airbrush safety for the newbie

[saltyross]

Ok so i need an airbrush to make those great designs

Concerned about breathing all those wonderful small particles of paint

Dont want to have great lures and bad lungs

Are you guys using a respirator?Which one will keep me safe and where do I get it?

Salty Ross

[Spike-A-Pike]

You need to get out to do some research... try the hobby shops, craft stores, automotive paint shops and walmart. You might try reading some of the "SIMULAR THREADS" that appear below the "QUICK REPLY" box once you post a thread.

It's important to do some study of the subject in order to narrow the scope of the question - that way you'll better answers.

Vman - thanks!

[philB]

Hi Saltyross

Always, always wear a respirator. There are several different kinds and you should take the advice of the seller as to which one you choose. Mine has interchangeable filter cartridges so I can use the mask for both 'spraying' and 'sanding', most tool outlets will stock masks of some description and you should not skimp on cost here get the best you can afford. As much as we all enjoy creating these lures they ain't worth a health risk so make sure the only thing you breath in is OXYGEN

philB

[ensenada don]

Hi Saltyross-

Use adequate ventilation! Don't use spray in an enclosed space, you'll run health and fire risks. If possible, paint in an open area and place a fan BEHIND you to carry vapor and overspray away from you. Ideally of course have an exhaust fan to draw the vapor away. Follow the recomendations of the manufacturer concerning sparks and flame. Don't fool around with this. If you paint in an enclosed area, place a box fan in an opening at one end, and paint in front of a vent in the other end, and you will avoid a build-up of vapor/particulate in you work area. Make a little spray booth with cardboard or what have you,and put an air-conditioner filter in front of the hole to catch overspray. Place a bar of some sort across the top to hang parts from and Presto you're in business.

[Spike-A-Pike]

There is a How to Build a Paint Booth post that I came across on a model builder's web site. While the individual states throughout the post that there are differences between a hobby and a full size paint booth, the logic appears to be pretty sound. One of the aspects is venting the fumes out of the booth and to avoid the tendency to use exhaust fans, there construction will pull flammable fumes through the motor windings and likely cause a fire. If you have questions about this, ask Hazmail for his thoughts on this. There are also hobby spray booths that you can buy new or used.

The site is http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/23

[wantsome]

A simple spray booth is easy to construct. I have no wood working experiance and just built one last night. All you need is some ply wood, a couple of 2x4's, a jig saw, a square, a fan, and a table.

I put one sheet of plywood on top of the table and built a enclosure around 3 sides of it. The back panel I cut a hole big enough to put a fan and a furnnace filter. It cost me $40 in wood.

Get creative and if you want to save money keep an eye out on garbage night for wood that you can chop up. Someone through some old wooden bed rails out the other night. I snached them up and made some shelves for my paint in my booth.

Oh yeah this is fine for water based paints but if your using something with fumes (laquers ect.) your gonna need ventalation.

If you build something like this chances are you won't need a mask all the overspray will be sucked twards back of the table into the fan. I haven't had a chance to test mine out yet but I've used downdraft table at work that are similar.

I have asthma and I smoke createx was starting to get to me.