TINPLATE RESTORATION SPRAY BOOTH, SAFE OR UNSAFE?

Good morning Jim:

A humble word to the wise.  ALL CAPS in the online world denotes SHOUTING.  I'm guessing that's not your intent. 

Your friend has a point especially if you use a brush type Fan. Maybe yo can use a brush-less motor, I do not think that they produce sparks as a brushed fan would or you could look into the electric type box fans as they usually are brush-less (took some apart on my days and did not see brushes).
I m sure that someone on this forum could help in identifying a fan that would be sprark-less and at a low cost and safe thus avoiding a blow torch effect.

Pantenary posted:

Good morning Jim:

A humble word to the wise.  ALL CAPS in the online world denotes SHOUTING.  I'm guessing that's not your intent. 

Being in my mid 80's I am not familiar with the "rules" of the online world.  I have terrible vision so all caps is easier for me to proof.  Sorry my ignorance of the rules of the online world required you to take the time to respond.

Jim

Hi Jim:

I apologize if I came off as rude or condescending.  I absolutely meant no offense or implication of ignorance.  It was meant only as a kind note.  My vision is less than stellar as well, and I routinely keep Aleve nearby when I am on the computer at work, as well as a high magnifier on the workbench.  I can somewhat relate.

Best regards,

O Gauge Jim posted:

 I have terrible vision so all caps is easier for me to proof. 

You could as I do and set your monitor display to 150% enlargement or even higher....

mwb posted:

O Gauge Jim posted:

 I have terrible vision so all caps is easier for me to proof. 

You could as I do and set your monitor display to 150% enlargement or even higher....

Never though of that.  Thanks for the suggestion, really appreciate it.   Jim

I'm curious to hear people respond with recommendations for type of fan that they use.  I would like to build a spray booth.

If the fan motor is out of the path of the airflow, that would be safer.

A belt driven squirrel cage type fan would work.

The motor stays cleaner and less chance of sparks lighting dust or paint flumes.

I prefer to work outside in the fresh air and sunshine when painting.

There is always a chance of sparks, however, if the fan is positioned behind the furnace filter, that would reduce the odds. Also you have to consider how close the fan is to the actual spray area.

Use a sealed computer fan available. Also with flow started before hand explosion not too much of an issue with volume produced

Use a junk stove down draft fan... any squirrel cage fan where the motor is outside the airstream will work. You do not want your motor in the air stream.

Get some 6" or 8"  Duct pipe with a curved Y connection and an in-line fan. Home Depot,  Lowes or your local plumbing supply should have them.The suction from the fan pushing the air to an out side vent should vent your spray booth without any problems. Be sure to check the air flow out of your box before you start a project. You will also need a flapper at the end of the pipe to prevent any back draft. I haven't tried it but it seems like it should work.

If there is a stoichiometric fuel/air mixture and a spark there will be an explosion. The "spark" can come from a nylon jacket. The fumes will leak from evaporating solvent. Better simply spray outdoors.

gene maag posted:

Get some 6" or 8"  Duct pipe with a curved Y connection and an in-line fan. Home Depot,  Lowes or your local plumbing supply should have them.The suction from the fan pushing the air to an out side vent should vent your spray booth without any problems. Be sure to check the air flow out of your box before you start a project. You will also need a flapper at the end of the pipe to prevent any back draft. I haven't tried it but it seems like it should work.

Great idea, this would solve the problem. I may also us this for a spray booth as I spray outside and if it is very cold the paint seems to be thin and can run very easily.

O Gauge Jim posted:

mwb posted:

O Gauge Jim posted:

 I have terrible vision so all caps is easier for me to proof. 

You could as I do and set your monitor display to 150% enlargement or even higher....

Never though of that.  Thanks for the suggestion, really appreciate it.   Jim

 

 

You can also enlarge text in your browser by holding down the CTRL key and pressing "+". Each keypress will enlarge (most) text by one step (although formatting may be disrupted if certain blocks of text were designed to take up a specific amount of space on the page). Similarly, holding down CTRL and typing a "-" will reduce the text size by one step.

---PCJ

I bought a small spray booth for modeling. I bought it for a 1/16 RC tank I was painting. It clearly warns not to use any flammable paints. It is for acrylic and water based paints. That being said, I sprayed enamel paints and other flammable spray cans as well. Nothing happened, but the danger is certainly there. 

If you mean a bathroom type exhaust fan, virtually all of them use brushless motors.

I didn't want to derail the thread, but since the topic is still being discussed I wanted to point out that it is often a misconception that all-cap text is easier to read. While every individual's vision-related problems are different, in general, all-cap text is harder to read, not easier. That is because the letters in all-cap text seem more crowded together than when in lower case, which is the reason for the way text is normally presented. I had to familiarize myself with this subject when we were making sure all new displays in the nature center I worked at some time ago were in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. All-cap fonts were strictly for titles and headings, with lower case recommended for all other text. Size, contrast and height of text relative to average eye level were the big factors in visibility.

Jim,

In the past I built an inexpensive paint booth using wood framed clear lexan top and sides,plywood base, the backside I used a standard furnace filter and a bathroom exhaust fan. A flexible aluminum dryer hose, I believe 4 inch, was connected to the exhaust fan and clothes dryer house outside discharge vent. Try to keep this hose as short as possible and in a straight line from the fan connection to the vent connection, no 90 degree bends or coiled connections, these are pressure drops. You want to vent the fumes outside in a quick manner to prevent fume buildup in your house, since you are using an airbrush or pressurizes spray cans this fume buildup can occur quickly. I used this booth for solvent(flammable) based and acrylic(water) based paints, the solvent based paints chemistry require special attention there is an explosion/fire risk from the vapors and also a health risk, make sure that  no electrical arcing is present in the paint booth spray area and exhaust path. MOST IMPORTANT, minimize vapor buildup keep a fire extinguisher in the immediate area and also use an OSHA approved respirator with filter rated for the solvent based paints. I agree with a previous comment if possible, spray outdoor on a warm windless day and still use the respirator the fumes are a health issue.     

I would never do this inside a house. You could put one in the garage by the big door and open that door a foot or two.

If I ever get around to building a paint booth here is what I would install on the vent pipe to the outside.

http://www.tjernlund.com/Tjernlund_8500590.pdf

Motor is outside of vent pipe and no chance of blowing up. These are made to be installed on water heaters where there is always the chance of having natural gas go up the chimney when a problem occurs!

My booth has a squirrel cage exhaust fan.  The motor is not in the exhaust path.

Rusty

Tommy posted:

If there is a stoichiometric fuel/air mixture and a spark there will be an explosion. The "spark" can come from a nylon jacket. The fumes will leak from evaporating solvent. Better simply spray outdoors.

"Stoichiometric"  brought back great memories.  My high school chemistry teacher back in the 50's used to like to use this  word and for some reason I have remembered it all these years.  If I remember correctly it means if chemicals or anything in the right proportions happen to be in the same place at the same time under the correct conditions you will get a reaction, hopefully a planned reaction but sometimes an unplanned reaction.

For us layman, non-chemist, look at it this way.  If I put the correct amount of Jim Beam Bourbon in a glass and add the precise amount of sweet vermouth, then add the precise amount of ice cubes, gently stir it 4 times and then put it to my mouth and sip it, I will immediately get a reaction.  It will be me saying to myself,  AHH,  THIS is **** GOOD!!!

Seriously, I am the original poster of this thread and the feedback has been excellent.  I think I can now build me a nice bench top vented spray booth just adjacent to a basement window where I can safely vent it without spending a fortune.  And yes I do have and use a very sophisticated  respirator approved for spray paint vapors. 

For us layman, non-chemist, look at it this way. If I put the correct amount of Jim Beam Bourbon in a glass and add the precise amount of sweet vermouth, then add the precise amount of ice cubes, gently stir it 4 times and then put it to my mouth and sip it, I will immediately get a reaction. It will be me saying to myself, AHH, THIS is **** GOOD!!!

Now on your talking Jim!   Now that's my kind of chemistry!  

Chris Lonero,

   Now you have definitely cross the line into sinful territory, any mixing of good Jim Beam, Bookers Small Batch Top Shelf Bourbon, even with water is pure sinful , and mixing that other garbage in fully contaminated some magnificent  Jim Beam Bourbon to the maximum degree.   In the Pa Mountains this transgression is considers the worse kind of sinning.  Sweet Vermouth mixed with Bookers Best Jim Beam Bourbon,  good God man, you must be a flat land city boy.  Never ever abuse children, ladies or good Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey.

PCRR/Dave

The set up you mention will work well with no danger as long as you do two things. (1) always start the booth up and get the air flowing good before you start spraying and (2) never use it without a filter in place. I have two booth's. One homemade like yours in my shop and one factory built in my hobby room. My homemade booth is much better all around. 

I've used my homemade booth fifteen years and I've sprayed everything you can imagine in it with never a problem. My booth also runs an old style brushed motor.

There is a serious danger if you have gas in your house. If you have a gas water heater or gas furnace and you vent the booth out the window and the house is sealed up pretty well you can create what is known as negative pressure and instead of the gas appliance or furnace venting outside you can pull the carbon monoxide back into the house. In this case you would need a fresh air inlet equal or greater to that of your spray booth.

Another thing you may be interested in is a commercial dehydrator to dry your projects in and keep them dust free while drying.

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Chris Lonero,

   Now you have definitely cross the line into sinful territory, any mixing of good Jim Beam, Bookers Small Batch Top Shelf Bourbon, even with water is pure sinful , and mixing that other garbage in fully contaminated some magnificent  Jim Beam Bourbon to the maximum degree.   In the Pa Mountains this transgression is considers the worse kind of sinning.  Sweet Vermouth mixed with Bookers Best Jim Beam Bourbon,  good God man, you must be a flat land city boy.  Never ever abuse children, ladies or good Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey.

PCRR/Dave

Yup. I'm a sinner alright! 

I have been using the TCP painting both like rustyrail o scale uses, for over 5 years now. It sells for around 86.00 ready to use. I spray laquers and enamels with no issues and currently it is in the garage where there is also a gas water heater.I vent it under the garage door. You can fold this unit up like a suite case to carry it elsewhere if wanted.

Rob

oldrob posted:

I have been using the TCP painting both like rustyrail o scale uses, for over 5 years now. It sells for around 86.00 ready to use. I spray laquers and enamels with no issues and currently it is in the garage where there is also a gas water heater.I vent it under the garage door. You can fold this unit up like a suite case to carry it elsewhere if wanted.

Rob

Rob, If you need a good light like mine for your booth you can find one at home depot for about $12.00 and it will clamp onto the spray booth handle and fit perfect. The bulb is LED.