Beginner question about ventillation

[celticgriffin]

Hi there - I'm new to airbrushing. Received a nice kit as a Christmas gift, and I'm excited to start learning! For the moment, as I'm learning, I plan on sticking to water-based inks and acrylic until I get the hang of things.

The one thing preventing me from getting started, however, is uncertainty about what ventilation/filter setup I need. The only space available for me to work at the moment is indoors due to it being bitterly cold here during the winter, and I want to be sure the environment stays safe not only for myself (an asthma sufferer), but also for some pet birds who also are very sensitive to air quality.

I do have a filtered pot for cleaning my airbrush, but I'm concerned about paint mist and dust in the air from just the act of painting itself. Being new, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and could use some direction.

I'd appreciate any advice on what filtering or ventilation would be recommended. Would some kind of spray booth do the job, or do I need to consider some other options altogether? Thanks!

 

[Patch]

Hi celtic, do you have a window in your room? Do you plan to do large surfaces? Overspray got me in trouble with my wife when I first started. It literally covered everything in the living room. What I did is, bought a stove fan, pipe and Styrofoam. I to live in a cold climate. The Styrofoam I cut to window size and inserted a hole for the pipe in it. Works pretty good and keeps most of the cold out. I build a desk that would be able to hold my stove fan. See pic. Works really well for me.

 

[celticgriffin]

Hi Patch, thanks for the response and for sharing what you have set up! Yes, I do plan to eventually work on large surfaces and I do have a window nearby, so setting up something like that is a possibility.

Do you also use a mask or respirator, or do you find that the stove fan alone removes the majority of what needs to?

 

[Squishy]

If you are working at low pressure and fairly big reduction, you can really minimize the amount of overspray that gets created, but yes you should wear a mask. However I don't always practice what I preach especially when doing close tight detail work, but I KNOW I should. For spraying large areas you can't really control paint mist too well.

 

[splasha]

If you are working at low pressure and fairly big reduction, you can really minimize the amount of overspray that gets created, but yes you should wear a mask. However I don't always practice what I preach especially when doing close tight detail work, but I KNOW I should. For spraying large areas you can't really control paint mist too well.

If you have nothing better, I'd suggest you use a Painters paper mask indoors.
Since I mostly paint outside [ due to compressor issues ] I don't have overspray issues , but it's worth taking time to see if this might become a problem.
Indoors, especially if you use urethane based paints, a mask is absolutely essential to your health.
Do not spray without one.
You may not see the efffects now, but in time, they come back to bite you good!

 

[Patch]

Hi Patch, thanks for the response and for sharing what you have set up! Yes, I do plan to eventually work on large surfaces and I do have a window nearby, so setting up something like that is a possibility.

Do you also use a mask or respirator, or do you find that the stove fan alone removes the majority of what needs to?

I use water based paints as well, what Squishy said, I should wear a mask but I usually don't wear one for small work plus the fan does work pretty good, BUT if I do spray large surfaces, I definitely wear a mask

 

[celticgriffin]

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I feel like I have a better idea of what I need to do now, and hopefully I can get started learning in the near future.

 

[AndreZA]

You can also use a fan close to the animals that will blow any bad air away from them.