For some things in the model horse hobby, a spray booth is handy to have, and you can build one yourself!
First, you need to create the booth body.
You will need something like a large cardboard box or even a storage tub that you will be able to cut a hole into.
We used a large box from a carpet cleaner. The original top of the box was not large enough to use as the open side of the booth, so it was taped shut and the largest side of the box was used.
The box was cut across the top and the bottom, and then down the center of the box to create doors so that I can test spray onto the doors.
You can also cut the whole side off instead of having the doors, or use a plastic storage tub.
Note the additional hole on the top, which we will get to shortly.
Next you will need a fan for exhaust.
This particular fan is a bathroom exhaust fan with a dryer hose attached.
You can use a regular large box fan, or any other fan that can be placed with the back side of the fan very close to the back of the box. I have purchased a small box fan (about 10" across, around $10 from Walmart) that would work great for this as well.
If you are spraying more toxic sprays like primer or sealer, you would want to send the exhaust (the air being pulled out of the spray booth by the fan) outside.
You would need to position the fan and spray booth right up against an open doorway or window to send the exhaust outside.
By using a bathroom exhaust fan with a dryer hose, you do not have to have your spray booth against an open window or door, as you can just put the end of the hose out the door or window!
Note: a bathroom exhaust fan is meant to wire directly into a house. A plug/cord has to be purchased separately and someone with some electrical experience can wire it to the fan. A cord with a switch on it would be nice as well, so you could turn it off at the switch instead of unplugging it.
You will need to add a hole to the booth that is a similar size or smaller than your fan.
The hole can be on the top or side of your box, depending on if your fan sits on the table against the box or directly on top.
My fan sits on top of the box, where we placed the hole.
A filter is needed to help catch spray particles.
This is a filter for a heating/air conditioning system for a house. You can pick them up from a home improvement store or even Wal-Mart or Target.
The filter should be placed between the booth and the fan, and the fan needs to blow air AWAY from the spray booth, as it is pulling air from inside the spray booth and blowing it away.
Here is my spray booth all set up for airbrushing.
I put some paper on the "doors" of the spray booth to do test spraying on, and some newspaper on the bottom and back, although this is not necessary.
A lazy susan is great, as you can put your horse on it and gently turn it to turn your horse in different directions without picking it up.
Having a lamp or 2 shining into the booth helps as well, as it can be dark in there.
Here is my NaMoPaiMo (National Model Painting Month) test horse that I used to practice/test the color I want to paint on my real NaMoPaiMo horse.
Thank you to my unicorn chin rest Casper for "supporting"me as I typed this,
and to my boyfriend who put the spray booth and exhaust fan together for me!
Happy painting!
