Powdercoaters please read this !!!

[slide]

I have watched quite a few if not all of the powder coating videos on youtube. One thing I have seen is hardly anybody wears a dust mask. I don't know where people got the idea that you could be alright without. There are several videos that the coater has a light above his head and when he shakes the bullets or takes the lid of of his swirl container you can see the dust swirling around his head. This stuff will damage your lungs.Research it on the internet. Please use a dust mask.

[flyer1]

Thanks. Never thought about the dust.

[gpidaho]

Eye protection is a good idea also. Gp PS guys Eastwood guns are on sale.

[Hick]

Good point-- but if you put a tight lid on the container when you shake it the dust does not fly (I've checked that out when I coat). it also helps to tap the closed container on side a couple of time before taking off the lid-- just to settle the powder.

[charlie b]

When I pry the lid off my 'shake and bake' tubs I do get some powder in the air. Yes, I use a mask when the tub is open and I am transferring bullets to the baking sheet. I didn't think about it until I noticed how close my face was to the tub when I am picking bullets out of it with tweezers.

[firefly1957]

The dust is very Flammable too!

[bmortell]

I probably should but I just put a fan on the other end of the bench blowing sideways over the work space. and when you pull the lid off that seems to be the majority of dust created so I peel it off on the bench and step back for a brief moment while it vents all the dust away

[elmacgyver0]

Let it sit a while before taking the lid off.

[fredj338]

Good point-- but if you put a tight lid on the container when you shake it the dust does not fly (I've checked that out when I coat). it also helps to tap the closed container on side a couple of time before taking off the lid-- just to settle the powder.

This is what I do, plus I only use enough powder to provide an even coat. So dust isn't an issue.

[bangerjim]

I do everything outside......nice breezes and evap cooler in the summer.

But if you do it inside, be sure to have good air movement and even wear a dust mask.

banger

[Shawlerbrook]

Great information above. Please use appropriate safety gear and precautions when doing these things. I still remember how many old time gun guys wear hearing aides because hearing protection was something never considered. Once you loose it, it don’t come back !

[Dragonheart]

Absolutely, a real man can look death in the face and laugh and thumb his nose because he has no fear.

Unfortunately, these harmful things we handle don't kill you quick and easy. But what they can do is rob you the ability to get out of bed and do the things you want to do. They can destroy your nervous system; with loss of feeling in your extremities. Take away the ability to draw in a full breath without coughing or dragging around an oxygen bottle. Instead of spending quality time with your family you become a burden to be taken care by loved ones you no longer recognize. I have faced death, and always considered myself a real man, but this prospect scares the hell out of me, so maybe I am not.

[Kraschenbirn]

I must be doing something wrong. I've got an 18"x24" exhaust hood connected to a 16" fan (vented to the outdoors) directly over the workbench where I do my casting/powder coating...if I forget to open an inlet vent when I turn it on the drop in air pressure will almost make your ears pop. After three years of 'shake & bake' coating on that bench, I've yet to note any signiicant accumulation of powder in the filter of the exhaust system. (I actually get more airborne particulates in that filter when using the radial arm saw at the other end of the workshop...and it has its own vacuum pick-up in the blade guard!) Only loose powder I've ever noticed is that which falls off the inside of the lid of the #5 container when I open it.

Bill

[bmortell]

some just don't care about safety. like my dad for example will cut concrete with a power saw and stand right in the middle of a cloud so thick you cant see him breathing the whole cloud in. hed rather get silicosis and cough all night forever than be seen with a mask on for 5 minutes

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have probably done all the above dust and particles from working in the blast zone post 1980 to cutting concrete try to use a water mist , heck working with cement and mortar always a dust , so have googled the powder coat dust hazards and a lot o places are saying its safe stuff , as for explosive well throw fine sawdust in your fireplace and stir it up , so shake and sit for a minute and bake , I wear the glove and have been casting since I was a teen , yes I agree use safety precautions where needed , but I would bet more issues from decapping then coating , and what about the lube smoke , so just like in any job your safety is first and foremost your main concern and your responsibility . And yes I have noticed the large amount of people scared of so much in life that they must have little to no fun , cast , lube make lube powder coat dig the berms handle lead and gunpowder even black powder use a chainsaw fall timber climb trees with spurs and a belt and top them drive convertibles roof a house frame a house cut trim mill metal parts , now I am really scared .

[RogerDat]

Oh heck a dust mask isn't a big deal. No more than slapping a pair of safety glasses on or gloves when those would be appropriate safety equipment.

See no advantage to not taking basic safety precautions. Might help me avoid a self inflicted injury or condition. Does set a good example for my kids and grand kids. I don't want to lose an eye but if I do I darn sure want it to be because my decent quality safety glasses are overwhelmed rather than because some little thing was flung up and the glasses were over there not on my face.

My blood lead level was up a bit so I changed a few safety practices around processing brass. Came back down. Nothing major, just making sure I slipped on nitrile gloves and avoiding dust from the brass. Primer dust in easy to breathe in exposure to lead. Numbers came back down. Were not "too" high but what the heck why would one not want to avoid ingesting something not food, beer or cocktail?

A pot of lead at 750* produces almost no lead "fumes" lead is liquid at that temp, not a gas. Not to say WW's or lead sheathed cable won't have some nasty fumes from plastic or other elements. Roof flashing can have tar, again something I don't want to incinerate and breathe the fumes.

When I worked in shops I always had steel toe boots. Only had one manhole cover dropped on my foot so for 20 some years you could say it was just a waste to have spent the money, put up with the weight, or dealt with the cold toes. That one time they sure seemed like a really good idea.

Tinsel fairy is not likely to be a planned visit, molten lead on gloves, safety glasses, leather boots, natural fiber shirt and long pants. Or burned hands, eyes, with burns all around your flip flop straps, and your clothes melted to your skin. Hmmm. Tough call. I may be a real girly man but I ain't a stupid girly man. You know I'm such a sissy I even have a fire extinguisher in the garage and kitchen!

Life offers no guarantee except you don't get out of it alive. To me it still doesn't make sense to test light sockets with a wet finger or poke a bear to see it is dead or sleeping. Not my job to make decisions for what other grown men do in their shop. In mine safety equipment is there and used. Never thought about dust mask for PC powder but it makes sense. Same as it would for sanding drywall mud. The drywall mud dust isn't poison per se but coating your lungs with it is bad news.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I to wear safety gear when it is needed and steel toe shoes would have cost me a foot in the woods once , wore safety shoes electric hazard and arch guards in a aluminum smelter , I am not calling anyone a sissy , wear what you feel is appropriate for what you do and how you do it , might be a good thing but those paper dust masks hardly filter anything , glasses well always , gloves for the job at hand , natural clothes always leather wool or cotton , having been exposed to asbestos on more then one occasion and not forewarned ahead of time I know to check on things I have the ability to know about . Once again it boils down to doing what you feel is safest if you are stirring up clouds of dust I would wear a good or better mask , but remember the dust gets on what you are wearing so deal with that safely to , I remember a article on the vermiculite miners and how their families who were only exposed by dads work clothes sometimes were worse off then the miner himself .

[JWFilips]

You do not want to be breathing the dust in but far worse is when it liquifies in the oven.....those fumes are carcinogenic!
I never open my shaking containers until the dust settles! I never Oven cure in a house basement or inclosed space!
I bake only in my bilco door steps with the doors open to the open air! Inside door closed until the process is finished! If you smell it baking that is a bad thing

[charlie b]

And, there are people who did similar stuff and died of cancer from those same conditions.

I've known of 3 pack a day smokers who lived to their 90's. And some who died in their 40's. You want to tell the guy who died in his 40's that smoking would not hurt him?

Some of this has to do with the person, not just the environment. Unfortunately, we cannot tell what our bodies will do with the toxins we put into them.

Have had similar discussions with motorcycle riding folks. Who wears a helmet and other protective gear and who rids in shorts and flip flops. We all take certain risks. Some get away with high risk behavior and some do not.

[RP]

As far as the dust breathing dust of any kind cant be good for anyone some it may effect more then other like pollen. I am one of those hard heads that fails to use protection like I should.
I spray my boolits and do it under my exhaust fan that is used over a stove which takes of fume from cast well but fails on PC. I put some drapes up on the sides making a booth so to speak but I think it still falls short of doing the job. Since I noticed the PC dust out side of the booth. I need to upgrade the fan or do it outside next time.