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Hi!

I saw older topics on this issue but trying to run this question again as they were quite old, so there may be new solutions.
As winter comes I would like to do some airbrushing inside our flat and would need some suggestions.

I saw that there are some quite efficient-looking spray booths, so that should be the way, but there are some other factors:

- I can airbrush in a separate room, but that has some connection with our living room (long story, my work area is an extra gallery floor of a larger living room that is closed off by the roof structure, but not entirely, regard this as if I would be spraying in a room with a door always open)
- I have an almost one year old baby and his mother in the flat as well, so safety is crucial. If there is no 100% safe solution I will wait until spring to spray on the terrace
- I have quite steady hands I think, meaning I will hopefully not spray all over the place but only into the station
- I cannot lead out any kind of exhaust pipe of such a station from the room
- Being silent is not a real factor right now as my compressor would also operate

Questions:
- Are these paint stations 100% safe and efficient?
- If there are some like that which are these? What would you use in such circustances?

And again, if it is not safe, I will let this thing go and wait.

Thanks for any ideas.

I use a cardboard box with one side cut off and a desk light over it for a booth. I also have a fan going in the room.

I also use a dust mask when I paint.

I mean...its acrylic paint. I think the only reason I even use a mask is because I use a few drops of AB thinner. I mean if you are running a varnish or other toxic type stuff, I would wait.

If you are running acrylic paint I dont see much of an issue. Please someone correct me if I am wrong.

Acrylics aren't usually toxic by themselves, as long as they don't contain cadmium (sometimes found in red/yellow paints).
Airbrushing these paints, however, probably produces some small particles that are toxic (mostly because of their size, not because of their chemical composition). Like everything, it's the dose that matters. And I have actually never seen any quantitative data on the subject.
You can find people who claim airbrushing is very harmful without wearing a mask/having enough ventilation, and others who say it's not. But no one can cite relevant studies.

Commercial masks can filter pretty much all the particles you would otherwise breath in, so wearing a good quality one is enough to ensure you're not breathing any harmful stuff (again, assuming you're not using toxic solvents, which require a different type of safety masks).
But in your case, you're mostly concerned about polluting the air in your home. Spray booth with ventilation and filters do remove stuff from the air, but again I haven't seen any quantitative study. So I can't give you any pointers as to whether or not this has any meaningful impact.

If you have a lot of money to waste, you could actually monitor the air quality yourself, with a small particle counter (Dylos makes some for a few hundreds). You would be able to see if the amount of micro particle increases in your house when your airbrush.
You could also try to look at some woodworking forums/websites. Woodworking is a common hobby that produces a lot of harmful dust, so woodworkers already came up with many home solutions for cleaner air. Actually a big fan blowing into an AC/furnace filter helps tremendously in reducing the amount of micro-particles in the air (it might even be a lot better and cheaper that the small CPU fans/HEPA filters you see on airbrushing booth).

I airbrush inside all the time. I just turn on the ceiling fan and wear a dusk mask. Might not be the safest, but it works. I live in texas so i can keep the window open until about Xmas and its still somewhat warm outside.

I don't know if anyone has studied it specifically closely enough to give you a definitive answer. I think if you buy a bottle of paint in the US these days it has to tell you if there's substances that are known health risks, but there's a lot of substances that just haven't been studied closely and many hobby paint companies don't give out comprehensive data sheets to know what's in them.

Personally I'm happy spraying in my house with a spray booth acting as an extractor, I don't try and filter it just goes straight outside. If, however, I had young kids in the house, I probably wouldn't, or I'd do it at a time when I knew they weren't going to be home for a while or in a room they didn't have access to and didn't have airflow to the rest of the house.

I say that not because I think it's unsafe, but because I can't say with 100% confidence that it is safe and kids are way more sensitive to that sort of stuff, I just wouldn't see it as being worthwhile. As a kid myself I had a lot of health problems which only much later in life I discovered were exacerbated (though not directly caused by) my hobby of building model planes.

I use a Paasche HSSB-22-16 Hobby Spray Booth and love it. Although mine is vented out a window, you can get a charcoal filter for it that will allow you to spray acrylics indoors without any concerns. You could even install the ducting and add an indoor dryer vent to the end for an additional layer of safety. If the opportunity arises in the future, venting it to the outdoors will allow you to spray solvent-based paints and varnishes like Testors Dullcote. It's really nice to be able to paint with whatever you want whenever you want regardless of weather or season. To keep the bottom in good condition, I tape down a sheet of newsprint whenever I'm spraying. The fact that it's all sheet metal means you can get very creative with using magnets to hold tools, models, backgrounds for photos, etc. The shiny metal means it also functions as a light booth, so I use it as my standard hobby work area. It's $300, so definitely not a purchase to make lightly.

This thing is pretty big at 22 1/4" wide x 18 1/2" tall x 21 1/4" deep. With the ducting, it sits about 28" from the wall. Here's some photos of the booth sitting on a 6' x 3' drafting table.

Hey, thank you all for the comments, great feedback.

This booth looks really cool. Unfortunately opening the window like this is not an option in my place during winter.

Honestly I am a bit closer to the 'let's wait spring and go out' decision, as it seems I cannot be 100% sure about possible negaitve effects (if I got it right that is not even necessarily chemical related, but just the existence of small particles in the air of the flat).

But still thinking...

And one more thing:

I use Citadel paints and mix them a Vallejo Airbrush Thinner.
Let's say the paint is safe, but what about the thinner? Is it an extra factor to be considered?

Hi gentleman, I am also in the market for an airbrush and also worried about particles flying through the room. In my case it is not so much the concern of health risks. I am worried about colors settling on our white desk and the white wall or other furniture. How reliably does a spraying Booth really prevent coloring things you dont want colors on? Thanks in advance for further Information!

CptTyco wrote:
Hi gentleman, I am also in the market for an airbrush and also worried about particles flying through the room. In my case it is not so much the concern of health risks. I am worried about colors settling on our white desk and the white wall or other furniture. How reliably does a spraying Booth really prevent coloring things you dont want colors on? Thanks in advance for further Information!

If you spray enough primer, paint dust will settle on surfaces eventually. However, by the time that overspray made it to the surface, it's dried and not is no longer able to stick to the surface.
I can wipe the paint dust away with bare hands. If you use a paper towel and window cleaner you can make it super-clean.

grnsknz wrote:
Hey, thank you all for the comments, great feedback.

This booth looks really cool. Unfortunately opening the window like this is not an option in my place during winter.

I have one of these and it works quite well: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Hobby-Airbrush-Paint-Spray-Booth-Kit-Exhaust-Filter-LED-Light-Set-Model/192041375026?hash=item2cb68ed532:g:JD8AAOSwux5YP3jw
It also folds down for storage.

Re the window issue, the trick is to make a temporary vent piece. Make a piece of plywood or similar that fits snugly into the somewhat opened window with a hole in it that a fits the vent duct. When not using the spray booth take the piece of wood out and close the window. If you want to spray, open the window, put in the piece of wood and close the window to it. This way the window is open only when you are spraying, not all the time.

T