Respirator question, Is this enough? Options

[r_towle]

Hi,

I have this setup below
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_U...WglLS2WX7T0QSbl

Is that enough for spraying (HVLP) epoxy primer, base and clear coat??

Rich

[toon1]

Hi,

I have this setup below
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_U...WglLS2WX7T0QSbl

Is that enough for spraying (HVLP) epoxy primer, base and clear coat??

Rich

Looks right, just make sure it's an "organic vapor"

[brer]

you will survive and probably not notice anything,

if you have proper ventilation.

but from what i've been told its not enough.
you will still be exposed.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Matt Meyer]

What do the paint system material safety data sheets (MSDS) and product information sheets say is required?

[degreeoff]

funny you should bring this up as I am wearinga full face deal now as I hear that alot of the contamination comes through the eyes.....It is all too dangerous now so you will NOT be safe without a fresh air deal....keep the doors open though and as stated above you will live.....I am living proof, though I have not tried to make any children in a while?

[r_towle]

Good point, but I am looking for Scott, Rick, and Shelby (professionals) to chime in here.

I am not really looking to go into business restoring cars, so a full helmet with dedicated air supply is not in my budget.

Rich

[charliew]

I guess it depends on how long you want to live. 10 years in a rest home at 90 or no rest home and maybe 70. Catylized paints are very dangerous. How much are you enjoying life. It's probly not going to matter if you smoke. If you smoke don't bother with any resperator.
Check out the real paint shops, they use supplied air hoods. They also spend more time painting and maybe paint larger objects.
You can use one of these if you have really good ventilation as in air flow. Will it be good enough? who knows. If I'm doing anything and my lungs start burning it's really a little too late but I usually leave the area as quickly a possible.
We also breath really bad stuff when we are grinding things. What seems to bother me the most is the dust from treated metal from metal prep.
I try to use a big fan any time I'm grinding or painting to make sure I know which way the stuff is going.

My friend with a fab shop once got sick using a hardner with a enamel while he was outside painting a sbc on the engine stand. Every since then he won't paint any two part paint without a mask. He used to hire me to paint in a area that just had a rollup door with a small fan in the back. When I would paint industrial enamels for him sometimes even my belt would have paint on it around even the back. It would be in my eyes and ears and hair. Don't be a dummy. Like the old guys say, if I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.

Charliew

[degreeoff]

No I did not mean a fresh air gig, I mean $100 VS $60 deal from a local paint store (Duron, sherwin williams... sell full face masks)

[brer]

Would it matter if I told you that the person who told me was a pulmonary surgeon?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[sww914]

If you're planning to paint one car every year or two I'm sure that you'll be fine. There is no question that a fresh air system is far superior. The 2 most dangerous components are the solvents that the respirator does a good job of catching and the isocyanates in the hardeners that the respirator doesn't catch very well at all. Having painted cars for years without adequate protection, I can tell you that sensitivity to solvents is a bigger problem for me at this time than my exposure to isocyanates. Keep in mind that at some level of exposure to isocyanates they will do permanent central nervous system damage. I haven't noticed any, but I was a little weird to start with.
Notice the "cyan" in the word isocyanates. that's the same as cyanide. I wish I'd known that when I was 17 and started spraying catalyzed materials.

[pjf]

I've read nothing but bad and nasty things about spraying this stuff. I read as well that a good amount can be absorbed through the eyes so a full face mask is a must. You should also cover up from head to foot in a paint suit so that it doesn't contact any part of your skin. I may be able to help. After working a bit in my very small garage that was closed up so I could heat it I realized I would be dead soon so I found a fresh air respirator on Ebay and bought it. I've been using it with a half mask for everything: grinding, welding, painting... I have to say it works great and you don't smell even the slightest wiff of smell even when using the most volatile solvents. I use it all the time and am in the middle of a restoration but if you don't need it too long I'd be happy to loan it to you. I do ask that you let me look over your shoulder some as I'd like to learn more about painting. Let me know if you're interested and we should be able to work something out. I'm in Ipswich. Below is a picture of the fan box, router control (to slow the fan down some), the tubing, and half-mask. The full mask is not pictured.

[Joe Owensby]

After reading up a little on the two part paint systems, I decided for a full face mask. I bought a full face fresh air system as follows. Hobbby Air has the hood that covers your complete head. It is made of a non-woven plastic cloth type material, and has a full face clear plastic face panel. I bought a few thin clear plastic covers that go over the front panel. When these get dirty, you just remove them and apply a new one. total cost was about $120. For a fresh air blower, I bought a small vacuum cleaner from Home Depot, aout $25.00. This has a HEPA filter that is about the same spec as all the expensive fresh air systems. I just put the inlet for the vacuum cleaner outside the garage, and added a length of flexible hose to the exhaust that was then connected to the face mask. to reduce the flow to the mask, I just used a little masking tape to restrict the inlet. After using this, I am a real beliver in a full face coverage. No need to worry if you don't have to. JoeO

[scotty b]

It's just fine Rich. Those are I and what most other painters use every day. I actually have a fresh air setup and never use it because it is a F-in hassle

One thing to note is to keep it zipped up in the bag when not in use. The cartridges are a charcoal type and degredate quickly when exposed to the air. You'll be just fine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[Mark Henry]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scotty b @ Apr 1 2008, 10:03 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
It's just fine Rich. Those are I and what most other painters use every day. I actually have a fresh air setup and never use it because it is a F-in hassle

One thing to note is to keep it zipped up in the bag when not in use. The cartridges are a charcoal type and degredate quickly when exposed to the air. You'll be just fine (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)
[/quote]

I agree and I'm painting a 914 right now...well waiting for it to flash.

Also I'll add ...you need a good fitting mask, if your glasses fog up then try a different one till you find one that fits proper.
I go through around a pack of 10 pre-filters to 2 charcoal filters.

If you can smell the paint (good fit mask) then your charcoal filters need changing.

[brer]

keep us posted on your experience rich
be safe!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Matt Romanowski]

And for the important stuff...don't forget to blow out pretty hard after you burp.

[rick 918-S]

Good point, but I am looking for Scott, Rick, and Shelby (professionals) to chime in here.

I am not really looking to go into business restoring cars, so a full helmet with dedicated air supply is not in my budget.

Rich

Sorry, Late to the party.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I used one for years am I'm not dead yet.

1) keep it clean. Wipe it down with thinner if you need to remove overspray from the outside.

2) keep it in a sealed foil or heavy plastic bag. Most of these have charcoal filters. They loose there life when left out.

3) shave your facial hair. These masks do not fit or work when worn over facial hair. If you have hair get the full face hood.

These are fine for occasional use. In production shops a full body suit should be worn to keep paint out of your pores, hair, and orfices.

I took a blood test once for a physical. There was tolulene in my blood stream in the test results. Probably not a good thing... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif) This was about 25 years ago. I hired a painter shortly after that, maybe 20 years ago. So I think I'm OK... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

BTW: I supplied my painter with a full suit, gloves and fresh air hood.

Back in the day I used to take paper towels soaked in thinner and wash my face, hands, arms and wipe over my hair to get the Duluxe overspray loose enough to come off in the shower.

[r_towle]

I used these masks for the last two cars I painted with no problem.
It was a single stage paint...

the next one is two stage, so I started to get worried.
I always buy new cartridges, and I store the masks in ziplock bags anyways.

Hell, I used to paint laquer with nothing on...it was a good buzz.

I use the tyvec suits now, its alot easier to keep clean that way.

Rich

[retrofit]

I used these masks for the last two cars I painted with no problem.
It was a single stage paint...

the next one is two stage, so I started to get worried.
I always buy new cartridges, and I store the masks in ziplock bags anyways.

Hell, I used to paint laquer with nothing on...it was a good buzz.

I use the tyvec suits now, its alot easier to keep clean that way.

Rich

Have a question about respirators. Went to ebay and have been scanning listings for respirators. Would a full face with organic vapor cartridges be the best choice other than a supplied aair set-up? Can a supplied air setup use filtered compressed air? Have noticed that some of the supplied air masks with regulator have a compressed air fitting on the reg. Can this be modified to use a blower of some kind (filtered shop vac) for the air supply? You guys got me thinking and reading about safety , but, I must spend wisely...
Allen

[Mark Henry]

Just get a good organic vapor cartridge mask.

Screw ebay, how the heck are you going to know it fits you on-line? Do you buy shoes on line?

Go to a FLAPS or better yet a bodyshop supply house and make sure it fits YOU proper before you buy.