[Silvertone]

I've been spraying nitro cellulose lacquer lately. Just one guitar for now but have a few more that will be ready soon. Does anyone have recommendations for a full face respirator? Just the ones with the filters should be fine. It could be a ventilation issue with the spray booth I am using as well but I would like to look at a bit more protection as well. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Cheers Peter.

 

[KapnKrunch]

I've done some deadly work as a welder inside crude oil-tanks coated with epoxy.

A $30-$40 unit will be fine. Make sure you have the correct filters. If you can still smell it you aren't protected.

I like the snorkel feature where the the filters are on your back away from the fumes, not in them. This prolongs filter life as well as avoids the worst of the fumes.

 

[KapnKrunch]

NORTH KIT ADAPTER FOR BACKPACK RESPIRATOR - Respirator Accessories - NONBP1002 | BP1002 - Acklands-Grainger, Canada!

No need for full face sheild. You could use cheap safety glasses and a little vaseline on exposed skin for an easy clean-up. Painters cap for sure with either.

 

[cboutilier]

I prefer North, but many prefer 3M. I was a tank cleaner for quite a few years. You should be fit tested for a proper seal. I'm assuming OV cartridges are what you want for lacquer.

 

[knight_yyz]

3m. You can buy tons of different filters for this unit

 

[Lincoln]

Not preaching, just saying:
I've gone away from using solvent-based lacquers.
I switched for the safety (had a flash, from the heater. across the shop,) but once I got used to spraying waterbase and got over it going on "milky", I'll never go back. You can get full "burn-in" to the previous coat with water based lacquer now.
As a bonus, hot water cleanup of your spray equipment absolutely rocks.

 

[knight_yyz]

Crystalac is water-based without the cloudiness or the blueishness

 

[cboutilier]

Not preaching, just saying:
I've gone away from using solvent-based lacquers.
I switched for the safety (had a flash, from the heater. across the shop,) but once I got used to spraying waterbase and got over it going on "milky", I'll never go back. You can get full "burn-in" to the previous coat with water based lacquer now.
As a bonus, hot water cleanup of your spray equipment absolutely rocks.

I think that is what I would go with, unless I'm specifically looking for the aging characteristics of nitro.

 

[nnieman]

FYI most of the masks don’t work worth a damn if you have facial hair.

One (of the many) reasons I switched to water based.
I like em6000 from target coatings.
Crystal clear and excellent burn in.

Nathan

 

[cboutilier]

FYI most of the masks don’t work worth a damn if you have facial hair.

One (of the many) reasons I switched to water based.
I like em6000 from target coatings.
Crystal clear and excellent burn in.

Nathan

You can cheat a good seal with facial hair with a bit of vaseline around the gasket. Old trick of the trade.

 

[Scotty]

Not preaching, just saying:
I've gone away from using solvent-based lacquers.
I switched for the safety (had a flash, from the heater. across the shop,) but once I got used to spraying waterbase and got over it going on "milky", I'll never go back. You can get full "burn-in" to the previous coat with water based lacquer now.
As a bonus, hot water cleanup of your spray equipment absolutely rocks.

Everything is going this way. You need good heat in your shop/booth though, don’t you?

 

[Lincoln]

Everything is going this way. You need good heat in your shop/booth though, don’t you?

Yes, it's getting very hard to find solvent based lacquer (or solvent based anything) these days. Like @nnieman I use Target EM6000. It's simply the best, better than all the rest. Only disaster I've had with it so far happened when spraying a clear coat over a "burst" edge I had sprayed with tinted EM6000 a few days before. The new lacquer burned into the tinted lacquer so well, that it caused the colour to run down the body and into the non-burst area. *#*(

I will spray at 65 degrees Fahrenheit, I like to see 70 degrees, I won't spray at 60 degrees or less. When it's cold outside in the winter, my garage struggles to maintain 60F. I just bought a new high efficiency furnace, but haven't installed it yet. I got a small house type furnace rather than a typical over-head garage heater because I wanted totally sealed combustion air. Safety again. I've watched my open flame heater ignite the air in the garage twice now. Once with lacquer flumes, and once with wood dust. Just a "woof" and out. I got lucky x 2.

 

[Silvertone]

I have spray foamed my tiny shop and can easily keep it at 60 degrees through the winter with my heater on the lowest setting. I will spray foam my new spray area as well but this may better be suited to my other thread. ;-)

Cheers Peter.