safty masks

Any questions about tools or supplies. Post your compressor/gun questions here.



Settled In
Posts: 51
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:29 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:15 am
hey everyone,
im a small time guitar builder & only use the 2k urethane stuff...im new to the whole HVLP thing & have been studying every video i can find on youtube to tutor myself...one video was talking about safety & had me thinking.....i use this mask from HF

http://www.harborfreight.com/p95-mainte ... -html.html

my spraying is done in the garage, i basically pull a Dexter & cover everything i can including some of the kids toys that are in there & i were the mask & gloves. when im done & the guitar is flash dryed & start cleaning up & open the door to air it out & thats when i take off the mask
my question is i know this stuff is deadly & i do maybe about 8-10 hours of painting a month...how often do you think i should replace the mask?..although the filters look dirty i cannot smell anything thru it yet... This is my second mask as i had one for about a year & it just got nasty looking so i replaced it...

User avatar

Fully Engaged
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:04 pm
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL, USA
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:17 am
I personally would get a good 3M mask and keep the cartridges sealed in a bag when not in use (to extend life). With melamine in dog food and sulfur in drywall still fresh in my memory, I wouldn't trust something as important as an organic vapor respirator to the Chinese.

I would also replace them more often, maybe every couple of months. Even lying around unused, the activated carbon is still working.

Just my two cents.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:39 pm
The biggest problem with the home painter is the relatively low speed movement of the air in your paint area. Pro guys get away with using carbon filter masks in pro booths because of the extreme removal of the toxic environment. Their masks will not "load up" like a hobbyist mask will in a more poorly ventilated area. Testing many years ago done by the U.S. Forestry labs for the wood finishing industry showed that carbon filters in masks around the typical wood shop running a 12 to 24 inch tubeaxial fan could be useless as protection in as little as 8 hours. Carbon, while a great purification medium, reaches a set saturation point as far as contamination and that is it.... no more protection.

Unfortunately, I am a living example of this very thing happening... it's been a long time now but I had very bad isocyante poisoning. I was using a good carbon filter type mask and my doctor thinks my carts did become saturated. Even with a 36 inch 2 speed building fan I got enough iso's that it triggered an intense iso sensitivity that burned by nose lining, throat lining, and reduced my lung capacity by about 40%, resulting in a final diagnosis of COPD. I was on steroids, inhalers, and worked and was tested on breathing for several years. I have finally got my breathing back up to about 90%. I still sleep sitting up in a chair to this day.

So, do I still paint?.... Heck, yeah. Do I use a supplied air system with a full hood and a disposable suit, you bet! Supplied air systems are "cheap" ($300 to $500) health insurance if you are going to continue to use any iso or even just simpler solvent based coatings. Not saying you "need it" but I will never trust my health to a simple carbon filter again.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 2773
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:46 am
Location: Canberra
Country:
Australia
PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 1:58 am
Well, unless I'm very wrong, you be dead by now. Admittedly we use the CE rating system so I'm not that familiar with NIOSH but I'm pretty sure that P95 is a particulate filter. For painting with isocyanate containing products you need the CE A2 rating at a minimum, plus a particulate filter. This is what I use, but just for smaller jobs:

Image


I have a spray booth that moves air at better than the required 0.5m/s and even with that, for bigger jobs I use a SAS. Like Darryl, I've had a dose of isocyanite poisoning and it ain't pleasant.
Chris

User avatar

Fully Engaged
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:04 pm
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL, USA
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:34 pm
I've got two 1400 CFM ventilators in my home shop. When I spray, I can feel the breeze and see the overspray moving quickly toward the fans. I think I may shave my goatee before I paint my truck with the acrylic urethane to get a good seal around my face. Today while spraying primer (isocyanate-free), I could smell it. Not good. I'll also get fresh filters for the big day.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 9878
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:40 pm
Location: ARIZONA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:48 pm
3M 60921 cartridges claim to remove Isocyanates but emphasize a change out schedule.


3M 6000 Series Respirator Cartridges NIOSH
Item No. G60921 Respirator Cartridge
Pesticide vapor (except fumigants, unless allowed on label), paint spraying (including paints containing isocyanates when cartridge change out schedule is in place, according to NIOSH approval) and organic vapor; particulates
TC-23C/84A


As stated above, you need proper ventilation and discipline in changing out the cartridges.
If you read the 3M article on Isocyanates they state that if you smell them, you are already overexposed.
1968 Coronet R/T


ACTS 16:31

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:03 pm
:goodpost: And on a further note about the facial hair thing.... if you look up safety equipment suppliers nearby you should be able to buy "banana oil test ampules" which will allow you to test how good of a seal that your mask has. Put your new carts in, strap your mask up as you will have it when you are going to spray. Break open the ampule and wave it around the filters and near where the masks meets your skin. If you are smelling the strong smell of bananas your are NOT SAFE. Make adjustments......
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

Return to Tools and Supplies

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 61 guests