Building an airbrush painting station

Last Christmas, I decided to design and construct a paint station for airbrushing, and overall painting of models and gaming miniatures.

The basic idea was a to make a 3-sided area with a lid, that had enough suction in it to clear out the airbrushing mist. The three side sections should have shelves suitable for storing paints and other materials, easily accessible while painting - and for transportation of the unit.

Finally, there should be sufficient lighting embedded in the lid for painting without an external light source.

As an additional challenge for myself, I decided to try and assemble the main parts without using screws or nails. Instead, it is using wooden pegs and glue.

As a bonus touch, I added a handle for carrying. the whole unit.

The final station, with paints and tools in place.

The build turned out to be quite a success. The suction from the two bathroom fans is enough to create a low pressure area inside the box, making the paint fumes flow out. I added two flexible tubes to the fans that lead the exhaust out the window, this is not shown by the pictures.

Also, the lighting from the 4 LED bulbs is perfect for painting. Even in an otherwise unlit room, it is pleasant to work within this space.

Thirdly, the unit is perfect if you have limited space, and can not always have your paints and tools out. Just fold the parts together, and store it under your bed - with paints and everything inside.

Lastly, here are some pictures from the build process: