at.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Mike]

It does look a little like one of the old all-in-one CRT based iMacs with coloured crystal inserts... get yourself an Apple logo for the sides!

[Radleigh]

Would love to see a video..

[Housesparrow]

I'll see if I can do something with video, but heh I'm a shy guy so only video if anything.

I am happy to see that the lighting worked better than I expected. Though the LED light is perceived to be stronger than the spotlights unless I am mistaken.

Image below was corrected in post to reflect how it looks like for real. There is one spotlight in the ceiling creating a shadow on the model.

I'll probably add some kind of make shift anti glare shield on the sides, so I don't have to have the LED's side lights in my field of view. A subtle improvement.

Edit: As for that anti glare shield. I can simply use a sheet of paper. If I simply cover the LED lights on the sides with a sheet of paper, the light is softened even more and there is zero glare at all. Hm, I'll try taping on pizza/baking paper, presumably that stuff is thinner than regular paper.

Update: Though I haven't sealed the gap between the two boxes with tape yet, I have fitted the aluminium duct, and there is definitely a lot of air coming out from the 70cm long tube. This is very promising I think.

Box dimensions (without aluminium air duct):

height = 40cm

width = 50 cm

depth = 60 cm

Weight (without aluminium air duct) = not sure, guessing 1-2kg

Noisy? Nope.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I tested the ventilation power and the box seem to work ok, though there is a vortex near all four surfaces. I am guessing that the two center fans pull inn most air, and that the four side fans somehow cause a vortex near the sides. It sort of looks like the vortex moves out from the fans and then to the center again.

I sat there spraying airbrush cleaning liquid at 30-40 psi at full paint flow and I really did not experience anything going back in my face.

There is a 5mm cavity around all the fans inside the box, and I placed tape trying to remove the cavities. Unsure if that improved anything.

I might as well go buy another aluminium air duct, but this time, one in gray color (more discreet), and then I'll be more careful how I bend it. Unfortunately, the air duct product I use is a little stiff, making it less user friendly when bending it. Diameter on the air duct is 125mm.

All in all, I really think this spray booth will work. I am thinking that maybe having four fans at the front would have been enough.

Btw, I used black tape, so I disturbed the stylish white and transparent look. :|

I only need to set up the filter and I can start using this spray booth.

Update: After adding the filter, the effect of suction is only apparent near the fans, it also seem to remove the vortex. There has to be some kind of airflow into the basket, but it isn't as powerful as when without the filter. I guess I can just remove the tape I put up inside for the 5mm cavity "ring" around the six fans. It looks like I can be super lazy and just put the filters in there without having to fasten them.

Update2: I suppose that by adding the filter, it reduces the airflow somewhat, which could help the 7th fan keep up with the other six fans.

Btw, the glue gun seem to work best, when I use another stick of glue, and using that to push the loaded stick into the gun by maintaining pressure.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I switched out the stiff shiny aluminium hose with this adjustable gray hose. This hose can be rearranged, stretched and retracted with ease.

The LED wires didn't stick that well to the glue from the glue gun (molten glue/plastic), so I added a layer over the wires to enclose them with glue.

Isolation tape was used to cover the wiring work.

And finally, I put on the lid here as seen in this image below. For storage in the same room, I can simply put on the lid, and put this ball of paper tissue inside the hole where the air finally vents out.

Incidentally, I had a spare table that fit the spray booth nicely. Hm, presumably, a model can be placed inside the box, with the lid on, to dry, to avoid having dust settle as easily on the model.

As for the performance. Testing with the smoke made from from lit matches, this spray booth should handle airbrushing I think. Looking forward to try it out, I need to put some red+black paint on this submarine model, and then add on some layers of gloss coat.

The length of the hose when retracted is merely about 25cm. Could just turn the whole box face down, hose up, and just store it somewhere.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Housesparrow

[BrianI]

Nice DIY booth! Must have cost a fair bit for the 7 fans though?

[Housesparrow]

Nah, I had the 7 fans lying around unused so I did not have to go buy them.

Now, as for the spray booth, I think the end result is unfortunately questionable at best or a fail at worst. [Edit note: My upgraded setup works a lot better]

I find myself unable to properly evaluate this diy spray booth. The box does work, but probably not as good as I had hoped. Looking at the filters, the paint seem to accumulate around the tip of the fans for most fans.

I am tempted to have another try at this. Maybe a single really powerful fan at the center is the thing.

In addition to the paint particles and whatnot, there is a strong odor coming from the Vallejo airbrush cleaning liquid that I use to clean the airbrush, and the needle during use. I do have a cleaning pot, and I make sure to put the pot into the box as I clean the airbrush, though I still feel there is this subtle odor around me.

As a last remark here, I'll continue using this box, but with compressor psi at 15 or so, and I will make sure to keep using my dust mask. Have to go buy some new ones, because I'm out of those dust masks that has an exhaust vent at the front, the other ones I have are just a plain filter piece that is put over my nose and mouth, these last ones are not as good.

A simple attempt at correcting the performance of this box with minimal annoyance, would be to switch out the 7th fan at the rear, with something that is much more powerful.

Edit: I am considering switching out the 7th rear fan with a 6,6W, 12V, 140mm fan, that should be three times as powerful. I will have to buy another 15W LED power converter, and move the LED lights onto this, to separate the fans from the LED's, otherwise I end up going beyond the 15W limit.

I like my spray booth, would be nice if I can get to keep it.

Hm, I really hope that 15W LED power thing is able to possibly feed the 6,6W fan I want to try out. I wonder if the performance of the 6,6W rear fan is comparable to all the six 1W fans. Would be nice if they sort of balanced out.

I bought a new transparent storage box to replace the one I have at the back. It is of the same type, but being about double as deep.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I'll slap another 15W LED power supply thing on this box to feed the LED lights aside from all the fans, and I'll replace the 120mm fan with the most powerful 140mm 12V fan I could find (6,6W). Incidentally the same brand.

As mentioned previously, I will also use a somewhat deeper box at the rear side, as shown in the image below.

There is no doubt that this upgrade will make this DIY spray booth work better, I just hope it will be enough.

Fan specs, lol: (Noctua NF-A14 Industrial PPC-3000 PWM, 12V)

size: 140mm

rpm: 3000

cfm:158,5 / 269,3 m3/h

Noise level: 41,3 dB

static pressure: 10,52mm

12V

The 120mm version of this fan is directional, however this 140mm version one is not unfortunately.

I want to point out that the official stats might be wrong, but they look nice.

I probably overestimated the performance of the other fan. This fan should be three times as powerful.

Hm, I am wondering if I should maybe try add some tape inside this box, so that the airflow on the sides doesn't simply hit the back side, but instead is turned towards the center. I could just add some tape to cover over the corners and add a "turn" there. Hm, and maybe I could add some filter material to polster the walls close to the fans, to maybe try stop air from flowing so easily along the sides around the six fans. I must remember to buy some incense, to create a smoke source, so I can better get a feel for how the spray booth works.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

Hmmm. I've tested the new fan and I think I have a problem. If you are a PC owner, you might have come across instances in which a fan won't start up, because of low voltage. Somehow, the new, powerful fan, doesn't consistently start up when I turn on the 15W power supply. I wonder why not, and if some other cheap power supply could help kick this fan into action.

This is a PWM fan, but I have connected just the two wires, and it works, I just can't consistently get the fan to start without me pushing the fan blades to help get it going.

Feel free to chime in if you have an idea to remedy this issue with this new fan of mine. If it is an obvious one, I am not aware of it.

Hm, strange. I am now wondering if maybe the 15W LED power supply need some time to eh charge up. I left the fan alone for a minute, and now it started on its own when I turned on the power. I guess I should connect all the fans and see if this new fan behaves any different.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

SOLVED

Apparently, when connected to all the other fans, this new 140mm fan start up consistently. Pheu!

Needless to say, this fan is noisy. This fan acts like a blow dryer. Placing it inside the box, should help dampen the sound. Good thing I didn't accidentally touch the fan blades now that I was testing it. I can imagine that doing so would have been painful. Don't try that at home kids.

I've already bought a roll of white electrical tape, and will buy some additional white tape so that I can have a transparent + white theme going with this spray booth.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Housesparrow]

I have now updated this spray booth to 1.1 Now in an all white, "multipass" edition. I can now turn on the LED lights without having to turn on the fans as well.

The draft that seemed to travel back into my face previously is gone. I tested with the smoke created by burning incense, and it does look like there is decent suction into the box. The smoke is even pulled in from 20cm outside the box at the front. However there is still a vortex of some kind inside the box, don't know what that means.

The new 140mm fan is really powerful, though I could probably use something even more powerful. Hopefully, this setup will do.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Housesparrow

[Mike]

It's been fun watching you muck about with this, and I'm glad it ended up working. I'd like to see the vortex though - video or it didn't happen!

[Housesparrow]

Hehe, I guess a "vortex" isn't the best description for what it looks like. What I liked to call a "vortex" is just air seemingly moving about, as I see smoke going any other direction than straight towards the fans.

The incense sticks doesn't create enough smoke to look awesome I'm afraid. I'll see if I can make a photo.

[Housesparrow]

I just loaded up my airbrush with a lot of Vallejo Field Green, and put some paint onto a couple of practice models I have.

This upgraded DIY spray booth works much better than the previous one. I am cautiously calling this project a success.

I airbrushed at 20 psi and 35. It worked really well, or so is my impression.

Time will tell if this first impression is a good one, or perhaps, I still get some of the paint/fumes back at my face, can't really disregard that danger.

I am glad I found a supplier of filter material, that isn't too expensive. Hm, I would say that one set of filter(s) for my spray booth costs me ca £2.

Ah, I forgot to mention: I have the exhaust opening just outside the window frame, and I can feel the jet of air 50cm outwards, which is nice. Unless the air outside were to blow directly into my window, I should have a good time with this setup I think.

Hm, I think I will add one more LED light, on the top side one day soon.

I should probably play it a little safe and keep the psi down.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Housesparrow