An Updated Portable Paint Booth

A little while back I started playing around with an airbrush. I have a basic airbrush and started using propellant cans to learn how to use the airbrush. When Hobby Lobby put their Sparmax TC-2000 airbrush compressor on sale, it found its way to my workshop. This is also when I ran into a slight problem.

When I first started using the airbrush I was originally using cans of compressed air. I could easily take everything outside of the house and spray my models. Now that I had a compressor it needed an electrical connection. It was also a lot heavier and bulkier than the air cans. It was then I realized I needed a spray booth.

My workshop doesn’t have an easy way to vent to the outside. There is only one window in the Fabrication Shop and it has the air conditioner exhaust attached to it (in the south, you really need the AC). I needed something that I could use in the garage which also meant it needed to be portable. It also needed to be relatively cheap.

As with most of my projects I began by doing an internet search for a possible solution. I found one that I liked and met my requirements. I also had a couple of ideas on how to improve on the original design to make it more conducive to my workflow.

In the end I have a paint booth that meets my needs and stayed within my original goals of being relatively inexpensive and portable. I hope you find that this project may just meet your needs as well.

1. 20 x 28 Premium Project Sheets
2. https://www.hobbylobby.com/art-supplies/project-supplies/poster-projects/white-premium-project-sheet---20-x-28/p/81107059
3. PLA Filament - White
4. Utility Cart
5. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005A2GKUW
6. 20x20x1 Air Filter
7. LED Lights, 10 feet
8. Box Fan, 20-inch
9. Power Strip, 6 outlet

As with most projects this one started by sitting down and figuring out exactly what the project should do. What is the end goal or primary objective? What tasks need to be performed before the project is considered to be completed? The following looks at what my objectives were when I first started this project. Later we’ll look at the updates I did to the project and why I did them.

I started off looking for a portable paint booth that I could use for painting small items or doing detailed work. I build plastic models as well as model rockets, so I wanted an area that would allow me to paint both. As I had recently acquired a new airbrush and wanted to experiment with different painting techniques I needed an area that would allow me to do that.

It was also understood that this paint booth would not be used for most of the priming and painting of my model rockets. I still planned on using rattle cans to paint my larger models and these would be painted outside. These larger models might get some detail painting, but as a rule the booth would not be for the larger models.

Another factor that came into consideration is the types of paints I would be using. While the rattle cans are typically enamel or lacquer paints, the paints I would be air brushing would tend to be acrylics. This meant that the need for ventilation of fumes would not be as pressing as when using the rattle cans – another reason the rattle cans are sprayed out in the open.

The paint booth would need to be mobile. I really don’t have a place to set up a permanent booth, especially if I need to have a source of ventilation. My plan is to be able to roll it out into the garage, open the garage door and paint there. That would take care of the ventilation issue, and to accomplish this I knew I would need a cart of some type to roll it around.

I also wanted the booth/stand to store all of my airbrush paints and supplies. This would include the acrylic paints, the cleaning can for the airbrush, and the cleaning solutions. I have a number of small brush paints that needed a storage location, as well as the various brushes and painting accessories. It would need to store the compressor for the airbrush. I didn’t need to store the rattle can paints on the booth as they were already stored elsewhere in the garage.

There would be a need for electrical power to operate the exhaust fan and compressor. The exhaust fan’s primary purpose is to capture paint particles, not to vent fumes. To keep cost low I planned on using a 20 x 20 inch box fan that I have as the exhaust fan.

Finally I would need a low cost material to build the actual paint booth itself. I figured it would be something like Masonite or plywood. At the start of this project I wasn’t sure what to use so I was hoping I would find something during my research that made sense.

As I began my search I found several designs that spiked my interest. However there was one design that seemed to check a lot of the “requirements” boxes I outlined above. The primary design of this spray booth comes from the Ben Eadie's (Dread Maker Roberts) YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/eQ6ZjjAZrTY). Ben designed his booth using foam core. It is made from 4 pieces of foam board from the Dollar store, some 3D printed clips, a filter and a box fan. This is exactly what I was looking for. The design was flexible enough that I could size it to meet my needs. It would be inexpensive to make and I could make changes to the design if needed, without incurring any significant expense.

The next step was to figure out a way to make it portable. Since I would be making the booth out of foam board I knew I couldn’t attach wheels directly to it. I would need something that moved that I could sit the booth on. I also preferred to stand while painting. Making a cart out of lumber was not a realistic option for me. I knew it would need to be a ready made product.

As I began to search and review various commercial carts I noticed that they tend to have raised handles and/or raised sides. This type of arrangement would not be very conducive to the type of setup I was hoping to create.

As I continued searching I finally found a suitable candidate. It looked to be tall enough that it would allow me to stand comfortably while using the airbrush. There are no raised handles to get in the way of the booth. The top shelf had just a small lip around the edges. The bottom two shelves will be suitable for storing my paint and airbrush supplies. Finally the handle is molded in line with the top providing unobstructed access into the paint booth.

Given the initial review looked positive I began to look closer at the specifics of the cart. The dimensions showed the size of the cart was just about perfect. It measured 18" deep by 24" wide. Given the size of my box fan, it would stick over the edges just a bit, but nothing drastic. The height of 43" confirmed my first impression that it would be perfect for standing and working with my models inside the booth. It also had locking wheels, so I wouldn’t have to worry about chasing my cart around the garage. The cost was right around $100 so it was within my budget.

At this point I had a good idea of how my new paint booth would come together. I would need to order the cart but everything else I would need to create my paint booth I could purchase locally. This meant I could start construction while I waited for cart to be delivered.

With a plan in place it is time to get started on building my new paint booth. The cart was ordered through Amazon and a trip to the Dollar store resulted in the purchase of four sheets of foam core. As I obtained the major pieces I began to set them to the side until I had everything needed to start construction.

The original booth uses 4 pieces of foam board from the Dollar store, some 3D printed clips, a filter and a box fan. I needed to create the clips that hold the boards together. I downloaded the STL files from Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4818061) and loaded some PLA filament into my Ender printer.

The clips were printed at a 0.2mm layer height with 15% infill. Using my Ender 3 V2 the clips took me a couple of days to print, as I only did two at a time. Once the clips were done, it was very easy to put the booth together. You do need to make sure that you use the opposite clips, otherwise the walls will not line up properly. The clips leave a slight gap where the foam boards come together. I decided to run a piece of duct tape along the seams on the inside to prevent any paint from getting out of the booth.

The filter was a 20x20x1 AC filter that I picked up at Walmart. The filter is a friction fit. The small angles on the clips act as a stop. The filter is now able to grab the paint droplets, not capture the fumes.

The next step was making it portable. The cart that I had ordered from Amazon was almost perfect. I did need to add some foam core to the top of the cart due to the lip around the top shelf. Some scrap foam core fit perfectly in the opening and allowed the booth to sit flat on the cart. I added a power strip to the cart handle to allow me to plug in the compressor and the fan. This meant I could easily move my booth anywhere I needed to and I had a single cord to plug in to get everything running.

Since I wanted to make it my “paint center” it needed to not only hold the booth, it needed to store the compressor, the paints, cleaning materials, etc. Again, the cart ended up being near perfect. The compressor was placed on the bottom shelf and I used Velcro to hold the supply line and the power cord along the support legs of the cart. I placed all my paint supplies on the middle shelf. This included my brushes, jars of paint, and the airbrush cleaner. Initially most of the paints and supplies were just sitting on the shelf. I knew I would need to find some type of container to hold this stuff in the near future, but as a starting point it was looking great.

For the next four years it became a working part of the Fabrication Shop. I was happy with how well it performed. But after a couple of years of use I could begin to see how the foam core panels were starting to go bad. I knew I would need to start looking at either rebuilding or replacing the booth. I also knew I didn’t want to give up my booth, so I needed to start doing my research again. What follows is what I found and how I updated the booth.

Initially the foam panels worked fine. The foam core panels are easy to work with and they are inexpensive. However, over time the moisture from the paint as well as our humid weather here in the south took their toll and the panels began to sag. On the bottom panel, paint and thinner spills caused the foam board to begin to bubble and delaminate. It was this deterioration that prompted us to look at replacing the panels.

Initially I was unsure how best to update the panels. Should I simply replace the old panels with new foam core pieces? Was there something better available? Then I came across some plastic panels at Hobby Lobby. These panels are constructed similar to cardboard, but they replace the paper material with plastic. Even though the cost is a bit more than the foam board, I felt that by using the plastic boards I would get a much longer lifespan.

The plastic panels were the same size as the original foam panels, so we cut the new panels to the same size. However, these panels are a bit thinner than the original foam boards and as a result the 3D printed corner clips from our original booth were too big to securely hold the plastic panels in place. To solve this issue we turned to Tinkercad to create new clips.

We kept the same basic design as the original clips. There are two main differences between our new clips and the original clips. First, we decreased the gap to 3.75mm to get a better snug fit with the plastic panels. Secondly we increased the length of the clip to provide more surface area to grip. This may provide a bit more stability for the booth as it begins to age. You can find the design over at Tinkercad (https://www.tinkercad.com/things/i9zn7gKkUtu-updated-paint-booth-clips-and-hooks)

The clips were exported as STL files (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7397239) and then imported into Cura. We used the standard quality setting of 0.2mm and exported the gcode. A total of eight clips (four left, four right) were printed.

Since our original cart was working just fine we are going to continue using it as our base. We cut our panels to same dimensions as the original foam panels, both in length and width. Since the cart has a slight lip all around the top shelf we added a panel on the top to fill in that gap. This allows the booth to sit flush with the top of the cart. If you are using a different cart or setup, cut your panels based on your needs and situation.

Once the panels were cut to size we added the newly printed clips and simply slide the panels into the clips. All four panels were connected together and set on the cart to check the fit.

When the panels are attached to the clips, you will see a gap where the panels don’t quite come together. We had the same issue with the original foam panels. At that time I used duct tape on the inside of the booth to cover these gaps. The problem with the duct tape is that the exposed sticky collected a lot of dust. We decided to try something different with this version. This time I used card stock cut to size and glued in place using FabriTack glue.

Just as with the original paint booth I am using the same 20-inch box fan to help pull the paint dust out of the booth. Line up the box fan with back side of the booth. Use zip-ties fed through the clip openings to hold the booth to the fan.

The open end of the booth is held in place on the cart thanks to a clamp that holds my airbrushes. This stops the booth from moving side to side. If you don’t have something like the airbrush holder you might consider small clamps or even tape to hold the front of the booth to the cart.

A new option added to the inside of the booth was LED strip lighting. For $5 I was able to get a 10-foot length of LED lights. These were placed inside the booth. Time will tell if these are worth the effort but initially they provide an abundance of light inside the booth.

At the back of the booth just below the fan we added an updated power strip. It is secured to the cart using zip ties. The power strip allows us to plug in the fan, compressor and lights to a single power line.

With our updated paint booth now complete its time to add another 3D printed item that will make the booth even more useful. I designed a hook in Tinkercad (link above) to attach to the cart and then printed three hooks using black PLA. Two of these hooks were added to the front of the booth to hold the air brush hoses. The third hook is attached to the side of the paint booth and is used to hold an inexpensive hair dryer (I use the hair dryer when I need to have something I’ve painted dry a bit quicker). The black PLA matches the black cart and looks like they belong to the set.

One fun thing I was able to do to this booth was to add our AAEN logo to the side. We couldn’t do that using the foam core as the vinyl transfer paper would pull off the paper of the foam core panels.

One other thing about the paint booth and how I set it up that I want to show you. I have found that these dollar store trays are really great at organizing your painting supplies. The ones I found actually clip together. I highly suggest putting your paints in some type of try to keep things neat and organized. Use the kind of trays that work best for you and your workflow.

Over on our web site, the Rocketry Research Journal (https://rocketryjournal.wordpress.com), we have created the project manual, "Building a Portable Paintbooth and Rocket Finishing Techniques" This free manual looks at creating the tools you need to get a perfect finish on your rockets as well as the process for obtaining that finish. Part 1 is much like this Instructable on building the paint booth. It also provides links to various painting tools and accessories that you can 3D print. Part 2 of the manual takes you through the process of preparing your rocket for paint and techniques for painting. It also provides step-by-step instruction on creating your own decals whether they are water slide decals or vinyl cut decals. If you are looking for how to get a great finish on your rocket but not sure where to start, this is the project manual for you.

64 pages. Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.

https://rocketryjournal.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/paint-booth.pdf

We have also released a video that covers the construction of the paint booth

That concludes this Instructable on building a portable paint booth. I hope you found it helpful in your journey to creating wonderful and colorful finishes on your rockets and other models. For more hints and tips on this and other topics be sure to visit our web site (https://rocketryjournal.wordpress.com). Here you can find articles, additional project manuals and more. You can also visit our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AustinAerospace) for more fun ways to help improve your rocketry skills.

If you enjoy model rocketry and projects such as the Arduino Launch Control System, Project:Icarus, Project: Olympus, The Dyna-Soar and others, then consider joining the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). The NAR is all about having fun and learning more with and about model rockets. It is the oldest and largest sport rocketry organization in the world. Since 1957, over 80,000 serious sport rocket modelers have joined the NAR to take advantage of the fun and excitement of organized rocketry.

The NAR is your gateway to rocket launches, clubs, contests, and more. Members receive the quarterly magazine “Sport Rocketry” and the digital NAR Member Guidebook—a 290 page how-to book on all aspects of rocketry. Members are granted access to the “Member Resources” website which includes NAR technical reports, high-power certification, and more. Finally each member of the NAR is cover by $5 million rocket flight liability insurance.

For more information, visit their web site at https://www.nar.org/