Haven't found a clear answer to this online yet. I don't do a ton of aerosol painting. Often it's a quick job with rattle can's, or at most a single pot in the spray gun. I paint outside, but use a spray booth to vent fumes and filter out overspray when I'm painting a bunch of stuff, as well as use a respirator. Most of my paint is single part stuff like rust-o-leum, and occasionally basic auto-body mixed paints. Nothing terribly toxic. For a respirator I use an old ("old"? It want' that long ago it was new!) Binks Millennium monkey mask. Our booth must do a pretty good job though as I think in the last 10 years I've changed the felt pre-filters maybe once? The organic compound filters are pretty old though. They were un-used old-stock when I pulled them out of the cabinet. One I think has a date of 1998 on it? At one point do they need to be replaced, regardless of condition? With filters in general (not just breathing) I tend to go by if air will pass through it, it's good. I don't want to be wasteful, but these are my lungs, so..... what do you guys think? I've also heard that if you can smell what you're spraying, then the filter is gone, but I've never got to that point either.
Every paint job. I seal them in ziploc bags in case there is a small task that pops up in-between paint jobs. You can't be too safe with hardened topcoats.
Long overdue changing. Filters have an expiry date on the package usually 3 to 5 years and once open generally have a 6 month lifespan whether used or not. They degrade over time once open and pick up contaminants from the atmosphere. They should never be let to get to the point you can smell what you are spraying. At that point they are doing nothing.
When I still running the body shop , we wrote the date on the filters , and changed them every 45 days . Filters are cheaper than lungs !!!
3m standards. I'm sure each manufacturer has a write up on it. But to each their own, can't be to safe when it comes to your health.
Well not to open a can of worm but here goes. There are in my opinion there 2 types on knowledge (this does not include just plain ole' BS). Nice to know and Need 2 know. This is need to know. Every Respirator comes in a plastic bag. Each bag has information we need to know on it and in it. In this case how long can I use it. Sorry can't get my pos camera to share pictures with my lap top today... so I'll put in writing here. This is a 3M, Organic Vapor/P95 Assembly 07193. I bet it is the most common "Respirator" sold in America today. I've read what it says on the back and I'll cut to the chase " Time Use Limitations: If filters become damaged, soiled or breathing becomes difficult, leave the contaminated area and dispose of the filters. If used in environments containing only oil aerosols, dispose of filters after 40 hours of use or 30 days,whichever is first". Sorry for the long winded paragraph but I didn't even get to the paragraph with reference to "facial hair". Now from what I understand these respiration are good for products that DO NOT contain "Isocyanates" (ISO from now on) and it's many derivatives. Iso's are "Hardeners" in many, but not all Automotive Paint Products. Yep some paints (base coats), Primers, Single Stage and Clears. Most Automotive Paint manufactures have been requiring "Fresh Air" Make up systems for painter since the late 70's. Another words, air to breath from outside the Spray Booth or spray area. I know as I was there. On the Product Information Sheet (Mixing and use guide) is often a picture of a guy with a funny looking "hood" of. This is the painting industry's universal symbol for "Fresh-Air". This info is also found on a document often called a Safety Data Sheet. I ask for this every time I buy a product So what we do here in do it yourself world ?? I would like to suggest you don't spray any product that has "ISO" in it with this type or respirator. These respirators use activated charcoal that goes "bad" if left out it the air even over night. I keep nine in "Tupperware " burped to get the air and only use them for 8 total hours. I keep it marked with a sharpie for the time I use it. I only spay ISO products with my Fresh Air Make Up System and Full Painters like in the utube attached Suithttps://youtu.be/UBfR07yIDrE?si=OqTu83eCjU3j2RlK please b-safe fellow ham-er
The only respirator that ever worked for me was labeled “pesticides”. I spray cleaned hundreds of electric motors from 480 V up to 13.5 KV with shit that could kill you when I work for a power company’s for over 40 years and would only use those because I couldn’t smell the chemical. I continue to today when I spray paint. Still alive with no respiratory ills at 80….
follow manufacturer directions after every use/shift depending on contaminate as often as 45 minutes never more than 8 hrs always proper filter for task that was how we did it at work that's how I try to do it at home if it's just nuisance dust I'm a bit more lax if it's really bad shit I'm more strict
The Jalopy Journal
