Do you wear a respirator when working with less than a gallon of epoxy?

Its you health so you do what you want when your body has had enough it will tell you

I would wear a respirator when doing any kind of grinding sanding or in a place where there is dust . breathing is just a part of the problem its skin contact as well . the finer the dush the worse it can be Our skin is like blotting paper and because we sweat so there is moisture then its changes and mixes and reabsorbed into the skin pores and back into your body .
The body is a wonderfull thing and can take an amazing lot is crap for long periods of time but when its had enough it will retaliate and let you know how silly, dumb and stupid you have been to yourself
I have a friend that made inflateable boats and used MEK for cleaning etc etc for years and years now just one whiff and hes sick as a dog.
Epoxy and teak are my two NO NO'S !! teak dust and i have to get up and go off sight . the smell of epoxy and i want to vomit after a few minutes . poly has no effect at all neither does class and resin dust !!

 

Boy I must be a bit weird ( no comment needed) I love the smell of epoxy and I never wear a mask, prefering to allow the natural nasal hair to do its job whilst rolling around under the confined bridge in high mid 30s with sweat and dust in your face is heaven.

Sometimes I do it naked to get a good covering.

Lying in bed itching reminds me of the fun day I just had.

 

Ya Frosty and you had to walk two miles to school, barefeet in the snow, up hill both ways

 

Frosty there certainly is no comment needed, as long as you are having fun - one way or another.

Tunnels - what does MEK have to do with epoxy?

The comment about Styrene has just as much relevance - none.

 

You need to get a bit more good will in ya mr up church.
They happen to be variations on the theme, as in what you might find in a boat yard.
Quite reasonable to add to the mix. Also that epoxy usually is 100% solids so the fumes don't travel like any resins with solvents.
I don't remember measuring epoxy dust in gallons so why don't add Pauls info to your list irrelevancies. Anyhow its all good to hear what ppl have to say about what they wear for what.
As for you tunnels, I think you put some "secret" ingredient in your PE to make boats build faster! Will it work in epoxy? Does make it smell better??
Before you ask- no it ain't finished yet!

 

I have a few gallons thou it's mixed with some wood and glass dust..

 

Thanks for all the things to think about.
I've been working on repairs this month. My first coat had some bumps. I sanded the day after I applied the first coat, and applied a second. I got a small rash on both arms at the top of my gloves. It's gone away after 5 days. I didn't get enough resin on my skin to be sticky.

 

I would take that as a warning shot across the bow. Especially if you want to continue using epoxy. Tyvek overalls taped to your gloves & good filters.
I have had a rash a couple of times over the years- everytime from being slack.
After that I would notice slight congestion a few minutes after walking into my boatshed.

Mask or decent extraction- I would rather have decent extraction any day.

 

The material safety data sheets talk about using water and sprays to reduce dust.

I will go as far as using wet and dry paper and a bucket of water, it certainly keeps the dust down a treat.

 

I use plenty of water for both shop cleaning and surface prep. A floor would be vacuumed then wet mopped. I very very seldom use solvent to clean a surface. Solvent is unhealthy, a fire hazard and a bad habit . Solvent rarely improves bonding.


The local glass gang use standard house doors for work surfaces in their shop. They hinge the door to the shop wall, then rest a few saw horses underneath. When work is over, they remove the saw horses, fold the door flush against the wall. This method reduces dust buildup and cleaning of horizontal surfaces and makes it easy to vacume and mop the floor.

Good quality doors can be bought very cheap at a junkyards for construction material.

 

Roly,

I think you are right about me needing some more good will. It is a personal failure of mine - my daughter gives me "Grumpy" t-shirts every Christmas.

But, the only way we get to have a useful conversation if if everyone keeps to facts. Complaining about polyester when we are talking about epoxy just confuses those who are still trying to find the facts. There are lots of people who come here to try and learn more from "Experts".

Misleading people for no good reason is cruel, useless, and hurts those who want to understand.

Even the occasional joke can really confuse people if they take it serious. Not that I actually want to stop jokes.
Everyone is different about their tolerance for epoxy - I have never had an issue but don't doubt many do. And I have gotten better about protection because of others examples.

 

You would be surprised how some people are not aware to the dangers when working with modern chemicals and boats. I recently saw a crazy man spray painting , with two part paint, the topsides of a small motorboat while wearing no protection.

When I was a kid everything was oil based and stupidity produced less danger.

 

Interesting insn't it that the reason Oil based has mostly gone away is "safety" or "enviornmental safety.

 

I have used a fair bit of epoxy but never really noticed much smell except in confined areas, in that situation i use a carbon filter. The worst fumes i ever experienced were tooling resin (polyester/mma mix) boy does that stink.

 

Environ-Mental-ists even have banned cfc from Primatene bottles. That is going overboard and I wish they would.