Does Resin Smell even while wearing a Gas Mask?

[Zprime]

Hi Guys,

I'm in the process of making some armor, I purchased some Bondo Car Resin as well as all the recommended safety equipment ( $50 Respirator, Latex Gloves, Goggles ect ).

Anyways I've done a few coats of Resin to my armor now, but ive noticed everytime I do the resining...

1) I always catch a small whiff of the smell of resin, Even while wearing my Respirator, to my knowledge theres no leak in the respirator, and I'm outside when I resin, am I in any danger?

2) I've developed a scratchy throat and a bit of a cough the last few days, I suspect its a cold and un-related, but I'm still concerned.

3) Can I pay a panal beater or someone in a shop to actually sand the armor for me? I really dont want to deal with fiberglass particles in my lungs.

Thanks

- Paul

 

[Arioch]

I can smell it through my mask sometimes too. You'll be fine, Im sure.

I've done it without a mask, sanding and all. I dont recommend it. It messed my lungs up for a while.

Best I can say about hiring someone to do the sanding is to just ask them.

 

[Devious]

The respirator will do an excellent job of protecting your lungs while sanding. Make sure the filters are clean, and that the seal is good. you really don't need to worry about hazards like dust if you are protected.

 

[mkshane81]

Well, it's better to be concerned than to just say, "eh I'll be okay". While the respirator does protect against fine particles and most organic vapors like resin, due to it not being a perfectly air-tight seal, you will still get a minor odor of the resin inside the mask. I've been using the same mask for a couple years working with resin, and haven't noticed any adverse health problems. Just keep using your head like you are now, keep working in a open area with plenty of ventilation, and if you notice yourself not feeling well, take a break.

The following is some very valuable information regarding fiberglass resin, Bondo brand:

Health and First Aid:

Immediate health, physical, and environmental hazards:​

​

​

Closed containers exposed to heat from fire may build pressure and
explode. Vapors may travel long distances along the ground or floor to an ignition source and flash back. May cause chemical
eye burns. May cause severe skin irritation. May cause chemical gastrointestinal burns. May cause target organ effects.​

3.2 POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS​

Eye Contact:​

Corrosive (Eye Burns): Signs/symptoms may include cloudy appearance of the cornea, chemical burns, severe pain, tearing,
ulcerations, significantly impaired vision or complete loss of vision.​

Skin Contact:​

Severe Skin Irritation: Signs/symptoms may include localized redness, swelling, itching, dryness, cracking, blistering, and pain.
Dermal Effects: Signs/symptoms may include changes in skin pigmentation and/or coloration.​

Inhalation:​

Respiratory Tract Irritation: Signs/symptoms may include cough, sneezing, nasal discharge, headache, hoarseness, and nose and
throat pain.
May be absorbed following inhalation and cause target organ effects.​

Ingestion:​

Gastrointestinal Corrosion: Signs/symptoms may include severe mouth, throat and abdominal pain; nausea; vomiting; and diarrhea;
blood in the feces and/or vomitus may also be seen.
May be absorbed following ingestion and cause target organ effects.​

Target Organ Effects:​

Central Nervous System (CNS) Depression: Signs/symptoms may include headache, dizziness, drowsiness, incoordination, nausea,​

slowed reaction time, slurred speech, giddiness, and unconsciousness.

4.1 FIRST AID PROCEDURES​

The following first aid recommendations are based on an assumption that appropriate personal and industrial hygiene practices are
followed.​

Eye Contact:​

​

​

Immediately flush eyes with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes. Get immediate medical attention.​

Skin Contact:​

​

​

Remove contaminated clothing and shoes. Immediately flush skin with large amounts of water. Get medical​

attention. Wash contaminated clothing and clean shoes before reuse.

Inhalation:​

​

​

Remove person to fresh air. If signs/symptoms develop, get medical attention.​

If Swallowed:​

​

​

Do not induce vomiting. Give victim two glasses of water. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious​

person. Get immediate medical attention.

7.1 HANDLING​

Avoid eye contact. Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product. Wash exposed areas thoroughly with soap and water. Avoid
breathing of vapors, mists or spray. Avoid skin contact. Avoid eye contact with vapors, mists, or spray. Keep out of the reach of​

children. Avoid breathing of dust created by cutting, sanding, grinding or machining. Avoid contact with oxidizing agents.



Personal Protection:

8.2 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)​

8.2.1 Eye/Face Protection​

Avoid eye contact. Avoid eye contact with vapors, mists, or spray.
The following eye protection(s) are recommended: Indirect Vented Goggles.​

8.2.2 Skin Protection​

Avoid skin contact.
Select and use gloves and/or protective clothing to prevent skin contact based on the results of an exposure assessment. Consult with
your glove and/or protective clothing manufacturer for selection of appropriate compatible materials.
Gloves made from the following material(s) are recommended: Nitrile Rubber, Polyethylene/Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol.​

8.2.3 Respiratory Protection​

Avoid breathing of vapors, mists or spray. Avoid breathing of dust created by cutting, sanding, grinding or machining.
Select one of the following NIOSH approved respirators based on airborne concentration of contaminants and in accordance with
OSHA regulations: Fullface supplied-air respirator, Half facepiece or fullface air-purifying respirator with organic vapor cartridges
and P95 particulate prefilters. Consult the current 3M Respiratory Selection Guide for additional information or call 1-800-243-4630
for 3M technical assistance.​

8.2.4 Prevention of Swallowing​

Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product. Wash exposed areas thoroughly with soap and water.



It may seem like some excessive reading, but it is definitely worth. I hope that is some helpful information.

-Matt

 

[Spitfire22V]

For what it's worth, I've never caught a whiff of resin when my respirator is on. I'd double check over yours to make sure it's tight fit on the face and that the filter cartridges are one properly. However, a tiny whiff every now and then is inevitable (like when I take off the respirator when I'm finished) and should not be harmful.

As for your concerns about fiberglass particles while sanding, what makes you think someone else would want to deal with those particles? As long as you have a respirator of even simply a particle mask, particles should not be a huge concern. And anyway, the only time I really experienced fiberglass particles was when I was trimming excess fiberglass off the edges of pieces, or when cutting them. Compared to my time spent sanding Bondo, those times were very quick. Still, I always use a mask when sanding, as well as goggles too.

There's no substitute for good safety precautions when doing something like this. Better to look goofy and be slightly inconvenienced or uncomfortable than to damage your eyes, lungs, etc.

 

[ventrue]

I'm in the process of making some armor, I purchased some Bondo Car Resin as well as all the recommended safety equipment ( $50 Respirator, Latex Gloves, Goggles ect ).

Anyways I've done a few coats of Resin to my armor now, but ive noticed everytime I do the resining...

1) I always catch a small whiff of the smell of resin, Even while wearing my Respirator, to my knowledge theres no leak in the respirator, and I'm outside when I resin, am I in any danger?

2) I've developed a scratchy throat and a bit of a cough the last few days, I suspect its a cold and un-related, but I'm still concerned.

3) Can I pay a panal beater or someone in a shop to actually sand the armor for me? I really dont want to deal with fiberglass particles in my lungs.

Not sure if by "latex" you mean the type of glove (thin, stretchy examination gloves) or the actual material, but gloves like this will not protect you from anything but cosmetic damage for very long - A few minutes maybe, nothing more. If you want to really "dive into" the resin, you need something heavier and you'll have to check the specs before you buy, because not every material and glove model are suited for dealing with solvents, in this case styrene. The styrene is also the stuff that you smell and that's doing most of the damage. However, it's not like you're going to die immediately if you inhale the slightest amount of it. What's problematic is inhaling larger quantities and doing so over a longer period of time.

In general, I personally am staying away from latex gloves, because exposition seems to be related to latex allergy.

About #1:
You can check the fit every time you put it on by covering either the inhalation or exhalation valve(s) with your hands (without pressing the mask into your face!) and then breathing in or out, depending on which valve you are covering. The mask should slightly bulge, but no air must pass. Also move your head around and make funny faces when you adapt the straps prior to using it, things like smiling or looking in certain directions can cause leaks.
If it fits right, but you still smell something, then the filters are the problem. They could be the wrong ones (in this case, you need organic vapour filters), they could be used up (in which case you need new ones; this would be likely if they work fine at first and start malfunctioning after a while) or they could have an insufficient adsorption capacity. The latter could be your problen here if they had this problem from the beginning and if you're only smelling something when you hang your head right over the resin, where the styrene concentration is the highest. The solution for this would be better filters, if there are any available.

About #2:
Go see a doctor.

About #3:
If it's a good mask, you can probably buy particle filters for it as well. 3M offers little clamps for their 6000-series masks that you can use to stick particle filters on top of your vapour filter cartridges, a combination like that is also very useful for painting later on, because it will filter particles, aerosoles and vapours, all of which occur while spray painting.

 

[Zprime]

**** I Think I'm in trouble... used a p100 mask not a p95

So in regards to my other thread..

I purchased a respirator.. one that filters out dust and other ' highly toxic fumes '.

However I'm in deep **** now, with chest pain, back pain and nerve damage.

From just a few minutes working with resin with my P100 mask on ( fitted properly, brand new, no leaks ) I fear Ive inhaled too much resin.

Why is it not mentioned you have to get a p95 mask? I'm not upset at the 405th forums but saying a respirator that masks out fumes can mean anything, In my case I purchased the best mask money could buy at the time, a P100 that was supposed to cover everything...
it does not cover resin though.

 

[ventrue]

So in regards to my other thread..

I purchased a respirator.. one that filters out dust and other ' highly toxic fumes '.

However I'm in deep **** now, with chest pain, back pain and nerve damage.

From just a few minutes working with resin with my P100 mask on ( fitted properly, brand new, no leaks ) I fear Ive inhaled too much resin.

Why is it not mentioned you have to get a p95 mask? I'm not upset at the 405th forums but saying a respirator that masks out fumes can mean anything, In my case I purchased the best mask money could buy at the time, a P100 that was supposed to cover everything...
it does not cover resin though.

Stay calm. You still have a few days left - time you should use well! Say goodbye to everyone, buy a coffin and pick a nice spot for it in the cemetery

More seriously: I don't think a few minutes of working with it have caused any serious damage. Still: See a doctor. He'll tell you if you really have nerve damage.

About the resiprator: Seems to me like this is a classic case of "not reading up on safety properly". P100 Masks DO filter more effectively than P95 masks. But have you ever wondered why it says "P100" in the first place? The P stands for "particle". Not sure how difficult it is to get these things oil-proof (that's the difference to an N100 filter, which would probably have been cheaper, but just as wrong), but the 50$ you mentioned seem like a rip-off to me. And are you sure the package and/or manual are talking about "fumes"?
What you need are filters for organic vapours, because if you've paid attention you will surely have noticed that liquid resin is not at all dusty. Sanding it is, and that is where your particle filter comes in.

What you need looks somewhat like this: http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a412/ventrue3000/405th/Tools%20and%20materials/21092010108.jpg
The filters have brown labels in my country, they may look and be labelled differently in yours. They're black in the US I think. The picture also shows the clamped-down particle filters on top of the vapour cartridges - a mask like this will filter out just about anything (airborne!) you come into contact with while building a model: Solvent vapours from paint and resin, aerosoles from paint and particles from painting or sanding.

 

[Agent Arizona]

So in regards to my other thread..

I purchased a respirator.. one that filters out dust and other ' highly toxic fumes '.

However I'm in deep **** now, with chest pain, back pain and nerve damage.

From just a few minutes working with resin with my P100 mask on ( fitted properly, brand new, no leaks ) I fear Ive inhaled too much resin.

Why is it not mentioned you have to get a p95 mask? I'm not upset at the 405th forums but saying a respirator that masks out fumes can mean anything, In my case I purchased the best mask money could buy at the time, a P100 that was supposed to cover everything...
it does not cover resin though.

No, resin takes time to do damage. Using it a few times will not do this. That almost sounds more like an allergic reaction. Id see a doctor about that.

I had to place wet resin inside my house because of rain and it smelled for days but everyone is fine. Minor head aches at first but it was alright