Spray Booths – Don’t take Risks!

Model making is a popular pastime for a large number of people all over the world. Different people have different ways of applying the finish to the models, one of the most popular ways of doing this is with an airbrush. Airbrushes are used in a number of capacities, not just model painting, for example people use them for cake decoration (using edible paint) and other things such as designing clothing, or applying spray tan.

The products used for some forms of spraying and airbrushing can often by flammable or poisonous to humans if they get in the blood stream, and as such a spray booth is a handy device to use in order to keep you and the environment protected.

So What Is A Spray Booth?

A spray booth, is a device which is designed to keep the user of spray guns airbrushes and other such devices which are used for the transfer of a potentially harmful product to another surface, safe.

They are usually comprised of a cabinet, which encloses the area where you are spraying, thus keeping the media you are using from spreading to areas where you wouldn’t want it reaching. Alongside this there is an extractor unit comprised of a fan and an outlet to the outside world. These also have filters in order to prevent contamination of the air as some fumes can be nasty.

Why Is It Dangerous To Build Your Own Spray Booth?

If you build a spray booth yourself, then some of the following issues that should be avoided by using a purpose made product:

–          Incorrect wiring can lead to sparking – this means that if  the wiring on the fan unit is not correctly done by an expert then sparks can mix with the flammable fumes from the paints used.

–          This can cause both fires and explosions which would be escalated by the presence of the flammable fumes from the media being used.

–          Homemade spray booths, may not provide appropriate ventilation which would be found in a purpose built shop bought model. This could have serious consequences, as the fumes from things such as airbrush paint can be harmful to humans if they are inhaled. Professionally built products have rigorous testing to ensure the safety of their users.

–          Not strictly a danger, but from a point of view of looking professional, then a homemade device is always going to make you look less serious about what you do than a well made purpose built device.

Is There Any Benefit To A Homemade Spray Booth?

The only real benefit that a homemade spray booth has over one bought from a shop is that of cost. In terms of time and effort to put it together, a homemade device will take longer, any teething problems will not have a back up manual to help resolve them and overall it is not a good use of time or money.

There are plenty of videos and blogs online from those who have made their own devices and proclaiming the ease of it, however there are also tales of people who have lased homes and been injured or become ill due to the damage caused by a device that isn’t properly suited to the rigours of airbrushing.

A professionally built spray booth is an investment, both for the quality of your work and for the safety of your family and yourself; which is a priceless commodity.

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