Medication for epoxy sensatisation

Correct, its not nearly as good as epoxy on wood, but can be made to work better than expected.

Waterproof is a relative term, different products and procedures need to be used to get to the same point.

Epoxy bonds to it very well.

Polyester is typically much easier to work with in the building process, but again, when using it on wood you need to pay attention.

 

Well, I can't afford a $1000 exchanger system... Especially for such a small space that has one side open. Thank you for your advice, but I think the best I can do for now is a very strong fan. There are a few ventilation holes at the back wall of the garage, by the roof. I could place a fan near them.

 

It would be much better to put a standing fan at the big door of your building and force air across the work, into and not out. This would create much better exchange.

 

You mean, blowing air inwards?? That would also blow in the dust from the yard (there are tons of it in the air), effectively ruining all the epoxy operations...

 

You need air to change. If you blow air out from the back of the shop; that is not as good as blasting fresh air in, but better than nothing. My fan is running today in that spot, but I have a/c here.

A fan at the back of the shop will blow some air out of the building and the air will come in around the door...so you will still get dusts. But you need air changes in your building.

 

Well, I suppose I can get myself a fan, and try it out in several positions in the shop with some smoke sticks to see which location is most effective...

 

Epoxy is not a solvent based chemical, the necessary filters are nothing special, class A is sufficient. Since you are also working with fiberglass and different fillers, a particle filter is also recommended (class P). Both filters should have at least level 2 protection. The filter cartridge should bear the designation A2P2 or higher (A3P3). Colour code is white/brown. This are common filters available for any commercial mask and should be cheap enough. If not, you already know my standard advice, buy in Poland. You use them until breathing becomes harder compared to a new one (particle filter is full) or you can smell something (gas filter is degraded).
Since you are already sensitive I recommend a full face mask. You need to try the mask on for fit, not every mask fits any faceform. If you wear glasses you are stuck with half face masks unless you buy yourself a pince-nez frame.
Gloves should be vinyl or nitrile. Buy the thickest one you can find, usually the black ones marketed to automotive mechanics.
Forearms should be protected, at least by a protective cream (also sold for mechanics) and/or long sleeves. You can buy tyvek forearm protectors wich keep your forearms clean.
When working, wear a closed neck shirt, not a wide open one. Go to Decathlon and buy one of the high neck UV protection shirts with long arms (watersports department). Sew yourself some forearm protectors from old clothes to wear over it (sh store, old jeans or even better, cut the arms from a rainjacket, fit elastic bands at both ends). When they become stiff with dry epoxy make new ones.
You should also wear something on your head, hat, scarf, beret, whatever you like. Keeps the hair clean and absorbs sweat from your forehead.

 

Wouldn't it be better to give the space positive pressure? That way, you can filter the air blowing in, and positive pressure prevents outside, unfiltered air from coming in.
Or
You probably mean to suck the interior, bad air, out, but that draws unfiltered air from outside in. Not a problem, but if it's dusty outside, it will come in.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

You may not have read my entire post.

Negative pressure is required if the shop is connected to a living a space.

The OP then responded saying it wasn't connected to a living space.

So no need for negative pressure.

The best systems draw in filtered air and expell air that's filtered again.

Using negative pressure is the only way to collect all the contaminates before they escape the space.

 

I have no experience I only read about this here (Epoxy Sensitivity http://www.fram.nl/workshop/controlled_vacuum_infusion/allergy.htm). These were my takeaways:

Epoxy will always contain traces of uncured epoxy and hardener. And the hardeners are probably pretty much the same in all products.

I've read that using skin cream as a protective layer helps. That silicon gloves don't help but can actually exacerbate because the hardener goes through. And that even nitrile won't protect you fully. So that it's best to wear cotton gloves then nitrile gloves. Always wash the clothes you worked with afterwards. Maybe installing a kind of downdraft ventilation in your workspace might help. Do you also use a P3 particle filter?

Or an air supply that takes fresh air from outside and feeds it to your mask and doesn't have to be heavily filtered (but still filtered) and keeps you cool. Maybe if you build a kind of overhead gantry so you can move around freely. Like a DIY biohazard lab. Then a shower when you exit the workshop to wash off any dust before you get out. Maybe a kind of rucksack with ice packs that can keep you cool. I kind of like the idea of building an environmental suit that is comfortably fitting.

Maybe polyurethane resin might be an alternative? But it's more expensive and might have the same or worse issues.

And I'd reconsider switching from wood to foam and use vacuum infusion.

PS: Again I have no experiences so don't take this as proper advice.

 

I can't say that surprises me. I guess the term "dermatitis" technically covers any inflammation of the skin. The puzzling thing, is you say it has appeared on skin that has not been exposed, which may cast doubt on whatever you were using as a barrier to direct exposure. Some people are allergic to latex gloves, for example.

 

That puzzle is covered in the article I quoted in post 18; the effects of epoxy sensitization are random, not necessarily aligned with areas or time of exposure.

 

Thank you both for the advice. I will try to implement as much of it as I can, but my options are very limited. Full suit or even full clothing is often impossible because of the risk of heat stroke. My garage can get ridiculously hot, up to the point where I'm drinking water in gallons, sweating like a pig, and still being on the point of passing out. Especially when doing difficult manual labor (sawing, planing, sanding, etc.). Which is why I often cannot even wear full face mask or safety goggles - they fog up in seconds, making me blind. What haven't I tried to prevent fogging... So in essence, I have to wear as little as I can, with closed neck or long sleeve shirt or any kind of scarf/hat being out of the question. But I already ordered PR88 cream, and I will try to make up with it on all exposed areas. And I am ordering some level 2 filters from Poland. A 60W fan is also on the way, which I will try at several spots in my workshop and see which spot provides best ventilation with least dust intake. Extremely cramped space, dust storms in the backyard, heat waves, poor construction of that garage and neighbor complaint considerations make it really difficult to implement proper working space.

 

If it is so bad with the heat (black metal roof?) you need to do something against it. Do you have main line electricity in the garage?

 

No, but the whole yard is like a bowl or something, it concentrates heat really bad. And the white building just in front of the garage reflects the sun... I think. I am not entirely sure.

I have a regular 220V (single phase) running from the apartment. I did consider installing AC, but it wouldn't help much because it's impossible to work with garage gates closed due to space restrictions, and with open gates it would be just throwing money in the air...