Bartsharp SB04 Paint booth review and test

I just got myself a new paint booth, the brilliant Bartsharp SB04. Jess also plays a guest role on the video..

[@SisoBoadaClotas]

Glad to see Jess into the room!!!!!

[@monsieurchevrebois9811]

I picked this model up from Bartsharp, great product and very helpful owner.

[@wheezypalacemodels7726]

Hi Nigel, watched this just after you released it and bought one a week later, but couldn’t check out at Bartsharp, it kept freezing. Amazon had them with an extra £10 mark up and it arrived, direct from Bartsharp next day. Anyway, best booth I have owned and although I am newish to them it works amazingly with my lung condition, keeping the smells and spray at bay. All the best from Gloucestershire and thanks for the review

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@alainvandenbosch2685]

Always very instructive as usual !!! Give Jess a hug from Canada 😊😊😊

[@theenigmaticgamer]

Very helpful review. I bought one of these and was struggling to fit the hose parts until I saw you point out that it was a left hand thread. Thanks for that. Jess is very cute! Glad you didn’t need to mover her blanket 😁

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad it helped

[@dingo5827]

Great review Nigel and my spray booth arrives tomorrow 👍

[@hobbybobley]

Thanks for this brilliant unboxing and overview, Nigel. I have placed an order for one of these to replace my old sparmax one. Cheers!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@kipjackson6784]

Nigel, I love this review, as with all your carefully considered and comprehensive analyses but I'd add two additional factors in paint booth ventilation: 1: booth filter cleanliness, and 2: outdoor air wind speed that may affect booth exhaust effectiveness. My setup is in the basement, below ground level and with my exhaust nozzle exiting through the window (exactly the same way you've done with this Bartsharp) I've realized that some of my exhausted paint material gets blown BACK IN if the wind is strong enough. For that reason I still wear a mask when painting. The blow-back may be negligible but often I can visibly see it happening. Insofar as the filter, I change mine every time I start a new project.

[@ChristianTaylorX]

Awsum video I just ordered one of these, looks so much better than the smaller ones. Thanks for uploading appreciated

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No problem 👍

[@mitchelleverett6247]

Happy New Year Nigel, thank you for all the videos. Also I remembered about this one and purchased my own spray booth from them and I’m over the moon with it.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Happy new year!

[@simoncozensplasticscalemod7871]

Great review Nigel i have 2 of these because i build 32nd 24th models mainly they are a superb bit of kit

[@OzScalemodeling]

Congrats on your new spray booth, looks like the extra space will be very handy and good lighting is very important when spraying. Great review, Cheers Nigel👍

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yes! Thank you!

[@tommyb308]

Great video Nige. I'm looking to get an airbrush and this may well be the extractor I go for. Looking forward to the Bartsharp airbrush kit review 👍 definitely need an all rounder.

[@Looney2ing]

Looks like a nice spray booth. Solid review again, as expected. I got me a Benchvent love that thing. Pricey but looks and feels quality

[@stuartmcdonald8669]

Nice video Nigel it looks good 👍

[@greybeardmodels]

Thanks for doing that Nigel, I had decided to buy one last week but held off, so its great to see your unboxing review. Looks like I'll get the order in this week. Cheers

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Good choice, I am very impressed with it. If I sit closer and deeper into the booth I smell nothing!!

[@greybeardmodels]

@@NigelsModellingBench that's good to know. Cheers

[@skyrider4789]

Nice review. Cute dog! :)

[@festa67]

Looks a good booth buddy, I may have to look into getting one

[@gartsherriejunction4643]

Thanks for showing your latest purchase which was a very informative review. All we need now is a lesson on how to use an airbrush, especially myself, as I need all the help going since I am a novice to using one. An airbrush that is. Best regards Nige, Mike

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Coming soon!

[@gartsherriejunction4643]

@@NigelsModellingBench Thanks Nigel. Much appreciated. Mike

[@wordenb1830]

I've had the same booth for over a year and find it very good. I have extended the sides out with foam board and put on a 5mm clear acrylic lid which allows additional lighting from above and doubles up as my photo booth.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Good to know!

[@bitvasconcelos2031]

would love to see this, did you make it or was it a product you bought? and can I get a link if possible?

[@wordenb1830]

I just made it up from stuff I had. Any board would do for the sides and acrylic sheet is easily available cut to your custom size.

[@danielbritton8588]

I bought 2 standards that fit together for double wide. Obviously I have two fans & filters. Primarily for ship painting & large kits such as painting The Mini Sub & the Proteus from Fantastic Voyage. I also have a 1/32 scale B-25 to reckon with. This one you are showing is of a very good size as one. Fan blades should get minimal build up with filters in. Mine is also self lighted.

[@dantheman1337]

I was going to get one of these but now I see it I'll just make one out of an old wardrobe, fitting a bathroom extractor fan to the back and some filtration. I can add some lights also. Will be much larger and more solid that this plastic, and the inline fan will be quieter for the amount of air it moves.

[@DWModels]

Hi Nigel another great video. I've just started to airbrush Tamyia Lacquer have you found this booth to be adequate for removing the fumes. I airbrush in my living room. Thanks

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yes, I use LP 90% of the time and it works great, but the filter needs to be kept clean.

[@DWModels]

Thanks so much will be my next purchase. Much appreciated​@@NigelsModellingBench

[@retroa-go-go6888]

Looks like a good airbrush booth with great features, variable fan speed and LED brightness sound excellent, I personally don't use one though, but the lighting and turntable look good for photographing or videoing your finished projects. I have 2 of the Bartsharp airbrushes, the 130 with 0.3mm and 0.5mm needle and nozzle sets and a 180k with a 0.2mm needle and nozzle, but cleaning it with the crown cap is a nightmare (and they clog a lot!), so I don't use them, I just run it with the bare needles and am careful not to ding them. They're not the best airbrushes, but perfectly good for larger areas, like basecoating and priming, even spraying camo patterns. The compressors with the 3l (maybe 3.5l) tanks are great and really quiet 👌. I've never been a fan of Iwata airbrushes, only the ridiculously overpriced Custom Micron. I use a Harder & Steenbeck with a 0.2mm and 0.4mm needle and nozzle setup and interchangeable paint cups, a 2ml and 5ml. The Bartsharp ones I own, have fixed cups, the main problem though is the cup bottom is deep and at a 45° angle, so you waste a bit of paint and the needles feel a bit rough, parts are cheap though. They're pretty good value, much cheaper than an Iwata (sadly, you can tell by the machining, the bottom of the cups look like a spirograph). My Harder & Steenbeck airbrush is much nicer than any Iwata in my experience, the "fineline" nozzles make tip drying easy to clean and cost a lot less than Iwata, you said about £38? The Harder & Steenbeck needle, and nozzle sets - with a fineline cap only cost around £26 for the improved V2 design with a free-floating nozzle. It's also German engineering, which is second to none, compared to Japanese designed and made ones, much easier to get parts for and a lot are interchangeable between the Evolution, Infinity and Ultra, (every model except the Colani airbrush) so you can use them still if you upgrade at a later date. H&S are the "go to" for miniature painters and I use mine on my model aircraft as well, 28mm miniatures to 1:48 scale models no problem. They disassemble and reassemble so much easier as well for cleaning.

[@SteveSmith-kf9on]

Nice set up mate 👍🇬🇧👌

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Thanks 👍

[@modelcitizen6759]

Good to se that Jess is looking sprightly, all went well with the results I hope. Great booth and looks like a more realistic amount of extraction, always suspicious that my existing circa 100 pound version isn't up to it so very timely review.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Not had results for Jess yet. Fingers crossed.

[@Thomas-r8w9x]

Thanks for the review. I am about to buy my first painting booth, so, I am plowing through reviews, same for my 2nd airbrush compressor and storage tank. Tis is not a cheap hobby. Now is the first time I can afford to spend money on it, so I am making up for lost time. This stuff keeps me sane and easier to live with in retirement. The wife of my life does not mind the expense or on going Amazon deliveries that keep me from being depressed and suicidal. Clay and paint are keeping me sane. Sort of sane. :) Apparently I am easier to live with when obsessing on sculpting and painting instead of who I want to murder in creative ways. It is cheaper and more effective than doctors and their pills. And it keeps me out of prison and off the six o'clock news. I made a sculpting of my shrink's head, with horns, fangs, and saurian eyes with vertical pupils. WE BOTH LAUGHED FOR FIVE MINUTES. he wanted to put it on his desk but colleagues convinced him it would disturb patients with no sense of humour as it was too realistic and actually looks like him. His wife told him I had captured his true inner self. She has a sense of humour. Thanks for the useful review. With the advent of KZbin, a person can teach themselves and learn all sorts of useful things. I am ancient enough to remember trying to learn sculpting clay before YT existed. I have been learning faster with fewer costly mistakes than when I first attempted this 40 years ago. So thanks for the time and effort you put into this. I think I'M going to buy one by VIVO.

[@karlosmitz3027]

Great review. Something I need to invest in….

[@phillipsiviter2024]

Hearing lots of good things about Bartsharp, May one day buy some of their kit, using the knock off Chinese stuff at present - aside from airbrush which is a Procon Boy Japanese one.

[@michalgajdos7575]

Lighting is issue with most flowbooths.Yours seems to have elegant/ smart solution.Noise is over the top

[@terryv83]

Great video. Noise wise, what is it like? I would use it in a garage. Neighbours lounge is next to my garage wall. Do you think it would be audible through a brick wall? Thanks.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No, I can only just hear it through a closed door in the same building, and you can slow the motor for noise reduction, but this also reduces the suction.

[@davidross7241]

Well said "Polystyrene scourge of the modern world"

[@RobS-z5u]

Thank You Nigel. As always great upload. But I’m sorry. Jess was the star of this video.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Couldn't agree more

[@tonyperez4791]

Great review Nigel , Thank You ! Cute dog . I was wondering about spray booths, does the exhaust smell like paint . Reason I ask is because my apartment is in the middle of the building so I have other peoples windows all around and don't want the smell to get into their apartments. Hope you have a great/safe weekend.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yes, the exhaust will smell of whatever thinner you use. I guess you could only use it when their windows ore closed?

[@tonyperez4791]

@@NigelsModellingBench Thank You ! Funny story , once I sprayed rattle can Gloss orange paint using a plastic sheeting spray booth ( it was a wire framed box with a fan in front so it pushed the air/paint out no filter) , my window was in the 2nd flr. The next morning heard somebody screaming 😫, it seems that they parked their black car under my window and now it had orange dust all over. I don't think they never found out where it came from and I never used that booth again. 😁 Have a great weekend !

[@darronhedges5873]

Benchvent is too much,but finding something of similar spec been a pain.Saw mention of 9 cubic metres airflow recently,was this model i think.

[@allanbourner4569]

Hi Nigel, can you give me the measurement from front to back fully assembled please. Measurements on line are a bit confusing. My table top is 60cms front to back, thanks

[@NigelsModellingBench]

About 47cm Allan.

[@eddgreen9376]

Looks like a good little booth Nigel. I’m surprised you didn’t go for a benchvent unit though. Did you consider one?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

At more than double the price.. no.

[@eddgreen9376]

@@NigelsModellingBench fair comment, I managed to get mine second hand. Awesome extractor.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

@@eddgreen9376 I hear they are very good!!

[@eddgreen9376]

@@NigelsModellingBench at the end of the day though, as long as you’ve got some sort of way of getting the fumes and particles away from your lungs, that’s the most important thing.

[@dimitrisgiannoulis3172]

Thanks Nigel. I have been considering getting the exact same booth for some time now but always putting it off. Do you think the booth would also work OK with spray cans? Or there will be too much excess spray falling on the filter and booth and eventually damaging it?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Hi Dimitris, Not sure any booth will be good enough for cans. Really designed for airbrushing.

[@dimitrisgiannoulis3172]

@@NigelsModellingBench Fair point. It's probably time I invest in an airbrush too then :-)

[@harryconstantinou5928]

I love your dog Is it a fox wire terrier my grandad has one the exact same

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yeah, she's a WFT.

[@michaelshort7297]

I found this on eBay for $200 US, I'll probably shop around a bit more but so far this one looks like the one I'll get.

[@daytch9485]

Nice booth, but I'm not seeing them available for the US

[@basfinnis]

That little car looks like it’s on a stage set 😀

[@eddiegremlin]

What’s the availability for the filters like, I have the same as your old one and their filters are almost impossible to find. I can get the second of the two filters it requires but the front (blue; and finer mesh) is likes hens teeth.

[@grahamfrench7003]

Try UMP retail for the blue front filters. Paul / Lee from UMP RETAIL can supply these.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

If you have an engineering firm or anyone nearby who uses machinery, they will buy massive rolls of the stuff then cut it into smaller pieces to go into their electrical cabinets. See if you can buy some from them?

[@patchcomputers]

Hiya, This any good for sanding models in? Would you use the filters if model sanding?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yeah fine. Just keep the filters clean with a vacuum from the front every now and then.

[@patchcomputers]

Thanks Nigel! Appreciate the reply :)

[@justabasslover4404]

Hello Mr. Nigel!. I was wondering about the correction on the trumpeter 1/200 titanic when will you continue doing it? And can I ask how to make the plastic piece you used in aligning the wing propellers in place, how to make them? I'm about to place the wing propeller shaft on my model but I don't know the accurate position. Can you give me the measurements? Thanks! Hope you see this and hope you help me😊😊.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

I will get back to it one day. At the moment I have no enthusiasm for ships. The shafts are 59mm apart.

[@justabasslover4404]

@@NigelsModellingBench From the center of each wing prop, it measures 59mm from center to center of the wing prop?

[@michaelnaven213]

I did a search on eBay and nothing came up.

[@TheIcemanModdeler]

Anyone know what fans these booths have? Made my own spray booth but looking at getting some fans and a filter to absorb the paint and smell. Been researching what fans would be best and what has less chance of creating sparks and igniting.

[@iannicholls7476]

Can anyone help me with a bit of a dumb question? With this type of set up does any colour at all come out of the pipe dangling from the window? The reason is the walls of my house are rendered white and I’d rather they stayed that way than become camouflaged RLM 70 or 71. Also the window of my modelling room is right over the front door and I don’t want to paint the vicar when he comes round for afternoon tea!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

I certainly saw black very fine dust in the exhaust of my old booth, but it is very dry and blows away easily. I would imagine you'd be ok. Perhaps make up somethig to hold the nozzle pointing away from the wall?

[@MontyDodge]

It's on Amazon for £125

[@warc8us]

Is this the original seller of this style of paint booth? I too had Nigel's original paint booth, from 2014ish until late 2022. You can find many dozens of brands selling their version of that paint booth. Here in early 2023 you can now find dozens of brands on Amazon selling this new, larger dual fan paint booth...Having recently just bought one myself, it seems as if this Bartsharp may be one of the originals? Mine does not have the adjustable lighting, it's a simpler switch rather than a dial. Wild how we went so long with one type of cheap paint booth, only to have this new style take over the web listings in the last two years.

[@stuartmcdonald8669]

How often would you have to clean the filter

[@NigelsModellingBench]

When it is caked in paint. I often vacuum them off when they start to look dusty.

[@BoxxArt]

As of 2024 they are nearly 200 quid now 😢

[@daviddavies4739]

Pitty we haven't perfected Smellovisoin yet.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

One day!!

[@chauffeurmarco]

I built mine so I have 24x24x24

[@RCUKScaleModels]

good way of checking are flowers using a smoke stick

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yes, thanks

[@michaelnaven213]

Nigel you still cannot fit the Lancaster in that both. And my wife caught me watching this and warned me that under no circumstances can I buy this.not even the bigger size and lighting could sway her.

[@idontlikecops1]

Simp

[@mrsmd4616]

Never in stock on their site.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

I think there are issues with everything coming in from China these days. I have ordered a kit over a month ago and it still hasn't arrived. I bought some 1/12 tyres from Japan and they got here in 3 days?? Go figure

[@daytch9485]

Nice booth, but I'm not seeing them available for the US

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Check Vivohome, Togush and Ophir. Obviously made in Asia and branded differently all over the world.?