When the time comes I would like to paint my truck myself. That will be quite a while down the road. As the grill prep work is nearly done I am thinking of applying the finish paint on it. To date the primers used from Summit, Eastwood and SEM have not contained any isocyanates. I use a proper mask with paint filter cartridges. I have surfed the internet for 2k finish paints without isos and have found none.
How are you painters protecting yourselves?

 

The only real protection is a fresh air respirator , a PIA but the only proper option .

 

I use a full-face respirator and have a air recycler in my spray area. I shoot and then I leave the area...repeat till done. Keep your eyes covered/protected just like you would your mouth/nose...the fluid in your eyes is a super highway for airborne contaminants. The only product that is ISO is the clear, no issue with the basecoat.

 

Thanks for the replies. Guess there is no easy answer. Nothing more valuable that our health. Charlie is your shop attached to your living space? Mine is. My wife complains about the smell when I use a rattle can in the basement! I have thought about lining one of my bays (2 car garage) with poly and fashioning filtered box fans in and out.
Appears that the turbine type supplied air rigs cost about $500. Didn't see that in my original budget. Guess I will ponder this a bit more.

 

My shop is attached to the house and if I do not take certain precautions I too get an earful from the wife. Attached garages by code are supposed to be built in such a way as to keep fumes from entering the living spaces. That said, I think that there is a limit as to the volume and the span of time that the fumes are present. The air recycler that I use pulls overspray in and filters it before returning the scrubbed air back into the workspace. If I do not keep the air flowing in the proper direction then this system does not work as efficiently. What this means is that I have to put up some plastic sheeting and seal off the doors while spraying. I have about as much invested in my air recycler as I would expect that I would have to pay to have a professional shop spray my truck...not an expense you would want to take on for a one-time use for sure. If you decide to try the poly and box fan lash-up, then add some furnace filters and activated carbon filter panels to your air intake and exhaust...that will cut down considerably on your fumes.
Here is a pic of the setup I use...overspray in the lower section, filtered air out the top. This setup uses a 1.5 HP blower that will recirculate all the air in my shop 3 times a minute. What isn't shown in the plastic sheeting that I have to use to keep the air flowing in the proper channel...air that gets behind the recycler usually does not find its way back into the inlet right away.

 

Not sure what your idea of a "box fan" is, but the typical ones used around the house are really not designed to push air thru filters (or ductwork). They are inefficient enough without filters but when they are pushing against a load, not blowing freely into a room, their output drops dramatically.

I've done a couple non-isocyanate paint jobs in attached garages, and will never do it again. An incredible mess. If you have a gas-fired water heater out there, don't even think about it. IMO pro painters earn every penny of what they charge, and I'm glad to write the check.

 

I spray using a face respirator. I spray what I have to and then walk out and let the space clear out. I still will not go into the space without the respirator on even if it looks like it's clear. I'll finish spraying and leave for the night .

As for spraying in an attached garage, I wouldn't do it even with a filtering system. Way too easy for the hardener and fumes to sneak into the smallest crack. Also the fir hazard that it would pose. In my shop I can control what goes on and off, in a house too many people turning things off and on. Also, after I spray my last coat of paint and clean things up I vacant the building for the night. In a house where people sleep I feel there's too much of a chance of going to sleep and never waking up.

Years ago, in the first body shop I worked, it was a one man operation. Two with me. He didn't have a booth, he sprayed everything in the open shop. The first time I helped paint a truck after we finished the boss removed his respirator, I followed and removed mine. This was a Saturday morning around 11:00. I went home and by around noon I could hardly breath. I got into a hot shower to take in the steam and for the next half hour a coughed up blood. Finally after a while I could breath a little easier, took over a day to get back to breathing normal again.

 

Ross I agree that pro painters are worth what they get and maybe it will end that way. Being a bit stubborn and growing up on a farm I have that "I can do it" mentality sometime to a fault.
Charlie that is an interesting filter system. Is it your design / build? Is the 1.5 HP blower rather loud?
Guess I will give up on the garage booth idea. Bet there are industry R&D efforts ongoing to rid paints of this stuff. Water based paint sounds good but don't believe it has progressed to DIY status yet.
Thank you for the replies.
Bob

 

Everybody has their own experiences, some good, some bad. The new waterborne paint has done little to reduce VOCs, mainly because it is only used on the base coat...clear coat is still the same. One good thing about the waterborne base coats is that the colors are more vibrant.
When I built my air recycler it was based on a design that is used in large commercial shops and yes it is noisy. I do not paint whole cars/trucks...all my painting is done on single panels so the amount of overspray that I generate at any one time is not as great as if I were painting a whole vehicle. That said, a good respirator and plenty of ventilation are key.