Re: Shop Air Changes

Posted by Alan Speakman on Dec 18, 2006

Hi Dan,

I agree with everything Jim has to say... ESPECIALLY about the acetone. Some other thoughts...

* Check out the site below... I found a pointer to this on an OSHA site... Outstandingly boring, but there is info in there.

* I've used epoxy countless times (four boats and umpteen pieces of furniture) with little ventilation... Not too much of a problem as long as I knew when to take a break and air the place out. Paint, varnish, polyester resin, etc. on the other hand, simply demand phenominal ventilation.

* Keep clean... Don't let epoxy get on your skin... It's not going to kill you, but life is filled with enough hassles; scraping dried epoxy off your skin shouldn't be one of them.

* Sanding epoxied glass is a horse of a different wheelbase. That is downright nasty. Only use a good sander with a direct attach to a good vacuum. When my wife and I work on a hull, one of us uses a Rigid sander with a direct attach to a big shop vac, and the other follows immediately behind with another large shop vac. Noisy but clean. And even then we often take breaks for cleaning and to air the place out. (Nothing like sanding glass at night and looking up into a light and seeing a fine fog of glass powder in the air. We now use heavy-duty breathing masks... We're not about to scrimp over a couple hundred bucks at the cost of lung infections.)

I guess those are my two cents... Just follow the CLC "Tips For Boatbuilding", and some common sense, and you'll figure out the appropriate ventilation rate for the nooks and crannies of your shop.

Alan

In Response to: Re: Shop Air Changes by Jim E on Dec 18, 2006

Replies:

• Re: Shop Air Changes by Alan Speakman on Dec 18, 2006