Duplicolor paint health concerns?

[Guest Johnny]

Great post Justin!

[Dingo5162]

This has been an excellent thred an very interesting to read all the comments BUT you have all forgotten one thing and that is, if you where eye glasses to help you see better like do when it comes to spraying of any type and using a respirator you basicly have to spray half blind as the arms of the eye glasses hold parts of the respirator out from your skin thus allowing small quantities of paint dust through This may seem small potatoes to you or anyone else that doesn't wear eye glasses BUT rst assured after spending a morning or afternoon spraying you are soon coughing, spluttering and gasping for fresh clean air so if you use eye glasses think about it and take care as well. This comes from a person who experienced months of pain in limb joints and couldn't work out why.

Dingo

[CadillacPat]

I wear an Automotive Paint Approved Respirator and in no way do my glasses interfere with the way it fits.

CadillacPat

[Jdurg]

This has been an excellent thred an very interesting to read all the comments BUT you have all forgotten one thing and that is, if you where eye glasses to help you see better like do when it comes to spraying of any type and using a respirator you basicly have to spray half blind as the arms of the eye glasses hold parts of the respirator out from your skin thus allowing small quantities of paint dust through This may seem small potatoes to you or anyone else that doesn't wear eye glasses BUT rst assured after spending a morning or afternoon spraying you are soon coughing, spluttering and gasping for fresh clean air so if you use eye glasses think about it and take care as well. This comes from a person who experienced months of pain in limb joints and couldn't work out why.

Dingo

That is a GREAT point Dingo. The respirator really does no good if there are gaps between the respirator and your skin. If possible, you may want to look into getting some contact lenses just for cases such as this where you can't wear your glasses.

[CadillacPat]

Laying down paint, no wait, AirBrushing a classy paintjob, is the "piece de resistance" of finishing a build.

It defines a huge part of your expertise as a Builder. Yet, we are actually seeing answers concerning Respirators like, "Just don't paint the Model."

Or, "The air is already polluted so why bother with a Respirator."

And, you don't need to change to contact lenses because of the Hobby's needs.

Forum, the company's who manufacture Respirators didn't just forget that some people wear glasses. Believe me it went into the design process.

The Respirators, whether they are full or half face do not impede the fit of glasses on one's face.

And, a Respirator is most assuredly necessary whether you are spraying waterbased, waterborne, Enamel, Lacquer, Acrylic, Automotive or any other chemical makeup of paint.

When I write a tutorial I impart the methods I use for a process but I won't spend my time fighting people once they've stated they don't think certain steps are necessary.

Some want to take shortcuts and some search happily to go the extra mile for better results.

If you are only painting one Model a year then go ahead and paint in the Kitchen if you care to,

But,

If you are the kind of guy who is always adding tools to your shop, then get and wear a Respirator approved for the type paint you use.

Perhaps this thread being in the General Section is the reason more seasoned Builders are not weighing in on this issue.

Just get you a Drop Down or Half Face Respirator from Home Depot approved for Automotive Urethane Paints and the use of all other types of paints will fall under and into those safety requirements.

About $22 to $30, with replaceable cartridges and you are good to go.

Keep the Respirator in its original bag or a gallon Ziploc out of direct sunlight.

CadillacPat

[trogdor]

This has been an excellent thred an very interesting to read all the comments BUT you have all forgotten one thing and that is, if you where eye glasses to help you see better like do when it comes to spraying of any type and using a respirator you basicly have to spray half blind as the arms of the eye glasses hold parts of the respirator out from your skin thus allowing small quantities of paint dust through This may seem small potatoes to you or anyone else that doesn't wear eye glasses BUT rst assured after spending a morning or afternoon spraying you are soon coughing, spluttering and gasping for fresh clean air so if you use eye glasses think about it and take care as well. This comes from a person who experienced months of pain in limb joints and couldn't work out why.

Dingo

I use a molded silicone half mask. I take my glasses off put on the mask them put my glasses back on. No air leaks, and no problems at all.

[Hawk312]

I`ll throw my $.02 in here because I recently had concerns about what spraying hundreds of models in the past couple decades might be doing to my health.

I`ve been using duplicolor for a loooonnnnggg time now....hundreds of cans. Rarely a respirator used. I`ve even sprayed entire cars with this stuff. I am definitely not condoning this though. If I had it to do over, I would definitely have wore a respirator more often.

Anyway, I recently had a chest x-ray for something unrelated. I explained my history to the doctor because I was concerned about what my spray painting habits may be doing to my lungs, and he really didn`t care too much about how many time I had been exposed to chemicals or spray paints. He was much more concerned about whether or not I was a regular smoker. He also said our bodies have ways of renewing and cleaning out "bad" stuff from our system over time.

I`m not saying we shouldn`t take precautions. I definitely wear my respirator more often now. But like GrandpaMcGurk said, I think there are much more immediate concerns we need to worry about. What soda, candy, and what they hand us at McDonalds does to our health should be much more concerning than our periodic use of duplicolor (or any other brand) spray paints, IMO.

My $.02, for what it is worth.