Urethanes- dangerous stuff

[FishStretcher]

Don't just take my word for it.

http://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/si...at-maintenance

[bigeasy1]

Yup they are nothing to fool with.Having said that however,when I was young and stupid,I sprayed my 18' aluminum boat with a linear urethane by the name of Sunfire.It's a two part urethane similar to the others like Imron.It's made by Sherwin Williams and sold only through their automotive supply and industrial supply houses.It was used a lot in the airplane business.
I was told by the clerk at the auto body supply house that a standard cartridge respirator would be fine to use,so that's what I wore.
I sprayed the boat in one of our large warehouses that was about 70,000 square feet,and it had a few big exhaust fans,that I ran while I was doing the spraying.

Now skip ahead twenty years to my Seacraft Tsunami restoration.I decided to paint it,so again,I sprayed the Tsunami with another two part urethane,this one made by Epifanes. It's chemical make up is very similar to Imron.
I again wore a dual cartridge respirator,but I sprayed it outdoors.

Did I read on the respirators "not for use with isocyanates"???,Yup I did but all the backyard amature painters told me not to worry,its only necessary if your in a confined area with no ventilation.

Now a few years later I hear some horror stories about the damage that these paints can do to the human body.To this day I worry if I did any damage to my system.Maybe I was lucky as I did these jobs with a lot of fresh air,and both times I was completely covered by wearing tyvek suits and hoods,and also wore gloves.There was only a tiny bit of unprotected skin .
I know that I wouldnt spray any of them again without using an air supplied respirator.I don't fool with any kind of chemicals anymore without wearing protection.

One thing I find odd, is when I watch those auto restoration TV shows like Overhaulin etc,these guys are in a professional spray booth,with a pro doing the spraying,and he's laying on the primer and finish coats and doing it with NO! respirator of any kind.
I know they are shooting mostly acrylic and even water based automotive paints,but one would think it would be wise to wear at least some kind of respirator.

[dsharp]

As long as you were outdoors you're probably ok. You really shouldn't shoot those paints without a fresh air mask and a full tyvek suit. The overspray on my skin makes me feel pretty bad. It's a beautiful paint but I'm not sure it's worth the health risks. I'm glad that I don't do it for a living any more.

[FishStretcher]

I got poisoned painting ChromaOne (like Imron). I had a brand new mask, but not enough ventilation. I had tremors like seizures overnight, and I think I messed up one eye slightly. That was almost 20 years ago.

[slowJEEP]

Thanks for the heads up. On that note don't burn brake cleaners that contain chlorates.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by bigeasy1

. . . I sprayed my 18' aluminum boat with a linear urethane by the name of Sunfire.It's a two part urethane similar to the others like Imron.It's made by Sherwin Williams and sold only through their automotive supply and industrial supply houses.It was used a lot in the airplane business.
I was told by the clerk at the auto body supply house that a standard cartridge respirator would be fine to use,so that's what I wore. , ,

John,

Sunfire is an industrial grade urethane that appears to be the same stuff as Signature Finish, except that Tom Fabula can mix it in any color you want as opposed to the limited color selection available from Sherwin Williams! I think a standard charcoal cartridge filter is OK for roll & tip is, as that's what I've used with it with no problems. Tom doesn't seem to offer a lot of support for spraying it, and I can see how the fumes could be a lot more toxic when sprayed.

[bigeasy1]

Thanks for that info Denny.

I don't think I'd spray urethane again,not so much because it's dangerous,but because I found that you can get extremely good results with roll and tip.

I kind of found that to be true by accident.
I was pulling up to the dock with the wind howling,and had the stern get slammed into the corner of the dock,taking a small chunk out of the stbd rear corner and leaving some gouges in the paint.
Anyway I had some of the same paint left in the shed so I prepared the surface,faired out the ding,catalyzed the paint, and applied it with a foam brush.
I kid you not,it actually came out as good as if it was sprayed,in fact it may even be nicer.I was amazed how good it looked and still looks.
This was with the Epifanes two part urethane.

From now on it's roll and tip for me.