HOBBY: Set Up an Airbrush Studio for Under $200
Ever wanted to airbrush at home but feared Mom or “significant other” aggro? See how easy and cheap it is to set up your own home airbrush studio!
For about $200 you can set up your very own airbrush studio that will keep most of your walls and floors paint free!
$20 Carpet – 6′ x 8′ roll of carpet from Lowes. You gotta have something to keep paint from getting on the actual carpet. But if you do happen to get some paint on the rug try to get it off using some Resolve spray.
$40 Table – Now that you have a base to work from, snag up a 4 foot folding table to put everything on. This puppy is big enough to hold everything you need, and small enough to fit into a closet if you need to pick up your studio because of mom or various aggros.
$5 Dropcloth – Grab some painter’s drop cloth to protect your table, and the carpet roll above. You’ll probably have lot’s left over, so don’t hesitate to use that to cover up your studio when it’s not in use to keep pet hair/ dust to a minimum as well.
Now that you’ve build your studio’s foundation, it’s time to add the “meat and potatoes” of your operation.
$120 Airbrush Hood – TCP global has a great portable Airbrushing hood that works like a dream. If you are able to set up your studio near a window, you can use the tubing to vent the air out window for the ultimate in cleanliness. Beware though this vent does NOT filter harmful chemicals, so remember to not get high of your own supply folks!
It also will kick up particulates around the room if you just use it with no venting, the filter will not catch all the over-spray on the way out the back!
Speaking of which, the filter that is included with the Airbrush vent can actually be cleaned by soaking it in a pitcher of Simple Green/ water and ringing it out after a few hours of soaking. No need to buy costly refills!
Note: Personally I don’t use ANY chemicals to thin my paints, just to clean the airbrush itself by soaking it between uses mostly. Be careful about atomizing (spraying) chemicals around your studio- sometimes what can be inhaled can never be exhaled!
That’s pretty much all you need at this point to have an effective home airbrushing studio, all for under $200. Now most hobbyists already have painting lights, so just use your existing equipment to light your new space. If you don’t checkout IKEA as they have some really cheap lighting options available even on their website!
The only other thing I can recommend is, the Airbrush cleaning kit also from TCP global. It has a ton of useful tools for keeping your expensive airbrush in tip top shape year round!
So, are you ready to take the airbrushing plunge?
