Hi, I was wondering if any of you seasoned modelers can give me your opinions on the use of sanding/Dremel booths. I am a wife of a casual scale modeler. We are expecting a baby soon, and since the door to the modeling room opens to our sleeping quarters (and the door is almost always open), I wanted to get a small sanding/router box for my hubby to use on his desk. However, when I made the suggestion he got quite upset about it. He thinks that when he dry sands, because the dust is not visible on his trousers etc., all dust is contained on the sandpaper and that I’m being paranoid. Whereas I think that whenever you sand things like plastic, resin and paint, there will always be airborne dust (especially when he blows on the piece he is sanding!). I just want to minimise the amount of such particles from settling onto surfaces of our living quarters where the baby will be. Now, am I just being unreasonable and overly paranoid here? Or do you think it’s a precaution worth taking? What do you guys do at home, if anything, to keep your modeling area as clean as possible?
I wouldn’t worry so much about dust created from sanding plastic from a model kit since it doesn’t generate a cloud of dust like wood does in a lumberyard per say.
I do any heavy sanding in my spraybooth. When the filter starts looking messy (combination of paint and dust), I just throw it out and put in a new one (they’re real cheap). Normal sanding hasn’t been a problem for the 67 years that I’ve been building all kinds of models. My kids never had any problems with dust and my grandkids are always over watching me build and have never had a problem.
Glad to hear that you are supportive of your husbands hobby. My wife says that it’s kept me out of trouble for all of our years together.
Jim [cptn]
I would think that paint fumes would be more of concern to a newborn than dust but even that is minimal in this hobby. If you can smell anything he should probably look into a spray booth or do like I do and just go outside. I wouldn’t worry about the dust.
Have him stop by and say howdy. There’s a lot of great, helpful folks around here!
Congrats by the way! : )
Resin dust and paint fumes are harmful, even to the user. I take the Dremel and kit parts out to the laundry, where I can make a mess and raise a racket and no one will be bothered. I do dry grinding over a garbage can set by the clothesline and wet grinding in the laundry sink. The dust particles from sanding get everywhere. When I was working on a kit molded in black, I could see just how far the sanding dust got, which was a lot more extensive than I thought possible. For light duty work indoors, I have an old pot that I sand over. For wet sanding, I just add water and a little dishwashing detergent into the pot - it really helps keep the dust from coating your model and hands.
Hand painting indoors can also pose a health risk. I tried running the A/C in my room while brush painting, and the air became toxic quite rapidly! My room is small and I use enamels, so acrylics might be safer, but my experience underscores the importance of proper room ventilation.
HTH
Thank you very much folks for your tips and advice 
We will keep our eyes (noses?) out for paint fumes, and probably close the door between the modeling room and the bedroom whenever he’s painting (modeling room is quite well ventilated). He does all the airbrushing in the shed so it’s not too much of a concern though. Hubby says he will wet sand as much as possible, and do any heavy duty sanding outside. I got a small booth for him to do any resin sanding in as well. And in the meantime I will keep the house surfaces clean and not worry too much about it all! We want our little one to have a fun hobby too so she may even join in with daddy in the near future!