Paint booths are n the essentials in painting cause you can always choose to paint outdoors, and if you're not airbrushing model kits that much, you can skip this purchase altogether. They come in all shapes and sizes; the most common ones are those with an exhaust. But if you're looking for something more professional, you can have the one with exhaust plus a waterfall curtain.
Paint booths are handy if you paint a lot indoors. They protect dust and particles in the air from your paint environment and suck up harmful paint particles and smelly paint fumes. Now you know the general idea of having a paint booth, let's look at the Waterfall Paint Booth from Gaahleri.
Design & Features
The first thought on the waterfall paint booth from Gaahleri is that it's a well-designed product. I am genuinely impressed with the thought process that has gone into its humanized design. Now let's talk about the design and features.
#1: The Waterfall curtain
The waterfall curtain is the most crucial feature of the entire paint booth. However, getting the waterfall uniformly on the slanted surface is problematic and trickly. Before we go into the problem, let me explain how it works.
First, the water from the tank is pumped to the top of the paint booth. This is achieved with a submerged water pump placed within the tank, followed by a flexible pipe connecting to a PVC pipe with drilled-out holes at the top of the paint booth.
Now, here comes the problem. Water doesn't flow uniformly now; obviously, the holes closer to the water pump will receive the most pressure, and the end will receive less. This causes the unevenness of the waterfall, which means that not all of the paint particles will be captured.
Gaahleri has solved this problem by building a water dam or reservoir right where the pipes are, capturing the water into a mini reservoir before flowing down the slanted plane. Doing so allows the water to flow and exit the mini reservoir evenly, creating a perfect waterfall curtain every time.
#2: Exhaust
The exhaust's primary function is such up paint fumes and particles that the waterfall fails to capture. It helps with ventilation and prevents your room from becoming smelly like a chemical plant.
The exhaust has two common issues. One is suction power. Two would be the noise it creates. In the past, I have come across cheaply built paint booths that don't offer any suction power, and my room would look like a steam room at the end of a long painting session with dust particles falling on any surfaces within the proximity. Other than that, the exhaust noise makes it hard for me to listen to music or have a movie playing in the background while I work.
While the waterfall paint booth from Gaahleri is still a bit noisy, my music or movie is still audible, and I can still hear my wife calling for me from the other room. I am also delighted to report that the suction power is outstanding. While testing, I didn't even wear any respirator or anything (I don't recommend this, don't try this at home, so please wear your respirators) cause there was little to no smell from my lacquer paint, known for its pungent smell. Moreover, my room was still clean and dust-free after a 5 - 6 hour painting session. Last but not least, the filter at the back of the paint booth was dirty, meaning that the exhaust had done its job marvelously.
#3: Centralized Power Supply
While this is not a buzzkill, this is a feature that many paint booth manufacturers ignore. A waterfall paint booth has three features that need power. One is the water pump, two is the exhaust, and three is the LED lights. Meaning three different features requires three different kinds of voltage and regulators. My old waterfall paint booth used to have three power plugs with different cable lengths. You can imagine the frustration that comes with it.
The waterfall paint booth from Gaahleri solved this problem by building a central power module that caters to each feature individually—having only a single power cable out into the plugs. This frees up more plug points for the air compressor or anything you use. It is a thoughtful design, and I am glad my problems got solved even without asking for it.
#4: LED lights
LED lights are essential when you are painting. It allows you to see clearly while you are painting, and it also allows you to check your paint results as well for colour correction or for any dust that got trapped beneath your paint surface.
Now, getting a paint booth with LED lights is easy. It is pretty common nowadays. However, finding a paint booth with built-in LEDs that shows the correct colour temperature takes work.
While this may not be important to you, but as a content creator that works with cameras, videos and photos, this is a feature that I would genuinely appreciate. It saves me much time without colour-correcting my footage or photos after painting. It also helps me gauge my colours more accurately while painting.
#5: Custom Water Tank
This is a feature that I have not seen before in any of the paint booths I have used previously. In the past, the paint booths I have used all have separated water tanks that are not connected to any part of the paint booth. If you move your paint booth, you need to be extra cautious not to spill the water tank. Usually, the water tank that comes with the paint booths are generic containers you can buy from the hardware store. The manufacturer probably sourced this tank and designed the paint booth around it.
Gaahleri has a custom-made water tank for the waterfall paint booth. It envelopes the shape of the paint booth perfectly, making them stackable and operate as one unit instead of separate entities. Besides that, the water tank has four clips in different locations so that you can lift the waterfall paint booth whole. This is a convenient feature to have cause you might need to move your paint booths constantly for storage or cleaning and maintenance.
#6: Screw-on Air Duct
My previous paint booth had either a permanent air duct fixture or a removable one fastened with a metal or plastic cable tie. There's nothing wrong with that, but it isn't very pleasant if you need to disassemble the paint booth for storage or maintenance.
The Gaahleri waterfall paint booth has screw-on air ducts for convenient purposes. I have never really thought of it, but now I can't imagine returning to a non-screw-on air duct. It is not something that you need, but it is definitely a feature that's very nice to have.
#7: Modularity
Being modular means that everything can be disassembled and reassembled without tools. I absolutely love this feature cause it helps me to save much time cleaning the paint booth after every painting session.
Quality
The quality of the paint booth is top-notch. It is definitely worth the money. The plastic used for the main body of the paint booth is durable and flexible at the same time. The surfaces are easy to clean, and you will feel confident using the paint booth.
Each component of the paint booth is also high in quality. The water pump is silent, powerful and operates flawlessly with minimal vibrations. The exhaust fan is robust while not being so noisy. And the LED lights are bright and in the correct color temperature.
Usability
Products with excellent and thoughtful designs will improve usability. There is little to no learning curve in using the paint booth efficiently. The strength of the exhaust fan can be controlled with a knob, and the waterfall and LED lights can be operated individually with their switches.
Other than that, if you have an uneven table surface, the paint booth also has an adjusting leveller screw at the bottom that extends and retracts—allowing you to have an even working surface every single time. It also helps with the evenness of the waterfall curtain.
Price
At $319.99 (US Dollar), there is no doubt that it is on the more expensive side of things. But I can assure you that this is a quality buy. You might be asking yourself, is it worth it? Is it good? Well, I am currently using this paint booth myself, and I love it to bits. I am not saying all these because they are my partner. But they are my partner because I am saying this. Does it make sense?
Being their partner has its perks, and now I can also give you some of them. I have spoken to Gaahleri about this, and they have agreed to provide you guys with an exclusive 10% discount for every paint booth you purchase. The discount information is as follows.
Discount Code: 10MRVX42
Gaahleri Waterfall Paint Booth Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/3PZAADk
Their Amazon Store Link: https://amzn.to/3K1VC0m
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are looking for a paint booth and considering getting a generic one, I recommend you get this one instead. It might cost more, but you will get more out of it in the long run. Paint booths differ from our typical modelling tool, where we might keep upgrading or replacing them. Based on my experience alone, my previous paint booth lasted me for more than a year with super heavy usage.
So, think of this as an actual investment for you. Having a better product will last you a longer time, and also, if you are a medium to heavy user, all of the features mentioned above will definitely save you a lot of time and hassles in the future.
