Thread: paint saftey question

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I am planning on painting my 29 model a with a urethane paint.... I talked to a local painter today and I was telling him I was planning on doing it myself and wanted a little advice.... I had told him I was going to buy a fresh air hood since I have a gotee... he told me that he does alot of side jobs in his back yard.. he has a 10x12x9 protable garage ( a materal stretched over a frame) he said that he puts a tarp to cover the grass then tapes the gaps on the sides and ceiling, he then puts a box fan in the door way with a house hold air filter in the inside (blowing in) then he has a blower/exhaust fan that moves 2200 cfms which he puts on the back of the garage blowing out.... he told me that it is plenty of ventilation like that and I can wear just a activated charcoal respirator... and that I could probably just trim my gotee back to where the mask sits against my skin..... and since I am only painting one car I would be fine since that is all he uses and paints cars all the time.... he also told me I can apply the high build primer outside put two coats on ... don't worry about debris since I will be block sanding it anyway... I just wanted some other opinions on this... especially if this system he uses will really be enough as far as ventilation and if the charcoal filter would be enough?? he said If I wanted I can borrow his fans so all Id have to buy is the temporary garage (around 300 dollars) and the face mask..and the garage would come in handy for storeing my 1992 mustang ..since it is under a cover outside ... the 29 took its place in the garage... any opinions on this and my saftey ??

thanks
simon

You asked for opinions..... first, a 10 x12 x9 space is pretty tight for a car.....in all three dimensions. I will be similar to painting in an elevator and the hose is going to be in the way or kinked.

Second, in a tight space, the box fan will be blowing directly on something and the exhaust fan will be pulling air faster at one end of the car than the other....I think a balanced flow is better....a bigger room helps the flow. I personally feel too restricted when painting in a two-car garage. I painted Imron last weekend in a room with a 14 ft ceiling, two pusher fans that were 25 ft away and a 48" exhaust fan. With a respirator, the fumes were still something I could smell although not bad.

A home air filter can be decent or terrible....the filters with the punched round holes (bottle cap web scrap) and fiberglass that you can see thru will pass stuff like sanding dust. Get a filter rated at least MERV 5 or so...higher the number, the smaller particles it will trap. Use the filter that you cannot see thru...like the white 3M jobs.

If you put it on a box fan air supply, you have to tape it all around. Then, most cheapie box fans do not have enough head pressure to overcome more than perhaps 0.1 inches of water resistance...not much of an air supply. The box fan is probably only a small portion of the supply if the outgoing fan is quite a bit larger.

Regarding primer...I personally think that every coat should be as clean as possible...even if you sand it.

Make sure you really wet everything down to hold the dust.

Test your plastic building before you go too far to see how much dust it attracts due to static buildup......if you have a ceiling with a lot of dust stuck to it, some of it is going to fall during the paint job.....

Good luck

okay thanks for the advice.... I think I will get a bigger shelter, also after talking with the painter again today, he said that if I was worried about the fan blowing across the car as mentioned I could maybe do with out it if I got a shelter with 2-3 vents in it and covered them with some paint booth filters then use his exhaust fan that pushes 2200 cfm's (also he said it has a 20 foot hose that connects to it) he said that would probably work well... he said it would create a sort of negative pressure... I also decided that I am going to buy a fresh air system then when done with it I could just sell it.... any thoughts on this?? would it work with the exhaust fan only... pulling air through the vents/filters??

thanks
simon

Once you breath the isocyanates from the hardener, your body never gets rid of them. I have heard from dozens of sources that a charcoal mask simply will not stop them. I would not take the chance.

I use only an exhaust fan to pull air through filters, with the air sources in the two corners opposite the fan. Everything I paint gets sanded and buffed, so a little orange peel is not a big deal....But if you are trying for an acceptable finish without that step, you had better be able to move enough air to keep the overspray cleared out.

i allways knew the mask did not stop much . i have been sick from isocyanates to many times .it is bad stuff . when you work with this stuff day in and out it adds up .it is nothing to play with i still think it has more then abit to do with some of my so so heath i have try not to think much about it. if you have the money buy a fresh air system .i used the 3m mask were your just threw the mask away i put it back in the zip bag. if i did a big job i threw the mask away or used it if i was grinding on glass filler .were i work we had not the best boths some were home made and had a low cfm pull any more then you were sucking the dirt from out of the shop .for many years i used a box fan in a window .with the shop door open a wee bit . then it was cleared out it was ready for a nother coat on . i did have a house fan out of a old furnace that i had some tin bent up to put it out a window

isocyanates also go towards moisture , ( Like your eyes ) if you buy a charcoal mask buy a full face one like 3m sells . and purchase some extra tearoffs that go over the shield to keep overspray off !!!

I have decided that it is not worth the risk so I am going to buy a fresh air hood..... I can get one with a 25 foot hose for 359.00 ... is that a long enough hose?? I will be priming in the open ... only my base and clear will be done in a enclosure....

thanks
simon

kids.........pets..........neighbors ????????

Like shine said , you better make sure everything is out of the way , as that primer overspray will float a long ways and sticks to everything , and is still harmful to you & your surroundings !

yep a LLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG WAAAAAAAAAAAAY nothing like trying to get over spray off cars .cats and kids

Yes I have a dog and neighbors... no kids yet..... so I should do it all under the shelter? okay then time to spend some money... I want to get this done be the end of septmeber.. so I better get on the ball.... I appriciate all the help everyone is giving me....

one phone call and you are in a world of trouble . there's a reason we have to spend all this money on equipment for safety. wait til you see the fines and what a neighbor can do to you for endangering their lives by stupidity . put that cloud over my family and i'd sue you to the stone age . this aint lacquer your playing with.

SO how much are you planning to spend for equipment and materials?


Bill S.

Originally Posted by mrmustang

SO how much are you planning to spend for equipment and materials?


Bill S.

I estimate it to be 1600.00 - 2000.00

well thanks to everyone for there input and I have ordered a fresh air system and upgraded to a 50' foot hose.... I figure my makeshift booth is going to be 20 feet long so that would put the pump right outside the enclosure...(with a 25' hose) now it can be atleast 15 feet away or so... I figure I will put it on the fresh air side where my vents will be... then the exhaust fan pushing 2475 cfm's will be on the back side with a 10 foot hose on it exhausting 10 feet from the enclosure so my pump should be about 45 feet from where the fumes will be exhausted... that should be safe shouldn't it??

thanks again
simon