:iagree: you didn't read the post by Pat :confused:

 

I'm going to add my 2 cents to the fresh air system topic. I sell paint (Dupont) for a living. I'be been at this job for 20 years and before that I did body and paint work for 12 years. I have painted dozens of cars through the years at home and have never wore a supplied air unit. I do make sure I have a properly fitting charcoal respirator on with new cartidges every time.

Most of the shops that I sell to don't even change their filters on a reccomended schedule and I constantly try to get them to change them more often and to store them in a container when not in use. A lot of them just lay them down when not in use which renders them ineffective in a very short time.

3M says that with proper change schedules and proper fit a charcoal respirator is adequate protection against isocyanates. They even sell a self contained unit with a fan that filters the local air with a charcoal cartidge and pumps it to a hood which protects the eyes and face as well.

In the late 80's we had a mad rush of sales for the supplied air units and after a few years they all sat in the corner of the shops. Today I don't know one painter that still uses one. They all say they are too cumbersome and take too much time to hook up.

I'm not saying they are a bad idea, I think they are the safest way to handle paint products but I think that someone painting 1 or 2 cars in their life with a good proper fitting respirator is not going to die twenty years early. I do strongly suggest that you have a fan strong enough to remove the fumes in a short period of time to lessen the exposure. This is just my opinion based on my experiences in the business. Craig :cheers:

 

Hey Craig!

I've been watching this thread and thinking the exact same thing you just said. I've only been selling paint now for 6 months but have the same observations. Furthermore, the research I've done on the iso/respirator issue agrees with yours. From what I understand, the biggest obstacle to canister type iso respirators is the difficulty in knowing when they become ineffective. The research I've seen shows that at least some types of canisters do filter out the isos. Of course we can all agree that the fresh air type is certainly the safest.
I walked into a small shop just the other day and the owner was spraying without any respirator. Didn't care when I mentioned it.
Thanks for posting.

Larry

PS. Looks like there's a certain mod that needs to dock himself points for a personal attack. But he's usually a hell of a good guy!

 

And maybe they will buy the farm...only time will tell...I'm betting that all the peeps you've mentioned will suffer dearly with repiratory ailments. Just because there are no symptoms at this stage, don't kid yourself, it takes time, and when the symptoms appear, it's too late.

My question to you is.....why would you or anyone want to take a chance in the first place? To save a few hundred bucks? Is your life that meaningless that you value chump change over your health?

 

:iagree:

 

DONT use a home air compressor for an air source.

SCUBA (and military) air compressors use vegetable oil so that any oil contaminants DONT kill you when you absorb it into your lungs.

I have to agree here with GDAINA.

The problem is safety and there are no shortcuts.

If you want save money do all the prep work on the body, disassembly and cleaning. Pay the PROs with a proper spray booth and all the gear to do the paint. Go to a big shop with good gear and a WARRANTY.

Do a search on the forum about "bubbles" and "blisters" in paint. There are many who have had shonky paint jobs done and have had to either live with the outcome or pay for a SECOND strip and respray.

Good luck.

 

Gook luck???? What are we trying to do here? Scare the crap out of anyone trying to save 5 grand and do their own paint job?

you aint gonna get no warranty if you do your own prep. HELLO?

Most modern oilless compressors provide air plenty clean air to breathe.

We hear horror stories all the time about about problems with 5k paint jobs. So saving your pennies for a pro aint necessarily the answer.

So far i have painted my vette twice and it looks pisser.

I wonder what the "Pros" would charge for the 14 coat kandy urethane job i plan. Probably about 10 grand. Forget it.

 

Guys,
What about a little oiless compressor like this attached to a full mask.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=1200

Mount it outside with about 50ft. of hose attached to a mask, wear a good paiting suit, and have two filtered fans (supply and exhaust) blowing into my "paint booth". Does this sound better than some of my other plans?

 

I don't know the hp or the cfm of this compressor but Badger makes airbrush equipment and it might be for that. I know when we sold the supplied air units the minimum for a one man setup was 1/2 hp. I don't remember the cfm requirements but I could probably look them up. Two fans is good. Craig

 

Maybe I should just buy an air supply unit and rent it out to different people in this forum! I could probably make my money back in a year.

 

That's what you want to do...have the compressor draw fresh air from the outside, not from the paint booth...if the compressor is drawing air from the paint area, you are breathing contaminated air....use a compressor designed to supply fresh air.

Turtle, ya ain't gonna make it to 80, you'll be lucky to make it to 60. Keep in mind, just because you paint and breathe this crap once or twice and you're still walking doesn't mean your system is immune...just as cigarette smoking, the harm is accumulated over time....and boss...your time is approaching, not today, not tomorrow, but when you start having respiratory problems, look back on this thread and wonder, was it worth saving a few bucks on a fresh air system...you know, it's a bitch having asthma, cancer and other problems..you may be lucky, your system may be able filter and clean your body of the poisons, but then again, it may not...each person's physiology is unique, some are stronger, some are weaker....


[Modified by GDaina, 12:56 AM 3/20/2004]

 

GDaina,
I was planning on mounting whatever set-up I go with outside. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. If I do my "homemade" clean air system I will try spraying laquer first. If I can smell any laquer while painting with that mask, I won't use it to paint urethane. I guess that is as safe a test as any. Now I need to figure out how much CFM I need to supply so I don't pass out! Anybody know the volume of our lungs? My wife loves these engineer type questions.

 

I do paint and body work for a living at a GM dealership and do work at home on the side. I know from experience that if you try to save $$$ by buying cheap materials you are going to be very dissapointed in the end. As for me personally I use and recomend Dupont paint systems. I use ChromaPremier sytem. We use PPG at work and I hate when I have to spray it, Dupont is a lot more user friendly. Good luck and if you have any more ? just ask. By the way I live in north central indiana and am doing work on the side, anybody needing quality paint work at an affordable price give me a hollar. biggjimm