Gave Myself Drain Bamage Today

[Delancey]

It's the vapor pressure that makes it smell so good!

Vapor pressure - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[appick]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

Maybe this is why: From the interlux web site on applying primer to epoxy: "Allow three to five days for clear epoxies to cure fully."




Wish I had read that before using West System as a barrier coat.

Wow that sounds unbelievably miserable. I've had to heat gun off old paint from a wooden boat bottom. That is a sucky ass job. I've also had to grease an entire boatyard's worth of jack stands with used motor oil it was my first day working at my family's boatyard. DO you think they were trying to send me a message? No one on here better accuse me of having a silver spoon. I work for my misery!

As to the heat gun on old paint on the wood boat, I've been told and tried using a propane plumbing torch, working it over an area to just bubble the paint was much quicker than the heat gun. However, for obvious reason be careful!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Organic cartridges go bad just sitting out and then don't do anything. 3M always has info about storing, replacing etc.

Very true. Keep your respirator or just it's cartridges in an air tight sealed container when not in use, it prolongs cartridge life. And carts are expensive. I keep half masks in a large Folgers can. Fullface carts get pulled and put in a ziplock.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Harking back to the days when I worked routinely with radioactive materials, half-mask respirators are NEVER approved for use in life threatening atmospheres. The very minimum is a full face respirator with the appropriate cartridges. And at our lab (Lawrence Livermore Nat'l Lab), no facial hair was allowed for folks who worked in hazardous environments. Caused some angst, but an inviolable rule. Vaseline does improve things with beards, but is not reliable enough for serious hazards.

The OP mentioned using "regular" cartridges. This smacks of a particulate filter when he should have been using an organic vapour filter. If so, no wonder it seemed ineffectual!

The wonderful shipwright who built our strip planked boat was youngish and hence invulnerable to that sort of thing. As a result he became so sensitized to epoxies that he can no longer work using serious quantities of such chemicals. Had to build his last yacht with foam and vinylester rather than timber and epoxy... a medium that he hates! A big price to pay for not heeding the warnings (which he was aware of).

So listen up when Minaret (who does this stuff daily) lays down the law!

Cheers,

Jim

Aaww, taking me back to the days of my youth! I wonder if you worked at LL back when I was getting arrested chaining myself to the place with UCB students? The good old days!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by GILow

I often work with paints and chemicals I don't trust (currently I am restoring an old classic mini), so a few years ago I bought a basic face mask with air feed, and then bought a CPAP machine to feed it a positive air pressure.

I would not recommend this for any sort of seriously nasty stuff, like 2 pak paint, but for stuff where they prescribe "good ventilation" it works very well.

The air compressor for the face mask was quoted at something like AU$1K, but I bought the CPAP machine as a discontinued model from a friend who sells them for a living for just a few $.

Dad recently borrowed the rig when he had to grind out some fibreglass from his old galley and said it was the first time he was able to do such a job while being completely relaxed about his health.

I'm not neurotic about this stuff, but just the ability to relax while working with mildly suspect compounds makes for a better job. OK, you look a little bit like one of those guys from the E.T. movie, but it is so much less stressful. And at the end of the day, you toss off the disposable coveralls, have a quick shower, and you feel human again.

Matt..

P.S. For those that don't know, CPAP machines are devices used by people with sleep apnoea or even mild snoring. There are many manufacturers out there, and they are constantly improving the technology, so people often upgrade them for the latest features. From a strict hygiene perspective their basic function keeps them very clean but if I were buying a used unit I guess I would give it a jolly good clean first.

P.P.S. I have a full beard, so I need the sort of full head cover which uses positive air pressure to keep out the nasties. So does dad, which was why he borrowed mine.

Hoods are comfy, but often too big for work in tight spaces. I don't like to wear one even under a boat. If you are interested in affordable forced air, check out the new Class D rigs. It's basically a high end filter which allows you to plug a fullface in to regular shop air, no special compressor required. Very nice.


SAS Safety - Pure-Air 2000 Unit without CO Monitor (No Mask Included)

[minaret]

Originally Posted by appick

As to the heat gun on old paint on the wood boat, I've been told and tried using a propane plumbing torch, working it over an area to just bubble the paint was much quicker than the heat gun. However, for obvious reason be careful!

Try one of these with the wide burn down roofing tip on it.




Harbor Freight Tools Propane Torch with Three Burners - Amazon.com

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

Thinking ahead to the future, I wonder if it might be a good idea to cover a bottom with an adhesive sheet, something like Venture Shield, & then bottom paint over that. The next time that you had to strip the bottom, it would be an easy job. I'm not sure that it would hold up on a fast motor boat, but on a sail boat, I would expect good results.

Oooh ! Bikini Waxing For Boats !

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by minaret

Aaww, taking me back to the days of my youth! I wonder if you worked at LL back when I was getting arrested chaining myself to the place with UCB students? The good old days!

Likely so, mate! I was there from '62 until '88, with some time off near the end to go for our first cruise.

Those were interesting times!

Cheers,

Jim

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Likely so, mate! I was there from '62 until '88, with some time off near the end to go for our first cruise.

Those were interesting times!

Cheers,

Jim

Nah, I wasn't chained to the front gate till '90. I'm just a pup to you! If that was the most misguided thing I'd ever done in pursuit of pretty hippy chicks from UCB, I'd be happy! Talk about dain bramage...

[gjordan]

My ex brother inlaw worked at the lab and had throat cancer by his early 30s. I dont recall him being a smoker. I hope the safety standards are better now. _____Grant.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by gjordan

My ex brother inlaw worked at the lab and had throat cancer by his early 30s. I dont recall him being a smoker. I hope the safety standards are better now. _____Grant.

Grant, I'm not sure if you are serious here or not, but really! He worked at the Lab, he got cancer... must have been slack safety standards there. Point proven. Not.

Jim