The Complete Respirator And Safety Guide

[Rid3r]

Sean, you should add spray paint to the list. I read somewhere that it can be dangerous even in well-ventilated areas (well, pretty much everything on the list can).

 

[Sean Bradley]

These hazardous materials include but are not limited to:

I think it's important to remember that before I wrote this up there was scant information about safety here on the 405th. I did my best to put it all together into one easy to access tutorial. It does sound like there renewed interest here though. Perhaps it's time for an expansion of this tutorial? I never appointed myself as safety officer.. anyone can fill in the blanks here...

I can't stress this stuff enough here people. If you're taking shorcuts you're taking risks.. and every once in a while you'll end up paying the price for that. If you aren't following the safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of the products that you're using.. how can I expect that you'll listen to my advice?

I'm always concerned with everyones safety here, but theres only so much that I can do to emphasize that you use these products responsibly. Every time someone drops by and suggests that you don't need to go to such lengths to protect yourself it erases all the progress that I've been making towards everyones safety awareness.

Short of making irresponsible use of these materials a bannable offense, I'm not sure how I can enforce proper safety..

I'm very sorry to hear of your ailment BlacRose Immortal. Eye safety is covered in this tutorial.. and I'm positive that Dremel covers the dangers of their product in their instruction manual. You took a risk and paid that price.. I just hope that this lesson wasn't too painfully learned.

Get well.

 

[BlacRoseImmortal]

I knew the safety rules, I was just being lazy lol. But I'll take the extra 20 seconds to gear up properly from now on :]

Once this blasted cough goes away I'll start sanding again, WITH the right safety gear

 

[xli0nheart]

I have a question. Lets say you're cutting fiberglass mat in prep for it to be used in the costume.
It hadnt touched resin or anything.
is the dust that comes out of the fiberglass mat as you're cutting it toxic?

 

[xli0nheart]

well, i was cutting the fiberglass mat inside today, and as i was cutting i saw some powderish stuff coming out.
i was wondering if that stuff is toxic

but if you say that its as safe as any cloth to cut, i'm assuming i'll be perfectly fine, right?
Because i might've inhaled some of that crap i saw floating around.

 

[Sean Bradley]

The dust you saw is fine particulate glass (silica), and yes it is toxic. Try not to breathe any more of it in the future eh?

Please follow the manufacturers health and safety precautions.

 

[docbytes]

The dust you saw is fine particulate glass (silica), and yes it is toxic. Try not to breathe any more of it in the future eh?

Please follow the manufacturers health and safety precautions.

Sorry I was wrong, I have never noticed a dust coming off striaght cloth before.

BUT

"fiberglass cloth consist of bulk, chopped fibers or continuous strands of glass. Fiberglass is used in reinforcing plastics and composites as well as other specialized electrical and thermal application" I will have to be more careful in the future of the cloth, though I use remix and jelly mostly

So yes..... very bad

Edit: removed

 

[xli0nheart]

crap, alright.
thanks.

Think vacuuming the room i worked with it in is enough? Or is there still particles of the crap floating around?

 

[Sean Bradley]

Minor exposure isn't enough to warrant a health risk, but the more you are exposed, the more risk you take.

Vacuum or sweep up the area while wearing yoru respirator, and in the future, wear your respirator whenever handling hazardous materials.

 

[Intimidazor]

No joel, you will suffocate and die alot if you do that. :$

Basically there isn't enough capacity in your lungs to draw new air into the tube, and to push the CO2 out.. the Co2 will continue to build in the length of the tube until you pass out from asphyxiation.

The filters don't have to be changed daily or anything... maybe once every 6 months or so.. is it that unbearable?

No disrespect, because that can happen, but since the respirator has another valve, you wouldn't be breathing back into the tubes again, just the one way valve.

 

[Sean Bradley]

Tube systems work with forced air... you're still not going to pull enough oxygen through. Besides whats the point if you're already investing on a respirator?

Fact checking my old posts eh?

 

[Doo 2000]

this topic is different in a strange way, because NO other forums i went to for building stuff went into THIS much detail on the hazardous materials. I am glad that everybody is concerned soo much.

Page is now BOOKMARKED!

 

[rvb4life]

auto body forums should, they are at more risk.

and reduce your signature, your bound to get in trouble for that.

 

[joshyboy310589]

hey guys, im kinda new to the whole forum thing here so I apologise for the noobness. But maybe ive missed it somewhere or im not looking hard enough but i have some concerns on health hazards when actualy wearing the helmat and/or suit, now i know its a good idea to add vents and fanedge, thats all good and sorted but my question is with all the reson and fiberglass and paint on the inside of the helmat, or entire suit for that matter, are there any health issues invloved with wearing the it, other then over heating and cooking yourself. as in maybe chemical inhalation inside the helmat from...say the fiberglass resins or so. or is it completely safe to wear once its finished apart from the heating problems.
oh woops i forgot to metion that im not molding it im juz gonna use peps then fiberglass sheet and resin it, and of corse a touch of paint for the completed coolness. if there are threads discussing this in detail or as best as our intel has uncovered then let me know.

thanx heeps guys, keep up the freeeeeeeeeeee(100years later)eeeeeking awsome prodjects
UNSC/Sierra117 over. {--- soz i know... lame.

 

[Loess]

hey guys, im kinda new to the whole forum thing here so I apologise for the noobness. But maybe ive missed it somewhere or im not looking hard enough but i have some concerns on health hazards when actualy wearing the helmat and/or suit, now i know its a good idea to add vents and fanedge, thats all good and sorted but my question is with all the reson and fiberglass and paint on the inside of the helmat, or entire suit for that matter, are there any health issues invloved with wearing the it, other then over heating and cooking yourself. as in maybe chemical inhalation inside the helmat from...say the fiberglass resins or so. or is it completely safe to wear once its finished apart from the heating problems.
oh woops i forgot to metion that im not molding it im juz gonna use peps then fiberglass sheet and resin it, and of corse a touch of paint for the completed coolness. if there are threads discussing this in detail or as best as our intel has uncovered then let me know.

thanx heeps guys, keep up the freeeeeeeeeeee(100years later)eeeeeking awsome prodjects
UNSC/Sierra117 over. {--- soz i know... lame.

If you properly mixed all the resin and bondo, and make sure to fully wet-out the fiberglass when applying it, then vacuum all the sanding dust out of your armor, you should be fine. You are going to want to set anything that you applied resin, bondo, or paint to somewhere that it can out-gas, like in a garage that gets opened a couple times a day, or outside somewhere that it's out of the weather. That lets all the vapors that will be coming off of the armor the first few weeks get out safely.

Generally, fully cured resin and bondo are pretty safe to handle.

 

[publicprivates]

hey, long time lurker first time poster, was wondering if anybody knew if it was okay to use a gas mask instead of a respirator, my gas mask just has a filter thingy in the front.

 

[Akademee]

I have a small dilemma, amazingly, I could not find an organic filter respirator at my local Home Depot. But I did find something specially designed for hazardous vapors. I do not have a picture of it, but it looks like a simple white dust mask. But there is a surprise hidden inside!! ZOMGAR!!

there is a thin carbon filter sandwiched between the two outer dust catching layers. I wanted to post this here because I want to hear from an experienced person if this is safe or not. Personally, I do not gamble with my safety a lot, although all I use for my airbrushing is a T-shirt wrapped around me head for protection.

just for informational purposes and the lack of a picture, here is the text on the box

on the front:
3M
Paint odor Respirator
Use for: Latex painting
Carbon layer for odor reduction
advanced filter media for easier breathing
NIOSH Approved: R95

on the back panel:
use for: particles such as those from grinding, sanding, sweeping, sawing, bagging, or processing minerals, coal, iron ore, flour, wood, pollen, and certain other substances. Liquid or oil based particles from sprays that do not emit harmful vapors. Nuisance level organic vapor relief*.

*3M recommended for relief against nuisance level organic vapors. Nuisance level organic vapors refers to concentrations not exceeding OSHA PEL or applicable government occupational exposure limits, which ever is lower. Do not use for protection against organic vapors

Do Not use for: Paint Sprays, gases, arsenic, cadmium, lead, 4-4-methylene dianiline (MDA), asbestos or sandblasting. when particle concentration exceed 10 times the PEL/OEL, specific OSHA standards, or other applicable government regulations, whichever is lower. do not use when organic vapor concentrations exceed the OSHA PEL or other applicable exposure limits, whichever is lower. This respirator does not supply oxygen. [lol duh! ]

Time use limitation: If respirator becomes damage, soiled, or breathing becomes difficult, leave the contaminated area immediately and replace the respirator. if oil aerosols are present, time use may be restricted to 8 hours of continuous or intermittent use. This respirator contains no components made from natural rubber latex.

NIOSH Approved: R95
at least 95% efficiency against solid and liquid aerosols including oils


I do not know, what do you all think?

 

[Sean Bradley]

Well, I feel bad that you wrote up such a long description, but the short answer is no.

I'm sure it's better than wearing nothing at all, but those activated carbon masks do not filter out vapors or fumes.

The back of the package says it all:

Use for: Latex painting

Do not use for protection against organic vapors

So, you could maybe use that one for when you're sanding, but you're still going to need one of these:

Linky

or one of these:

Linky

Both are backordered online. Print those product pages, and take that with you next time you go there. Walk up to customer service and slap the printout down on the counter.

 

[Akademee]

ok, I just thought that is was the carbon that filtered out the organic vapors, and i don't know the difference between the fumes of latex paint versus resin fumes.

 

[Dizzerak]

Let me start by saying, no matter how cool your armor is, you won't be able to enjoy it from a hospital bed. Don't ever take the cheap or lazy way when it comes to your health.





SUGGESTION: This thread should be titled: MUST READ AND FOLLOW or NOOBS, READ HERE FIRST!



#1 SAFTEY

#2 QUALITY

#3 PRODUCTION



in that order...



...and thanks for looking out for everyones safety...it is much appreciated.