What Is A Spray Booth?
An airbrush spray booth and filtration unit – often referred to as an extraction unit, is a vital piece of safety equipment to use when you are airbrushing. A spray booth has two primary functions. Firstly to provide a contained environment that prevents any dirt getting into the area that you are working in which will stop your work being ruined.
Secondly and more importantly, a filtration and extraction unit is designed to prevent the inhalation of fumes that could be potentially harmful and have carcinogenic dangers as well as potential to damage the nervous system and respiratory system. A spray booth will also lower the risk of fire and explosion, as the fumes from the substances used are highly flammable.
Components Of A Spray Booth
The spray booth is a cabinet unit, which has an extraction fan and filters which remove and absorb the harmful particles from airbrush paints. Filters are either built in or bought separately which means they can easily be replaced. Spray booths come in a variety of sizes – from bench top ones that go up in degrees to ones that are designed for spray tanning.
The extraction cabinet and filtration unit absorb, dilute and disperse the harmful over spray that occurs when you paint something using an airbrush, meaning that the area is safe for you and your family. This is also better for the environment because the toxicity of the fumes is reduced.
Providing A Contained Environment
Anyone who has ever been involved in painting with an airbrush (or any form for that matter) will tell you that it is a messy activity. The filtration and extraction effects of a spray booth mean that there is a contained area where the painting takes place and therefore the surfaces around this are safe.
Alongside this, even a small amount of dirt or debris from the surrounding area can have a damaging effect on the paint job – often these are extremely hard to remove or rectify. The device not only keeps the paint in but the dirty out.
A Spray Booth Protects The User And Those Around Them
The biggest risks of not using a filtration and extraction device, are the health and safety dangers that come from the fumes and overspray involved in painting with an airbrush. Not using appropriate extraction and filtration will allow the particles to mix with the atmosphere.
In a room full of people such as a school then this is an issue because it could effect a larger group of people, and the toxic effects of the paint on respiratory systems is a bigger risk to young people. Used correctly an extraction cabinet prevents you and those around you from being harmed by the damaging chemicals in the paint. Alongside this, the risk of fire or explosion is dramatically lowered by extracting the flammable particles and diluting them.
One final key point about safety, is that it is incredibly important not to build your own. A DIY spray booth is a dangerous risk to take, as they haven’t been put through the rigorous testing that a professionally built model will have.