Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I'm planning on getting this spraybooth:
https://www.amazon.com/OPHIR-Airbrush-Extractor-Turntable-Airplane/dp/B01N7I4HZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483906549&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=spray+booth&psc=1
But I can't really vent outside too easily because Minnesota winter and the fact that none of my screens are removable, or even movable. Will the filters be enough to catch the majority of problem material? Do I need something pricier?

Also, I was considering a proper respirator, since like 30 bucks for my lungs is something I can easily do, but I got me a pretty bushy beard, so I wonder if it would even be effective...
What about a dust mask? Would that be just as bad? Worse? Better than nothing? Do I even need one? Would the above spray booth do the job for me? I'm gunna get a booth anyways, mask or no.

As for fumes, I'm only planning on chucking basic model paints, so GW, Vallejo, Reaper, etc. Not really worried about fumes. As for cleaner safety, I got a capture pot, so I ain't worried.

It really depends how much spraying you're going to do. A proper spraybooth should filter out some of the dust you'll make, but nothing will get all of it. However, if you're only airbrushing a moderate amount, you won't create much dust in the first place.

I just use a dust mask and my booth has no fans or filters (it's just a foamcore box, really). I don't see much dust buildup anywhere but inside the booth itself. But I usually don't do more than 3-5 miniatures at a go. If you're planning on priming and basecoating assembly style on 50 minis at a go, a respirator might be warranted.

The capture pot is IMO the essential tool, as you have to do a lot of spraying to clean out the airbrush.

My beard certainly stops my respirator from getting a perfect seal, but it still works quite well. I sometimes wear mine for cleaning the oven, and I can't smell fumes while I have it on. If I block the filters with my hands and inhale then yes, air will get drawn in around the sides, through my beard, which I can feel happening. However, so long as the filters aren't blocked (which should technically be always) then 99.9% of the air seems to follow the path of least resistance, and gets pulled through the filters as it's supposed to, and I never feel any air moving across my face. I think it probably helps that my respirator has two filters (one one each side), so there are twice as many ways for air to get in the right way.

I wouldn't trust it to protect me from some deadly "24" style nerve agent, but for spraying acrylic it's fine.

You can also get gel to put on your beard, if you really want to create a perfect seal, but I've never found that necessary.

EDIT: One thing you might want to consider is that wearing a respirator over your beard makes you look incredibly silly, but that aside, it's workable.

Thanks for the replies! Seems like a spray booth and dust mask will cover my needs fine, and I can probably even exhaust outside when its not, like, -4 out or some gak. I'll probably end up with a respirator eventually too, since it wouldn't surprise me if my dad tried running some testors through the airbrush for his model cars. I'm assuming that outdoor venting and a respirator should keep him safe when that happens, yes?

I don't use a respirator partly because it doesn't sit well on my beard.

It's definitely not going to work properly, how badly it works is a difficult question to answer. I find it uncomfortable, more awkward to breathe and I can still smell paint fumes when I'm wearing it, so I just stopped trying.

I just exhaust to outside using a reasonably powerful fan to stop a cloud from forming, but the weather here isn't terrible so it's an option for me. If you can't exhaust outside I imagine a series of fans and filters could probably do as good a job as a respirator would, but I have never tested it to know.

Glaive wrote:
Thanks for the replies! Seems like a spray booth and dust mask will cover my needs fine, and I can probably even exhaust outside when its not, like, -4 out or some gak. I'll probably end up with a respirator eventually too, since it wouldn't surprise me if my dad tried running some testors through the airbrush for his model cars. I'm assuming that outdoor venting and a respirator should keep him safe when that happens, yes?

A dust mask won't filter out paint particles or the fumes.

You should look into a paint respirator... they have ones that filter out the VOCs too so you won't even smell it.

From my personal experience , which is years of fine art airbrushing as well as miniatures, I have never used much more than a big sheet of paper propped up in a way that it creates a "backboard" if you will as well as something for the model to rest on. I spray only water based paints so I never worry about chemicals in the air , I spray very thin coats at a close range and always aimed towards the paper. I have never experienced any dust of any kind, in fact there's barely any overspray on the paper. I use latex gloves to hold my minis which get the majority of the overspray and are then disposed after each session. All of this occurs on my work desk which includes my computer and some musical devises all of which have zero signs of overspray, dust or buildup of any kind. Hope this helps. Cheers....Erock

The spraybooth I used to use meant dust/paint/fumes weren't a problem. It pulled 65,000 cfm through the blower (industrial extractor). It requires 3ph power, so it's currently at the FiL's place (because their house is wired for it).

If you have a decent extractor fan in the booth, the mask isn't really needed. That said, I usually shave, so having a beard interfere isn't really an issue for me.

I'm glad you're ok, but I have to admit, from the title, I was hoping for something a little more exciting.

I have that exact booth or one so simular as to be near identical. I also live in the northern climates and am loath to crack a window.

Youll be fine. It'd no good for spray paint (cause fumes) but for a paint brush it works fine. What I usually do is have the tube at the back stretch down behind the table and point it at the floor where I have an area rug.

Also you can try opening the window a cracked and shoving the narrow end of the tube in the gap to blow outside. Stuff towes around the outside to keep out the chills.

Airbrushed leave way less paint in the air compared to spray cans. You'll get more of an aerosol from the cleaning pot then you will from painting with the brush.

Good luck with the mesothelioma!

If you are really concerned about safety and health, you can certainly wear a VOC respirator, which is essential with high VOC content paint (enamels or highly atomized paints).

However, with a small airbrush using acrylics, the danger is almost negligible. If you are spraying large amounts through a fairly large nozzle (similar to a can of paint), then just a particle mask is sufficient. There are no real fumes from acrylics, it is just the atomized pigment and vehicle particles that don't do your lungs any good and those are easily stopped by a simple filter mask. Press as close as possible to your face and your beard will help stop much of anything particulate from getting through the gaps.

Just an FYI on acrylic safety, to be honest I have no idea what's in most acrylic paints. It has a smell to it so there must be something other than water in it

And if you thin your acrylics with a thinner, even if the paint itself is harmless you possibly shouldn't be inhaling the thinners or cleaners. I think it's been suggested that Vallejo's thinner is based on glycols ethers, which are supposedly mostly harmless but a presence of glycol ethers in house paints and cleaners has been linked to increased risk of asthma, allergies and eczema in children. If the residual glycol ether left in the air is potentially problematic for kids I can't imagine it's a great idea to be inhaling clouds of the stuff.

Also many paint manufacturers don't list what pigments are used, Cadmium for example is fine to brush on but should not be inhaled. There's a couple of other compounds used for certain pigments that you shouldn't inhale but their names elude me.

I just follow the simple rule of getting the fumes away from me regardless of what I'm spraying. I spray acrylics, enamels and lacquers through my airbrush without a mask but the decently powerful fan stops them floating around me for any period and avoid spraying from angles that will have the cloud form near myself before it gets pulled away by the fan.

I use both a spray booth and a respirator when I airbrush, even if it's only for 20 minutes. I try to keep my beard trimmed short, and can't smell any paint while airbrushing, so I'd guess that the filter is working properly. A lot of people are telling you that a dust mask is fine, but you are spraying aerosolized acrylic paint... I'd rather be safe than sorry 10 years down the line.

 Mr. Grey wrote:
I use both a spray booth and a respirator when I airbrush, even if it's only for 20 minutes. I try to keep my beard trimmed short, and can't smell any paint while airbrushing, so I'd guess that the filter is working properly. A lot of people are telling you that a dust mask is fine, but you are spraying aerosolized acrylic paint... I'd rather be safe than sorry 10 years down the line.

I agree, the black table in the room where I spray went a shade lighter after undercoating loads of white, even though it's right over the other side of the room from where I spray. I wouldn't have noticed only it's black, and it left silhouettes on the table where objects were at the time. So I'm fairly certain it does create an aerosol mist which hangs in the air, and contains paint particles, and you don't want that sticking to the inside of your lungs, even if it is acrylic. You also have to bear in mind that airbrushes need cleaning, and the cleaner is often quite noxious.

I bought my respirator when my beard was quite short, so it was a no-brainer. Now my beard is pretty big and bushy, but I still manage with the respirator (I just pull the straps tighter). It might not be ideal, but I'm sure it's better than a dust mask, and far better than nothing.

I have a wizard beard and use a simple painters mask when I brush. That being said, I paint in a large room and in small batches, so I don't worry often about fumes, etc.

If anything my glasses make the Mask for difficult than the beard.

A mask along the lines of the 3m 6800 full face ..add in extra face sheild covers to make cleaning easier and you are under 50 bucks ..they work well for us bearded men ..
Example
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/262667872617?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
(Shaving the neck gets a great seal)