Easy airbrush booth modification

[bfrd]

I, like many of you, have an inexpensive Master Airbrush booth. One of the drawbacks to this simple design is only having a single switch for the fan and the lights. I occasionally like to use the extra lights without the noise from the fan.

Here is the booth that I have (very much in need of a new filter).
20170813_194938 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr


This is very easy to fix with very minimal knowledge of electronic circuits. The spray booth uses DC power, the little box that plugs into the wall converts the AC in your home mains to DC current. In our little modification we are only dealing with the fan. It will have a connection to positive current and ground. This is generally designated by red (positive) and black (ground) wires. However, for our purposes it does not matter which wires we use. If either connection is broken the fan will not turn on. We will use a small switch to break the connection. My preference is to break the ground connection, but again, it will work either way. I am sure an electrician could provide a much better explanation, but for this we can move on to the switch.

The terminology of small electronic switches use words like poles and throws. If you have to buy a switch pick up a SPST, it is the most basic switch you can find. It has only two terminals and they are either connected (shorted) or not. The single pole portion of the name means that it can control only one circuit. The single throw means there is only one set of on/off terminals. I used an SPDT (single pole, double throw) because I had one already.

Here is a picture of a standard SPDT switch. Please note that all switches do have a rated power maximum, but the stuff we are dealing with is quite low power. This small switch is more than adequate.

20170813_202108 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

Still only one circuit, but it has two sets of terminals. With the SPDT switch either the left-most and center terminal or the right-most and center terminal are connected. I will only be using an outside terminal and the center terminal doesn't matter which ones.

Now that you understand how the switch works, dismantle the booth enough to see the fan. Find a spot on the case that is near the fan wires and mount the switch. Usually, you just have to drill a hole. Depending on the switch your mileage may vary. The fan should have only two wires. Cut one of them (doesn't matter which one) right next to where you installed the switch.

Here is where I installed mine.
20170813_194943 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

The first thing I did to get to the fan was to start packing away the sides and remove the filter. Also remove the LED lights.
20170813_195149 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

Once you get here the white plastic frame that holds the filter will simply pop out. Do be careful that you don't break it or the wires for the LED lights.
20170813_195447 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

The mesh grill can be released by removing the 4 small screws on the outside edges.

20170813_195546 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

There is a small piece of plastic that holds the larger shield in place. Remove the 4 screws from the fan plate and pull off the shield. Once this is done you should easily be able to locate the wires coming into the fan.

20170813_195701 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

Now you will have to attach the cut wires to switch. Soldering is the easiest way to do this. If you don't want to solder, you can get crimp on connectors. If you used a SPST switch connect one wire to one terminal and the other wire to the other terminal. If you used a SPDT switch connect one wire to an outside terminal and one wire to the center terminal.

20170813_195711 by Matthew Morvant, on Flickr

Now it is best to give a quick test. Make sure nothing is in the way of the fan. The old switch is the master/light switch. It will have to be on for either the lights or the fan to work. The secondary switch controls only the fan. Please note that in this configuration it will be impossible to have the fan on and the lights off.

I also found this to be a good time to give the lights a cleaning. Over-spray will have undoubtedly found its way onto the light housing. Use some Isopropyl alcohol and give the lights a good wipe-down. I keep 99% IPA in a little squeeze bottle for cleaning purposes. It does a good job of cleaning most surfaces without harm. One note, NEVER use IPA on acrylic that has been heat treated or laser cut.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Uhhh, I can get the gist, but pics are worth a thousand words...just want to see the before and afters to see your modified set up.

Have a notion to add some LEDs to my new booth

[Johnj]

I've been meaning to do it for a while, it's a good idea.
At it's simplist terms your cutting one of the wires to the fan to shut the thing up and twisting it together again when you need it. The switch doing the cutting and twisting back together.

[bfrd]

I re-wrote some parts and added pictures to the original post. Hopefully, that makes it a little easier to understand.