REFLECTOR: Painting with Awlgrip

[Bob Jackson]

We started out with the throw-away full head piece that has a hose in the
back running to one of those standard, small fresh air pumps.  But it was
very disorienting and restrictive so we started using a military style
oxygen mask with the air pump for most of our stuff.  Today on the fuselage,
because I had to climb four different ladders to paint the four corners of
the roof, I used a standalone mask with the 'two barrel' activated charcoal
filters.  It's hard enough climbing ladders and leaning over the plane
trying to paint while holding the two hoses for our gun, but adding a third
hose for the breather was just too much.

They say if you can smell it you're in trouble -- I didn't smell much today
with the charcoal mask.

We're painting outside under a 20x30 tarp with three of the four sides open
up to 5-8 feet.  There's usually a breeze or we use a fan to keep the
overspray moving so 'downwind' is always one direction.  AWLgrip is supposed
to be very nasty stuff with lots of cyanates or some-thing-or-other poisons
in it, so we're trying to be pretty careful.  But then again, I don't wear
gloves for epoxy glue either and it's taken us seven years so far to almost
finally complete this airplane!

If you want exact names and models for the charcoal mask or the air pump let
me know and I'll look them up and pass them along.

Bob


-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Derrick [mailto:scott at tnstaafl.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2005 11:36 PM
To: bobj at computer.org; Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Painting with Awlgrip

Bob

what kind of respirator are you using?

Scott

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