I am about to remove and replace the delaminated cockpit in my 1970
Coronado 15 daysailer. I drilled an exploratory hole and the odor during
drilling smells real sharp, so I am guessing it's polyester. My question is:
during the routing out and sanding of polyester, or for that matter epoxy,
should I wear my respirator or is a sanding dust mask adequate?
Thanks
Respirator while sanding
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Dave, 397
Personally, I do either depending on how much dust I'm raising. A dust mask ("nose bag") doesn't seal to the face real well, so I usually opt for the respirator if it's a confined space or if I'm really raising a ton of fine dust. Glass dust, once imbedded in the lungs, tends to hang on for a very very long time. I'd ask the old guys who retired from uniflite years ago, but most of 'em haven't been here for some time already...Ahem!
A couple of thoughts on the respirator---I just wear my regular chemical/paint respirator for this. It's good to remember how important it is to keep the cartridges dated and bagged...the activated carbon in them is good for about 90 days once you unseal the package. When I buy a new pair, I date them with a sharpie for when to throw 'em out. Then, when not in use I keep them in a heavy-guage ziploc bag out of which I roll as much air as possible before sealing.
One problem with 'glass dust and respirator carts is the tendency to pack up tight in no time. Many brands of respirator involve an optional dust pad or "prefilter" that goes under a little snapped-on screen attached to the ambient-world side of the cart. These do pretty well, and I have found I can extend their life somewhat by placing a single thickness of cheap paper towel (not the good stuff! Too thick!) on top of the prefilter pad.
It's also important to have a good respirator fit. Good respirators come in multiple sizes, and you can find a fair price on a quality one at a commercial autobody suppy or industrial safety supply house. Facial hair (beards in particular) interfere's with the respirator's seal. Greasing the beard down with vaseline, nasty as it may be, is one way to help the seal...yick, but I have done it!
Another trick that is worth doing, is to put vaseline under and above your eyes before grinding. Traps the fine dust pretty well--glass itch in the eyes is unpleasant!
I wear eyeglasses and as a result have had little success with full-mask respirators. Not just fogging, but the temples of the glasses create a small leak in each side of the mask which then becomes a small venturi (!) when you start to exert and breathe heavier. If you do not wear glasses, and the budget allows, a full mask is nice.
Regardless of the configuration, buy your respirator in a common brand, and be sure that there is a dealer nearby to you where you can purchase replacement cartridges. Seems like most brands take different carts and do not interchange. I have survivair-brand myself...used to also have a 3m or two, but they have taken to periodically discontinuing models and obsoleting all the replacement parts so they can sell more respirators...forget that!
Of course if a guy is going to be doing a lot of sanding and grinding, a fresh-air apparatus like Tim's would be a nice thing to have and a good investment in comfort for sure...if I could afford one, I'd not be messing with respirators and vaseline!
Oh...one last thought on respirators. DO NOT share your respirator with anyone save for your partner with whom you swap germs all the time! The mask can hold quite a bit of bacteria. I had a guy working in the shop once who--well, you never knew where he'd been. Periodically, if his carts were packed with overspray and he couldn't be bothered, he'd just grab another mask at random out of the paint locker (if you use the thing everyday, you just leave the carts on it and replace them monthly) and have at it. Fortunately he had paint-stripper breath, so one had warning as soon as mask was close to nose! 3 cheers for Lysol!!!! (hehe)
Dave
A couple of thoughts on the respirator---I just wear my regular chemical/paint respirator for this. It's good to remember how important it is to keep the cartridges dated and bagged...the activated carbon in them is good for about 90 days once you unseal the package. When I buy a new pair, I date them with a sharpie for when to throw 'em out. Then, when not in use I keep them in a heavy-guage ziploc bag out of which I roll as much air as possible before sealing.
One problem with 'glass dust and respirator carts is the tendency to pack up tight in no time. Many brands of respirator involve an optional dust pad or "prefilter" that goes under a little snapped-on screen attached to the ambient-world side of the cart. These do pretty well, and I have found I can extend their life somewhat by placing a single thickness of cheap paper towel (not the good stuff! Too thick!) on top of the prefilter pad.
It's also important to have a good respirator fit. Good respirators come in multiple sizes, and you can find a fair price on a quality one at a commercial autobody suppy or industrial safety supply house. Facial hair (beards in particular) interfere's with the respirator's seal. Greasing the beard down with vaseline, nasty as it may be, is one way to help the seal...yick, but I have done it!
Another trick that is worth doing, is to put vaseline under and above your eyes before grinding. Traps the fine dust pretty well--glass itch in the eyes is unpleasant!
I wear eyeglasses and as a result have had little success with full-mask respirators. Not just fogging, but the temples of the glasses create a small leak in each side of the mask which then becomes a small venturi (!) when you start to exert and breathe heavier. If you do not wear glasses, and the budget allows, a full mask is nice.
Regardless of the configuration, buy your respirator in a common brand, and be sure that there is a dealer nearby to you where you can purchase replacement cartridges. Seems like most brands take different carts and do not interchange. I have survivair-brand myself...used to also have a 3m or two, but they have taken to periodically discontinuing models and obsoleting all the replacement parts so they can sell more respirators...forget that!
Of course if a guy is going to be doing a lot of sanding and grinding, a fresh-air apparatus like Tim's would be a nice thing to have and a good investment in comfort for sure...if I could afford one, I'd not be messing with respirators and vaseline!
Oh...one last thought on respirators. DO NOT share your respirator with anyone save for your partner with whom you swap germs all the time! The mask can hold quite a bit of bacteria. I had a guy working in the shop once who--well, you never knew where he'd been. Periodically, if his carts were packed with overspray and he couldn't be bothered, he'd just grab another mask at random out of the paint locker (if you use the thing everyday, you just leave the carts on it and replace them monthly) and have at it. Fortunately he had paint-stripper breath, so one had warning as soon as mask was close to nose! 3 cheers for Lysol!!!! (hehe)
Dave
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David
<<Of course if a guy is going to be doing a lot of sanding and grinding, a fresh-air apparatus like Tim's would be a nice thing to have and a good investment in comfort for sure...if I could afford one, I'd not be messing with respirators and vaseline!>>
What is the apparatus Tim is using? Inquiring minds etc...
David
What is the apparatus Tim is using? Inquiring minds etc...
David
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Tim
- Shipwright Extraordinaire
- Posts: 5708
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2003 6:39 pm
- Boat Name: Glissando
- Boat Type: Pearson Triton
- Location: Whitefield, ME
- Contact:
Dust masks are for nuisance dust only. For any sort of real mess, use a good respirator. You only get one set of lungs, so take care of them! I like the 3M respirators, like the 7000 series.
These use a prefilter over the carbon cartridge. I think 90 days is really pushing it for the carbon, even if just sitting around...and using it will of course wear it out quicker. Better to err a bit on the side of caution. When I install a new cartridge and prefilter, I typically change the cheap paper prefilter once or twice per cartridge before trashing the cartridge and starting over. Again, it depends on the use. Cartridges are not cheap, but they're cheaper than an iron lung or chemo!
I'll explain my supplied air system in a separate post.
"And remember. The most important safety rule is to wear these, safety glasses"...Norm Abram
I cringe when I watch the guys on the current slate of TV shows cut wood or metal or whatever with no safety glasses on. I like my eyes and find them rather useful on a daily basis. I've been hit square in the glasses by more than one stray piece of wood or whatever, so they're sure worth wearing. And they look way cool, too! (not!)
These use a prefilter over the carbon cartridge. I think 90 days is really pushing it for the carbon, even if just sitting around...and using it will of course wear it out quicker. Better to err a bit on the side of caution. When I install a new cartridge and prefilter, I typically change the cheap paper prefilter once or twice per cartridge before trashing the cartridge and starting over. Again, it depends on the use. Cartridges are not cheap, but they're cheaper than an iron lung or chemo!
I'll explain my supplied air system in a separate post.
"And remember. The most important safety rule is to wear these, safety glasses"...Norm Abram
I cringe when I watch the guys on the current slate of TV shows cut wood or metal or whatever with no safety glasses on. I like my eyes and find them rather useful on a daily basis. I've been hit square in the glasses by more than one stray piece of wood or whatever, so they're sure worth wearing. And they look way cool, too! (not!)
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-
Tim
- Shipwright Extraordinaire
- Posts: 5708
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2003 6:39 pm
- Boat Name: Glissando
- Boat Type: Pearson Triton
- Location: Whitefield, ME
- Contact:
SUPPLIED AIR RESPIRATOR SYSTEM
The purchase of a Willson 6000 series supplied air respirator system moved me into a new era of comfort and safety in the shop. In its most general sense, the system pulls fresh air from an outside source and provides it to the user through a full-facepiece mask, much like a SCOT air pack or SCUBA gear.
The system consists of a Gast 1/3hp air pump, 50' of 3/8" supplied air hose, Willson 6000 series silicone full facemask with ratchet adjustment system, 3' of corrugated, flexible air hose for connection to the mask, and a webbed belt to which the hose clips to help keep it out of the way of the user, and to support its weight. The mask can also be used like a typical cartridge respirator if the supplied blanks are removed and cartridges installed in their place. The pump has a pressure release valve to prevent damage if the pump runs without the air hose attached at both ends, and a dust filter.
Additional (extra) equipment needed to help the system run at its most efficient and best are a length of intake extension hose, which allows the air intake to be located in a remote area outside the shop (while the compressor remains inside), and a remote-control switch designed for dust collection systems, which allows the compressor to be turned on and off at will from the boat, or any location inside the shop.
Operation is as simple as connecting the air supply hose and turning the pump on. It delivers a continual flow of fresh air (dependant on the intake location) to the user wearing the mask, and provides a fresh, cool flow that eliminated fogging in the facepiece as well.
To enhance the system, make it safer, and to allow for increased functionality, I added several accessories. First and foremost, I immediately saw the need for an air inlet extension. The standard inlet was mounted directly on the pump, which meant that for safe operation the pump would have to always be mounted outside, or somewhere there was a steady supply of uncontaminated air. To combat this problem, I installed a 25' length of air intake hose, which allowed me to run the inlet filter outside where there was plenty of fresh air. At this writing, I do not have my permanent setup figured out yet and simply run the inlet hose thorugh an open window when needed. I expect to eventually install it semi-permanently.
I mounted the pump on a nice plywood platform, complete with handles for ease of portability. A brief trial use of the system shortly after I purchased it showed a need for some sort of remote switching device, so that I could turn the pump on and off from the boat, or wherever I happened to be. To accomplish this, I purchased a Long Ranger remote control switch intended for use with dust collection systems. It's a simple infrared setup with a remote control; you simply plug the device (the pump, in this case) into the unit and plug the unit into the outlet.
The purchase of a Willson 6000 series supplied air respirator system moved me into a new era of comfort and safety in the shop. In its most general sense, the system pulls fresh air from an outside source and provides it to the user through a full-facepiece mask, much like a SCOT air pack or SCUBA gear.
The system consists of a Gast 1/3hp air pump, 50' of 3/8" supplied air hose, Willson 6000 series silicone full facemask with ratchet adjustment system, 3' of corrugated, flexible air hose for connection to the mask, and a webbed belt to which the hose clips to help keep it out of the way of the user, and to support its weight. The mask can also be used like a typical cartridge respirator if the supplied blanks are removed and cartridges installed in their place. The pump has a pressure release valve to prevent damage if the pump runs without the air hose attached at both ends, and a dust filter.
Additional (extra) equipment needed to help the system run at its most efficient and best are a length of intake extension hose, which allows the air intake to be located in a remote area outside the shop (while the compressor remains inside), and a remote-control switch designed for dust collection systems, which allows the compressor to be turned on and off at will from the boat, or any location inside the shop.
Operation is as simple as connecting the air supply hose and turning the pump on. It delivers a continual flow of fresh air (dependant on the intake location) to the user wearing the mask, and provides a fresh, cool flow that eliminated fogging in the facepiece as well.
To enhance the system, make it safer, and to allow for increased functionality, I added several accessories. First and foremost, I immediately saw the need for an air inlet extension. The standard inlet was mounted directly on the pump, which meant that for safe operation the pump would have to always be mounted outside, or somewhere there was a steady supply of uncontaminated air. To combat this problem, I installed a 25' length of air intake hose, which allowed me to run the inlet filter outside where there was plenty of fresh air. At this writing, I do not have my permanent setup figured out yet and simply run the inlet hose thorugh an open window when needed. I expect to eventually install it semi-permanently.
I mounted the pump on a nice plywood platform, complete with handles for ease of portability. A brief trial use of the system shortly after I purchased it showed a need for some sort of remote switching device, so that I could turn the pump on and off from the boat, or wherever I happened to be. To accomplish this, I purchased a Long Ranger remote control switch intended for use with dust collection systems. It's a simple infrared setup with a remote control; you simply plug the device (the pump, in this case) into the unit and plug the unit into the outlet.
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-
BillA
Thanks
Thanks,
I'll just use the respirator. My employer has us trained and fit checked at work, and we can check out respirators for home use. So the cartridges
are free. They would rather us use their equipment then getting seriously ill or dying. Mine's a North 7700.
Thanks again for all the information. The deck came off in about 1/2 hour!
-Bill A in Tacoma
I'll just use the respirator. My employer has us trained and fit checked at work, and we can check out respirators for home use. So the cartridges
are free. They would rather us use their equipment then getting seriously ill or dying. Mine's a North 7700.
Thanks again for all the information. The deck came off in about 1/2 hour!
-Bill A in Tacoma