"Dirt-Cheap" DIY Paint Booth Exhaust Filter System

🎨 The "Better Than Nothing" DIY Paint Booth Exhaust 🎨

Listen, we’ve all been there. You’ve got a masterpiece ready for a basecoat, but your "workshop" is actually just your bathroom, and your lungs are starting to taste like "Matté Flat Black." You could buy a professional booth for the price of a small car, or you could turn literally any box—cardboard, plastic, or that mysterious crate in the garage—into a functional filtration station.

This design is all about maximum utility for minimum coin. Is it HEPA certified? Absolutely not. Will it stop a chemical biohazard? Please don't test that. But does it do a half-way decent job of capturing those pesky paint particles before they settle on your furniture? You bet it does.

🛠️ Why This Design Rules:

• Universal Box Compatibility: If you can cut a hole in it, you can attach this to it. Cardboard, Tupperware, or a wood crate—the choice is yours.
• Filament-Sipper: I’ve designed this with thin walls to save you print time and plastic. It’s "optimized," which is a fancy way of saying it won't kill your budget, but will break if you handle it rough.
• Tactical Maintenance: Use some black electrical tape to join the base and middle pieces so you can still access the fan for cleaning without snapping the model. The remaining parts can and should be glued together.
• Minimal Supports: Because nobody likes spending more time removing supports than actually printing the model.

💡 Pro-Tip for Maximum Stealth

To keep those paint particles truly trapped, use a box that isn't completely open. A box with short walls at the top and sides and a lid or door that can be quickly closed is a game-changer that will make the exhaust a lot more effective, as paint particles that has already escaped into the room will stubbornly stay there no matter how strong the fan is.

The Strategy: Quickly apply your coat, close the door, and let the fan do its job! This creates a controlled environment where the exhaust pulls the overspray through the filter while the lid prevents stray particles from drifting back into your room. Just make sure you have some small air inlets so the fan isn't trying to create a vacuum!

🛒 The "Dirt-Cheap" Shopping List

To finish this build, you'll just need to grab these budget-friendly items:

1. Filter Material (The stuff that catches the colorful dust).
2. 100mm Flexible Ventilation Hose (To lead the air away).
3. 12V 120mm Ventilation Fan with Regulator (The "engine" of the operation).

[!IMPORTANT] A Friendly Peer Review: While this system is a massive upgrade over "spraying and praying," please still wear a mask. This catches a lot of the physical dust particles if you use it right, but the fumes are still ninjas. Stay safe and keep those lungs pink!

🚀 Support the Budget Revolution!

If this design saves your workspace from looking like a Jackson Pollock painting without emptying your wallet, show some love:

• Follow my profile! I’m always dreaming up ways to make maker-life easier and cheaper.
• Post your setup! Show me your "Dirt-Cheap" booth in the comments!
• Rate the print profile! It really helps more hobby painters find this model.