Ok, so I know there are like hundreds of "i want to build a paint booth" threads, but all of these don't really go into detail for non-electrical type folk like myself. It's mostly handy guys who are very good with this sort of thing, and I am having a hard time trying to figure all this out. I intend to build my own booth this weekend and I'd like a really dumbed down version on how to do it...I get the whole PSC (squirel blower fan)/range hood portion, the ducting for the fan to push outside (used mostly for dryers), and using wood/plexiglass for the box (which i can totally do, by the way, i have a saw) so my actual concern is really, mostly with putting it all together and not blowing myself up/electrocuting/starting a fire when I put it together or use it...so...anyone wanna take a chance at this? Much thanks in advance!

I second the motion. Any simple SBS guides out there?

Would this be a good fan? I know it depends on amount of duct work...probably going to be going from a table up to a basement window, eventually, when we move:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DAYTON-DC-Blower-2C646?cm_sp=IO-_-IDP-_-BTM_BTB05209020&cm_vc=IDPBBZ2

Hi,
This motor is 12 volt,If you want to run it on house current ,you will need a 110/120 volt motor. that one appears to be a 12v heater motor for a car,which would be ok if you were hooking it up to a car battery with all the attendant problems of charging it up etc.

Basically you will need an off/on switch, a reostat ( a device allowing variable speed on the blower motor,which some will say is unneeded untill you hear some of the inexpensive motors scream),a 110/120v blower motor (if you know someone in the HVAC business many times they have a motor taken off a furnace which can be gotten cheapand is explosion proof) and a dryer vent kit (to exhaust the fumes outside.Most vent kits have a louver door that keeps birds,rodents,cats and other curious critters out. All of this shouldn't be more than $50-60.

If you have a Habitat Restore near you or a salvage store that resells DIY items you may be able to beat the above numbers.

I am not an electrician and do not give advice on wiring,that said,you may find a fellow student that is working as a apprentice/journeyman electrician or was one in the service that will wire it up cheap. That is what I did (cost 1 sixpack & a submarine sandwich!).Most colleges have a bulletin board advertising all kinds of services.When I taught at a technical college I used student help whenever possible.

Or the internet would probably have some directions for a simple project like this. Or maybe one of our fellow modelers has the skill to lay out a schematic.

HTH Good luck
Jake

Hey Brandi .. that fan would work quite nicely and a very simple way to power it is using a computer power supply .the yellow and black wires are the ones to use .the yellow is 12v and the black is earth .. get a older one as they had a off and on switch as part of the unit ,,i use computer power supplies for testing cars i work on and powering my hot wire for cutting foam .. nice and simple and very cheap and best of all you can mount it where ever you want .
Now the wiring it up part ..just use a connector block to hook the wires together , its safe and strong .knife will strip the wire ,screw driver to tighten the wires lol ..DUH !! and as for the power lead ..well you have a PC and its the same ..lead in the back of the power supply ,,easy huh ?
Because of the way the power supply is made if there is a problem it will shut itself down .I have used them for yrs and i have never had a problem at all .. oh the wattage .. a 300 watt supply will work for ya nicely . sorted

Phill

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. I decided to go with 2 bathroom fans with lights, top mounted, 70CFM each (should be alright, and if not, I can always upgrade if needed) with some basic plywood. I cut the plywood tonight and started drilling pilot holes, then realized I will probably need brackets instead because the plywood is cheapo and just splinting...anyway, off to a good start. Gonna have fun figuring out how to mount the fan...I'll take some photos tomorrow when I work on it some more. Thanks again.

Brandi, having just built my own spray booth, I am going to offer my two cents here. If you haven't yet started to build it, why not mount your fans on the bottom or the rear of your booth. Having the fans on the top can create problems for you and if you are in a particularly dusty area the rear mounted might be better. There are several threads out the that discuss why bottom mounted is best, etc. I choose to go with a rear mounted fan, a light bar up front and a hinged lid for easy access. A buddy did all my electrical and added a switch and 4 extra outlet plugs for other items, such as more lights. Take a look around the web do some good solid research before you start building, there are several things that I learned that had never even crossed my mind and never would have. Cheers.

here are a few links:
http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/23

http://pages.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/booth.htm

http://pages.interlog.com/~ask/scale/tips/booth.htm
(this one deals with measuring CFM if you are not an industrial engineer, I am not)

Awesome!!! Thank you, and excellent ideas with the extra outlets...putting it on the back will be easier anyway, so might as well go for it. Thanks a lot!!!

Damon - That first link you provided is awesome ... pretty much everything one needs to get started. Any chance you can post some "walkaround" photos of your booth?

Bill;
Thank you for the kind words, I am not as good as Frenchy (he is the Yoda of research), but I am fairly resourceful. Here are some pics, but it is very crude looking, as I am all about function and less so about form. Please feel free to ask questions, again I am no expert, but I can answer questions about what I did. Cheers.

Before the addition of the fan/blower:






And after my buddy worked his magic:






https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7XlCgYapvKM/TfJRQUXiwZI/AAAAAAAAA0I/W5dJa5puJEQ/s800/sweets%2525202011%252520003.jpg" />

If you want more pics let me know and I can email them, but it will have to be later in the weekend. Cheers.

Hi Brandi,

Check out Badgrendals youtube channel for a few videos of his build. He's pretty good at explaining everything he does especially the wiring part.


[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gZqkirRMH8&feature=related

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2juHvw51pQ&feature=related

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MewkUbCOrxk&feature=related

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2bsVP8zRso&feature=related

Cheers, John

By the way YouTube is actually good for something other than pubescent teens who like screaming at a camera. I have found heaps of videos by various modelers showing their techniques and projects as well as tool making. So have a snoop around and you'll be surprised. If you want some pointers to channels give me a hoi and I'll link some in.

A few years ago I needed a spray booth as I was into auto race car models that really required lacquer based gloss paints that were applied both via an air brush and rattle can.

After a few days of thinking about what I really needed, I came up with a easy idea that didn't cost a whole lot of money. I started off with the biggest rubber storage tub that would fit into my model/computer room's window, and be held in place by the window drawn down on it. Next I bought the largest table top fan that would fit laying down on the bottom. Total cost at Walmarts, $25 with tax.

I cut an opening in the bottom slightly smaller then the fan, and mounted it so that it sucked air out. I drilled another hole for the power cord and pushed it through. Now the fan would vent the paint fumes directly outside. A little corking secured the cord and prevented paint from getting out and onto the base of the window.

For light I just used two small clip on lights with 40 watt bulbs. All three power cords were plugged into a power strip. A cheap-o tv tray served perfectly as a work station next to the paint booth.

At 1st is just sprayed with that setup and it worked fine, but the fan motor was directly in line with the painting, and would eventually clog up and burn out. So I bought some filters at Home Depot that snuggly fit over the fan. Problem solved.

The paint booth is still going strong with no problems other then periodically changing the filter.

When not in use I just store it in the closet as my wife says it's an eye sore.

Added advantages to my booth is that it is lite, requires no building, and you can clean off layers of paint when needed.

Joel;
aren't you concerned with the chemicals from the lacquer based paints eating away at the wiring and electrical parts of the fan? Possibly even causing a fire?
I don't use lacquer paints, mostly acrylics, but even just the thought of a fire in my family home is enough to put me off it. That and the fact that those bathroom fans only produce like 25 to 80 CFM at no resistance.

I would think that $100 in materials if you are smart and careful could get you a nice booth without any possible issues. Ebay is the place to look for Dayton Pole Blowers (yes I laughed at it too). There are plenty of new and used ones out there that are a good bargain. Just check the model number against the Grainger website, they have all of their models listed with the CFM rating at different resistance. Cheers.