# Paintbooth for painting lures indoors



## vc1111

I'm just now finishing my paintbooth so that I can paint indoors during the off season, so I figured I'd share a few photos.

A paintbooth is nice because it allows you to paint in a comfortable environment, while facilitating the exhaustion of fumes from the paints, reducers, solvents, etc. 

For the last few years, I've been building the bodies of the baits during the winter months and waiting till the weather breaks to start the painting and clearing of the baits. That has advantages also because it forces you to concentrate on building the bodies and by repitition, you get used to using the tools, sanding, etc. You're able to slow down and focus on shaping and carving because you know you can't paint.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to having the option to paint as I go along or if I'm inspired by some of the other color patterns I come across in catalogs, on the internet forums, or even just pictures of game fish and bait fish that I come across.

The paintbooth isn't complete yet. I'll need to wire the lights and the exhaust fan, mount the dimmer switch which I'm using to control the exhaust fan speed, and add shelves on the sides, and a few other things of that nature.














































I used 3/16 Lexan for the windows on the sides and top. I'm hoping to be able to capture sunlight when I paint during the day and use the lights which I've mounted on the sides for evening painting. 

I'll probably pick up one more light from Walmart for the top (I have two now). The lights I'm using are the type that mount under kitchen cabinets. They cost about $7 at Walmart, but I paid an additional $6 for the type of 18 inch bulbs that are closer to true sunlight so that I can see the colors I'm painting more accurately. 

The lights are mounted on the exterior of the box outside the windows to preclude the possibility of a problem with the fumes near the light fixtures.

So the light fixtures were about $7 and the better bulb was $6. That's $13 times three for the lights; the wood was purchased from a salvage warehouse in Youngstown. It was about $15. The exhaust fan was given to me by Tigger. (Thanks buddy!). It appears to be from an old furnace. Its the "squirrel cage" type and that's an advantage because the motor is segregated from the fumes...which can be flammable, although the risk is really very very low when using airbrush because you don't throw much paint at all.

Other than that, I have about $15 or $16 in junction boxes and other electrical parts to wire the the lights, the motor, and the dimmer switch for electrical power, and about $9 in the aluminum exhaust piping. The exhaust pipe is a 20 foot flexible hose, 4 inches in diameter. Its the stuff they use for clothes dryers. I paid $2 extra and bought the better one because it looked like it will take a little more wear and tear.

$39 Lights
$15 Wood for the box
$16 Electrical parts
$9 Flexible aluminum dryer piping
$0 Exhaust fan/motor assembly (Tigger, you da man)
Total about $80

I'll also cut up a furnace filter and mount a piece of it over the hole where you see the fan. That will capture a lot of the paint overspray before its vented so that I don't have to worry about the overspray collecting on my outside garage walls when the wind is blowing as the paint overspray and fumes are exhausted outside.

I could have cut some corners here and there but I didn't want to skip on the lighting or the wiring because they're both so important for safety and being able to accurately judge the colors you're applying to the baits.

I hope this helps and gives a few ideas on how to build your own paintbooth. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to vent the fumes and it should be lit properly so that you can see your work without straining.

I'll mount the box on an old desk I bought at a garage sale and vent the pipe through a board which I'll mount in an open window. I'll post photos of the later perhaps.

Once I get this done, I'll continue posting on some of the other topics we've started like building the diving lips, etc.

I'd also like to post some info and pictures about the actual airbrushing process to shares some tips and tricks.


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## lazy

Looks good VC, the lighting set up should make paint a lot easier. Me..Im still using the ultra high tact. cardboard box setup which has it's advantages and disadvantages. Its cheat but the light sucks.  

Dallas


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## vc1111

Thanks, lazy. I'll be using it in the next few days; we'll see how it functions and I'll try to post any modifications I would make if I were to do it over again.

It seems that any time you do something like this, you find two or three things you'd do differently the next time.

I'm open to any suggestions anyone might have as to how to modify it or improve it.


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## BigDaddy300

Vince, you can modify the booth by moving it to my basement Seriously, that looks great!!! Good job.


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## vc1111

Thanks, BigD.


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## TIGGER

Vince that looks great! Man you didn't waste any time. I really like the lights on the sides. That will help a bunch! Let the paint fly!


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## vc1111

Thanks, Tigger. 

Tonight I built brackets to secure the lights against the sides of the Lexan windows and started the wiring for the switches. I need a few parts, so I've got to hit Lowe's and Walmart again. 

Wiring is not fun. I want to paint, Lol.

Anyway, rjbass shot me a link about paintbooths; it was video actually. It suggested that it might be a good idea to segregate the exhaust fan from the booth so that the paint overspray can actually dry before contacting the fan blades. The video suggested that the overspray can accumulate on the fan blades causing it to eventually go out of balance.

The idea is that you attach a piece of 4 inch corrugated hose to the booth and run that to another box that holds the blower/exhaust fan. That way as the overspray travels through the hose it collects on the spiral ridges of the hose as it travels through. The video further states that the spiraling of the hose creates a swirling effect which further aids the drying of the overspray. 

Interestingly, the guy on the video explained that the risk of fire is low because of the air-to-combustibles ratio. He states as an example that if you were to take a teaspoon of lacquer thinner and pour it on the floor of your garage, the entire air mass in your garage does not become combustible. Only the area immediately surrounding the combustible matter. Therefore, by adding enough air flow through the paint booth you preclude the possibility of creating the proper ratio for combustion. 

He added that the cfm vacuum of the blower system is so much higher that the cfm output of the airbrush that you could run 5 airbrushes at one time and not create the proper ratio of air to combustible matter to create the appropriate ratio for a fire hazard.

Sounds good on paper, eh?  

At this rate, my modification of the paint booth will eat all of my painting time.


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## KWILSON512

I like it alot....its as if you took the idea right out of my head combined it with enough steroids to kill even Bonds and created it. Nice work, seriously.
Now all you gotta do is get messy!

I dont know much about them but I gotta couple of exaust fans sitting in the garage if anyones interested.


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## bigjohn513

one other idea for you is to keep a small fire ext. near that fan just in case you get a buildup of paint and the motor gets hot...

p.s. great work on the lures..i've really enjoyed your post...i'll try to post some pictures of the lures i've made sence reading your post


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## spot chaser

Looks good, I'd also mount the fan farther upstream. In fact, if possible I'd use it ahead of the booth and push air through, but that is much harder to do.

You can try putting saran wrp over the lexan to prevent paint build up, otherwise you won't be able to clean it as the paint just eats into it. Glass works better than Lexan or Plexi, but gets heavier and harder to work with.

I've done similar , both for grinding dust and paint, usually works good. In fact I have a couple of what looks like the exact same squirell cage fans.


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## eyesman_01

vc1111 said:


> Anyway, rjbass shot me a link about paintbooths; it was video actually. It suggested that it might be a good idea to segregate the exhaust fan from the booth so that the paint overspray can actually dry before contacting the fan blades. The video suggested that the overspray can accumulate on the fan blades causing it to eventually go out of balance.


Actually, if you use a good HEPA filter I wouldn't think the overspray would get to the fan to accumulate on the blades. My concern would be if you have too much vent hose (length) that you would lose the vacuum you need to efficiently draw out any fumes. I'm talking about size of fan to hose length ratio.

Look at it like a bilge pump. You have a specified gph at the pump. Yet the number drops at the end of 3 ft of hose. So if you want a specific gph at the outlet, you have to buy a bigger pump.

I'm thinking it would be the same way for your setup. If you pull the fan farther away from the booth, you may lose vacuum and need a bigger fan.

Don't know if this makes sense. I noticed in my setup I need to install a bigger fan than what I have to get the vacuum I want. I also pour lead and soft plastics in this same booth and I notice it does not draw out all the smoke/fumes the way I want. 

Something to try is put a lit inscense stick in the booth and see if all of the smoke is drawn out the vent.


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## vc1111

I had thought that the longer travel created by using a longer hose might create some drag on the motor and maybe even require a larger exhaust fan. I've decided for now, I'm going to paint with it as is and see how it goes. I learned a lot doing it and I'm sure the next one will have a few improvements.

Eyesman, what kind of filter is that that you mentioned and where can I get one? I appreciate your help and tips.


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## eyesman_01

HEPA filters. It's a furnace filter. They take the alergens out of the air circulated by the furnace. Micro-mesh if you will. I get them at Menard's. Most home improvement stores (maybe even Wal Mart) usually carries them.


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## vc1111

Ok, that's what I thought you meant, but I wasn't sure. Yea, I'm planning on putting one in front of the hole you see in the front view photo which shows the exhaust fan. I may even sandwich two or three pieces together in front of the fan to try to eliminate as much as possible.

I wired it tonight. It should be ready to get to work tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some painting.


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## vc1111

Hey Bigjohn, can you post those pictures of your baits yet? I'd like to see what you're working on.

For the last week, I've been working on finishing the room on my garage, in which I'll be painting. One thing leads to another. 

I had to frame the walls for the insulation, insulate, change the lighting a bit, and started hanging the drywall. I've decided to pay a local guy I know to finish hanging the drywall and do the taping, etc. I hate that stuff. 

But I'm really looking forward to hauling the paint booth, a coffee pot, and the stereo out there. 

Spring is a comin'!!!


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## eyesman_01

Hey vc, another thing you might want to think about... if you are actually making a small room for your paint booth, you will need an air *INLET* to let fresh air into the room as the fumes are sucked out. Use a filter on this vent also to prevent dust from being sucked into the room. Just my .02


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## vc1111

Thanks, eyesman. I have to fabricate some things yet in the way of venting the paintbooth. I have the dryer hose and the room and I'd like to come up with an easy way to connect and disconnect the hose. 

The room has 3 windows; one is pretty much a standard size, the other two are salesroom samples, about 12 x 12 inches. I had built the room previously for my boys to play in when they were kids. 

I can open those windows. And I'll take your advice on the filtering. Great tip!


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## CountryKat

Looks good to me. I have to vent my basement because of the clear vinyl I use. I'll have to make me a booth like that .


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## vc1111

Last night my blower motor locked up. I know why and how it happened.

I attached the blower motor directly to the back of the box in which I do the painting.

According to the information provided to me by rjbass, the motor should be segregated from the box. In other words, it should be detached completed and housed in a separate box. You build the booth, and connect it to the separate box (which houses the furnace blower/exhaust fan) by using 4 inch corrugated hose, and then exhaust it outside with another section of 4 inch corrugated hose.

What happens if you attach the exhaust motor directly to the paintbooth is the squirrel cage collects the particles from your paint work and eventually begins to wobble. In my case, the wobbling was minor, but the paint particles eventually got into the bearings despite the filters I used, and last night it began to squeal a bit and finally locked up and quit about the time I was done (luckily).

If you segregate the exhaust unit, the 4 inch corrugated hose collects most of the particles on the ribs inside the hose, before the particles can reach the motor, because the stuff is heavier than air and the air tends to cause the paint particles to dry on the longer journey to the motor and beyond to the outside atmosphere.

I'll go about getting another furnace blower unit and some hose, and I'll be back at it in not time, but I thought I'd share this info for anyone thinking of building their own.

The video clip rj sent me said this would happen eventually, but I had built the paintbooth already and figured I'd use it till it quit. It took about 50 baits before it locked up, which is alot when you think about how much primer and paint I threw throught it.

...Back to the drawing board...


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## eyesman_01

OK, I've been slacking the past couple weeks and haven't gone anywhere building new baits (or even finishing the ones I have started). I put everything on hold in the name of safety.

A lot of the colors I shoot are oil based, which means using solvent to clean the airbrush. The more I did, the more nervous I got about the fumes in my basement with the water heater, furnace, etc. Though it didn't take much to clean, and I made a jar collection system for spraying the cleaning solvents into, I could still smell the fumes lingering around. 

So... following a link previously posted for fishcarver.com, I'm almost finished with my new paint booth to vent the fumes outside. I still need to mount the door and put another coat of paint on the outside, but it *IS* functional and will be seeing heavy use soon. 

Vince, you never did show the final pics of yours, but here's what I came up with...


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## rjbass

eyesman,

*Great job!* I built mine just like the one in the video also. How many cfms is your blower. I ended up putting a 1000 cfm dayton blower in mine and it really pulls everything out. I have had mine for about a year now and have had no trouble.

Rod


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## vc1111

Eyes, thats the way to go.

Having watched the video myself, I can see that you even added the window, which the author of the video said he wished he would have added to keep tabs on any paint buildup on the fan fins. 

I will try to post a picture of mine later this winter. I just started painting a bit in the last week. I have about 7 baits under basecoats and clear, ready to put the detailing on.

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my blower locked up. I'm not sure what that was all about, but I spun the fan by hand a few times and its been working ever since. 

I'm looking forward to building another by late winter or early spring along the same design that you and rj used. I'm going to mount the blower on the outside of the paint shop to keep the noise down a bit. I'll run the hoses through a plate in the window frame, which I'll insert after opening the window. That way I'll still have plenty of light. I'll probably keep the actual booth that I built, but just segregate the blower from it and move it outside.

Anyway, you're going to be ready to squirt some serious paint with what you've built. Looks great, eyes.


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## eyesman_01

Not sure of the cfm's, it was a used blower assembly and didn't look to see if there was a label that told. The guy I bought it from is a furnace repairman and said he was sure it would pull at least 1000. It seems to have good flow. I'll find out when I start slingin' paint. 

I didn't use the malomine. Instead, I used 5/8 plywood, which was @ $11 cheaper a sheet, and painted it with some oil base gloss exterior I already had. Using 2 of the 100w spiral lightbulbs makes it nice and bright inside. I'm using the ones that imitate natural light, as Vince had suggested to be able to see what the colors look like in daylight.

All in all I have maybe $150 into this. Not a bad price for piece of mind.


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## fugarwi7

Sweet eyesman...that's get'nr done the right way!! I have to stand in my garage with a the space heater on for a day so I can spray a little at night...and can only use acrylic to avoid the fumes...haven't done that much up to this point, but it would be nice to have a paint booth and be able to work indoors...definitely another project to add to the list!


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## walleyevision

Sweet! Like fugarwi I have to paint in the garage with acrylics. Hopefully next year I have a woodburner out there. Awsome job on the booth eyesman!


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## eyesman_01

A little tip to make the building process a bit easier... do your wiring for lights and switch *before* you put the last panel of the box on. It was a pain trying to maneuver in that 12x24 opening to do the wiring and mount the boxes and lights. I already had everything sealed and didn't feel like tearing the back off to get in to it. I realize now it probably would have been a lot easier and less time consuming if I had. I eventually want to hardwire it in to it's own breaker in the breakerbox, but for now I have it plugged in to the nearest outlet.

Going to finish the project this morning and hopefully be shooting some paint by this afternoon. Wind is howling with 51 mph gusts, temp is dropping fast, and more snow on the way. Looks like a beautiful day to head to the cave.


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## TIGGER

Wow that thing looks great. I may have to switch for something along that lines. I removed a basement window and put a vent in. It works good but it almost pulls to much air out. I can smell vent fumes from my plumbing system at times. I will have to put a return air in of some kind. 

I feel like a caveman compared to the slick set-ups you guys got going on!

I am going to have to redesign my drying wheel also. LOL


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## vc1111

I've got revamp my drying wheel also. I'm on my third rotisserie motor and its heading south.

How's that motor you bought working, John? Does it have any "play" in it? In other words, does it slip at all during the rotation process?


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## TIGGER

No slip in that motor. I told Vince this already. I bought a motor that is used for a pig turner. You can't stop it! LOL I want to add a few more bays on it. I got some all-thread yesterday along with some screw eyes. I have some plywood circles left over from some sink cut-outs that we did at work. I brought them home on Friday. I may tinker with it tonight. I will take some pics when I am done. 

The only thing I have to figure out is how to engage and disengage the sections as I choose. I would hate to have a rack full and on the second rack get hung up and they ALL start to run! YOu have to stop the motor to clip on a lure. LOL I am open for any ideas. There will be only one central axis on the unit.


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## eyesman_01

Ok, here's an idea John. Get some tube stock just big enough to slip over the all-thread. Cut it to length for each pair of wheels. Use a set-screw to engage each pair of wheels to the all-thread. The other pairs will slip until you load them and engage the set-screw at your convenience. I'd say a motor like that could easily power 3 or 4 (or more) sets of wheels. I have the idea in my head, if you can't visualize it and need a picture drawn I could email it to you.


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## TIGGER

Funny you mentioned the slip tubing. I used some last night for the support sleeves. I used the 1/2" copper tubing with my 1/2" all thread. It worked great. I am making head way.

I was thinking of an interlocking coupler like how you mesh your fingers. I could slide it over an inch to dissengage, strap a lure and slip back into place until the wheel is full. Then use your idea to lock it into place. Its coming along.


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