Just wondering if the fumes are an issue when using model master acrylic airbrush thinner while airbrushing their’ acrylics.
I don’t have a spray booth that vents outside, and as the cold weather sets in I won’t be able to airbrush with enamels, which I always have used, as I won’t open a window.
DJ
Well… the fumes are less harmfull than the enamel thinners. But still not very good for you. Even isopropal alcohol – which can be used for thinning and cleaning – is not good to be breathing.
The MM acrylic thinner has Propylen Glycol. The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) says it is not harmful to human contact, and is safe for skin contact. Wash eyes thoroughly if you get it in your eyes.
BUT the MSDS does not list breathing vapors. STILL… I would use a lot of caution before taking a chance with breathing it much at all!
hey dj i spray tamiya acrylics thinned with isopropyl alcohol in my kitchen using a cardboard box as a spray booth with no windows open…the fumes are very mild and I find that paper mask like the kind you’d use while mowing the lawn or painting if you have allergies does a great job of protecting me from these less harmful fumes…masks like this come cheaply at your nearest hardware store…here’s what i’m talking about: mask example
Naplak and Mer, thanks for the info. What if I had the windows closed, but with fans going, and using a respirator[?]
DJ
Yes, the vapors are an issue when spraying acrylics. The toxicity is relatively not as great, but present nontheless. It’s not only the isopropyl alcohol, but also some of the glycol ethers that can be somewhat toxic depending on the concentration, and the frequency and duration of the spray process.
For spraying in an unventilated space, a respirator is a must have item.
Mer1122,
You are asking for trouble. Spraying into a cardboard box is only concentrating the paint vapors, and keeping them there longer for you to inhale. The only thing the box is doing positively for you is reducing overspray. In addition, wearing a paper mask is almost like wearing nothing at all. The mask, depending on what you have, may be filtering a few of the pigments, but the vapors are going straight into your lungs. The description of the mask you are wearing may also not fall into the respirator definition. If you really want to reduce your exposures to paint related vapors and pigments, go down to your local hardware, and plunk down about $20 for a good rubber half-mask respirator with organic vapor cartridges and a paint prefilter. In addition, get rid of the cardboard box and lay out some old newspapers to catch any overspray. Get a small room fan running and open a window. Natural dilution ventilation is probably the best and cheapest way to reduce vapor concentrations in air. Coupled with the correct respirator, you should keep your health a long time.
Gip Winecoff
I just looked at the respirator mask example as posted above, and it’s a surgical mask, NOT a respirator. All it’s really good for is keeping patients’ body fluids from splashing into your nose and mouth, and to keep your saliva and sweat from falling into the patient. A thread on respirators was posted a short while back. Information can be obtained by using the following link:
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5888&SearchTerms=respirator
Go to Techniques/painting and airbrushing/respirator question.
Hope this can help someone.
Gip Winecoff
Thanks for dropping by Styrene. In the colder months, the best that I can do is a respirator with some fans going, but with the windows closed. I also have a cardboard spray booth. Is there anything wrong with using one? It would really be a help to me in controlling overspray, especially when using spray cans.
ty,
DJ
Most masks/canister filters will list what they can be used for on the packaging. Also be aware that spraying some chemicals makes them more flammable especially WITHOUT ventilation.
The fans are certainly better than nothing at all. Moving the vapors around dilutes them with available room air. The determining factors in minimizing exposures are how often you spray, how long you spray, and how much you use at a sitting, and then the controls you put in place. Fans and a respirator are probably adequate. Rattle cans may be another story depending on how long and how much you use. Make sure you change your cartridges when you can detect solvent odors during spraying, assuming the fit is good. A cardboard spray booth? Very important fire issues come to mind. At the very minimum your booth should be contsructed of fire resistant plywood (1/2" or 3/4" should do the trick). Fans should at least be brushless, and be able to push out as much as they’re sucking up. If your situation is similar to mer1122, and are using a plain cardboard box without a fan, all you are doing is controlling overspray, but are also keeping paint vapors concentrated in one area longer (inside the box), and increasing your exposure potential. Since it sounds as if you live in an area where opening a window during cold months is not feasible, and if you are using rattle cans to paint with on a regular basis, I would suggest going to someone like www.micromark.com, and purchasing a small spray booth for painting operations. If I can be of further assistance, let me know.
Gip Winecoff
Styrene, if you were nearby I’d buy you a beer. Thanks for all the help.
My current system with airbrushing enamels, is I have windows open in hobby room, windows open in adjacent room, and a fan blowing from the adjacent room into the hobby room which also has a fan, so there is a wind current going from the adjacent room to the hobby room. I use a plain cardboard spraybooth just to control overspray, with no venting/ ducted fan. And I use a respirator with which I can’t smell any fumes while it’s on. It works pretty well, but probably in mid-October the windows will have to be closed. What I can do in the cold months is open windows for a short while after I’m finished airbrushing/ spraying, jus to get the majority of fumes out. I can close off the hobby room and adjacent room from rest of house, but don’t want to freeze my paints either, so will just open windows for maybe 10 minutes.
I use spray cans for primer, and for the very occasional paint job, and for lacquers. Most of time I’m using my Paache.
Thanks for the micromark link. I might be buying the large spraybooth in the months ahead. Should you get an electrician to set up the ducts to the outside if you don’t know what you are doing? And is it best to have it ducted to the roof so no fumes get concentrated somewhere along the side of the house?
May beautiful women be infinitely impressed by your’ models.
DJ
You might find it easier to simply run ducting out the window. Installing vertical ducting can be done, but you have to have a fan strong enough to push all the vapors (which are heavier than air) upwards through several feet of ducting, in addition to cutting holes in your ceiling and roof. Keeping the ducting short and horizontal may make your fan work more efficiently. Also, you will probably want to stay away from drier vent hose; it’s combustible. Instead, find some aluminum or sheet metal flex-ducting at your local hardware store. Hook one end to your booth fan exhaust port, and run the other end out the window. Keep the duct as short and as straight as possible and you should be OK. Once outside, the vapors should mix with air and disperse; there shouldn’t be any vapor concentrations anywhere to be concerned with.
Nearby, you say? I’m only about 14 hours south; you can’t get much closer…LOL!!
Let me know how it goes…
Gip Winecoff
Thanks Styrene. If I get the spraybooth this Fall I’ll make a post. There’s going to be a sitcom TV show this Fall about “Poland New Hampshire”. Some of the outdoor shots are filmed in a town just down the road from me.