agreed. however, in the "old days" when i last shot imron i used cartriges that were beyond what was sold in the auto parts. they are called "organics" and filter a much smaller particle. some can filter out poision gasses. we painted in an extremely well ventilated booth, with positive as well as negetive pressure with a waterfall system as well as filters. those are past days as e.p.a. pretty well outlawed the waterfalls. the shop that allowed me to do some of my work eventually closed due to the inability to keep up with technology, and pretty large overhead. a paintbooth large enough to shoot entire tractor-trailer rigs as well as big construction equipment is expensive to build, but the costs of just maintaining the place was pretty large as well. i wasn't a regular employee, but the owner was a friend who got a pretty large "cut " of whatever i did. i was surprised at how much it cost him to operate.
which---
brings us to another point.
disposal of waste products.
leftover thinners/reducers, or paint products are hazardous materials. remember 1 quart of a petroleum product contaminates thousand of gallons of groundwater, so, DON'T BE DUMPIN' STUFF IN A SEWER!. besides, the stuff will explode in a confined space. (longtimes residents of st. louis can tell you about the day the street exploded. the culprit was m.e.k. or methyl ethyl ketone). most cities/counties have a program to allow you to dispose of your shop wastes. you as a taxpayer pay for these programs, so why not use them? besides that, i happen to have a well instead of city water. i don't think i want to drink your paint job.
in conclusion, as usual martin is correct. remember that most of my experiance is from years ago, and knowledge, as well as technology has changed. i remember seeing old "leather lung" guys not using any sort of protection. not one of them i knew back then is alive today. NOT ONE!
if any of you are even considering one day doing your own paint work, you would be wise to print out what martin has posted here and keep it for future reference. the information he has given is up to date, correct, and worth thousands of dollars to you. this is information for a lifetime, and it was free to you.
quite a gift really.
thanks to you martin.
dave
