The best lead worker I've met painted lacquer 8-10 hours a day in the 1950's without a respirator, chain-smoked unfiltered Camel cigarettes when he wasn't spraying paint, and we had to watch him closely to make sure he didn't spike his Coca-Cola with a little lacquer thinner. It was not uncommon to have to bail him out of jail on Monday morning after getting arrested over the weekend for "drunk and disorderly". It finally killed him- - -at age 85! That problem seemed to be chronic with painters- - - -they had to keep the thinner buzz going on the weekends with alcohol.
When I owned a body shop 20-something years layer, a lot of painters were still drunks, but by then they had also discovered pot!
Jerry
