$40 Airbrush Booth Build

Tools 'n' Tips Article by Harv on Feb 13 2015

      

Most modellers airbrush. It's a given, because it results in fantastic finishes not possible with brushing or spray cans. However, setting up to properly airbrush in your home can be difficult and expensive. Hopefully with some skill and scrounging it doesn't have to be. Here's how I built my booth for around 40 loonies. That's Canadian dollars for anyone not from the Great White North, eh. It may not be pretty but it works pretty well...

 

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OK, let's start off. First, I picked up a used stove hood for $5 at a yard sale. Check. People are always tossing scrap wood panelling and short cuts of lumber out. Free. Best price there is... Purchased the adaptor for the hood vent $3.99+tax, say 5 bucks. Check. Length of bathroom vent hose, 6 bucks. Duct tape- ah, yes, the handyman's secret weapon- 6 bucks. Total so far, $22... Add some scrounged aluminum sheet, scrap plexiglass, and a cord and plug for $8, it ended up costing me $30. 

I built the booth to have a height of 16", depth of 16", and width of 31". This fits your average model quite nicely. Now here's the trick to making the setup work to about 80% efficiency: downdraft. I installed ducting along the booth sides and closed in the hood to force it to draw the air from the bottom of the booth instead of the top. Paint dust ad fumes settle, so that's where you want to pull them out from.

In case you're wondering about the other 10 bucks I accounted for, well.. filtration was an afterthought. I have to go get some kind of furnace filter to cut and place in the duct openings. While doing some more modifications I vacuumed a load of paint dust off the fan, so I figure filters will save a lot of hassle. Oh yeah, the light...

The pictures don't show it because I'm still tinkering, but the light cutout has to be covered. I use clear plastic sheet cut from a package- you know, the heat-formed boxes you THROW OUT.. amazing how many uses some things have... anyway, just tape it in place, sealed up. Use a low-heat fluorescent light in the hood so you don't melt the sheet. Like I didn't learn THAT the hard way. Drip drip.. Plus, it uses less power.

Now, in case you're wondering... I installed a dryer vent in the wall of my "Fortress of Solitude" to expel the air, but you don't have to make holes in your place (especially if you rent). Just cut a panel to fit in the nearest open window , and attach the end of the vent hose so it blows out. I used to do it that way, worked well (except I could see where the vent was on the screen. Little green and blue circles). Again, filtration...

Look at it this way- the less you spend on accessories, the more you can add to your kit collection!

Harv

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Photos and text © by Harv