(Yet) Another spray booth question

[MakingModelsAgain]

Is it safe to use a bathroom extractor fan to, well, extract spray fumes? My place of work is a cupboard directly below the loft access and my intentions were to have the fan just inside the loft hatch and dangle the ducting down to where I'm going to spray, rigging up a make-shift enclosure to catch the overs spray. If not, I'll bite the bullet and buy a booth, probably to start off with, one of those Expo jobs at £75+/- The reason I was wondering about safety was I'd read about these motors arcing and causing ignition.

Edited December 30, 2010 by MakingModelsAgain

[unimodeler]

Is it safe to use a bathroom extractor fan to, well, extract spray fumes? My place of work is a cupboard directly below the loft access and my intentions were to have the fan just inside the loft hatch and dangle the ducting down to where I'm going to spray, rigging up a make-shift enclosure to catch the overs spray. If not, I'll bite the bullet and buy a booth, probably to start off with, one of those Expo jobs at £75+/- The reason I was wondering about safety was I'd read about these motors arcing and causing ignition.

Technically no. Any air suspended dust particulate can explode... especially paint fumes... but that being said, it's usually the build up of fumes that could ignite. If you make a practice of turning on the fan first, then you shouldn't get the buildup of fumes that might ignite...it also means keeping the fan on after you have finished painting.

I did this for years without issue... since switching to H20 based paints, it's a non issue.

I'm sure that others will warn you of the dangers, but frankly you are probably taking more risk getting in your car and going to the market than you are using a bathroom fan to evacuate paint fumes.

We have become a generation of wussies... In a nut shell, you could get hurt, but the odds are pretty damn small, smaller if you use some common sense.

[Mike]

At the risk of getting the usual "The sky's falling in!!!" and "you're going to blow yourself up!!!" replies, I have used a cooker hood upended on my desk with a home made booth built around it for 4 years now, and still haven't managed to blow myself up It's vented out to the outside through a hole I cut in the wall of my workshop. Total cost, about £40

If I stop posting, you know I've blown myself up

[Paul-H]

The real danger point that needs to watched is the type of fan motor fitted brush or brushless, brush motors spark and can ignite the fumes, brushless should be safe as there are no sparks.

I think most home type extractor fans are of the brushless type and I have seen both types fitted to cooker hoods so again just be carefull with your choice.

Paul

[little-cars]

If you just want to catch the over spray, the recirculating Expo extractor is perfect and it folds away when not in use.

The problem using something like a bathroom or kitchen extractor is risk. You are using something made for one purpose and using it for a totally different purpose, these things are designed to get rid of moisture, not paint and it's carrier. So your home insurance probably wouldn't cover you for the damage if there was a problem.

The chance of a problem occurring is hopefully low, but I've sold more than one Graphicair spray booth to people that have had a kitchen extractor motor flame when paint was going through it.

[AnonymousAA72]

Reading this with interest, a recent house move has me having to re-think my approach to modelling - basically I have no garage now, so it looks like I'm "in the kitchen"! So as a sensible adult(!) I really don't want to upset the domestic authorities - I only ever use acrylic's now (though occasionally may still use Alclad). Bearing that in mind, is a spray booth advisable? Are the cheaper versions any good?