Hobby Health and Safety--Your Turn

I use a spray booth but the primary reason is to keep overspray out of the house, not health reasons. If my health benefits, fine.

I keep the pointy end of my blades facing away from me.

I don't drink anything liquid on the bench unless it says Sam Adams or Diet Pepsi.

I wear safety glasses when running the dremel.

When I initially sit down, if I drop the first thing I pick up more than twice, I get up and walk away from the bench.

One word --- Hydrocarbons.

Use a respirator or spray booth when airbrushing enamels or lacquers. These fumes can mess you up over the long haul. They will attack your central nervous system and impact your liver.

In addition to my spraybooth, I have two other forced air devices on my bench. One is a muffin fan mounted in a box under a hole in the right side of the workbench surface. The hole is covered by a grate and screen to keep parts falling in. The box is connected to a vent tube that runs to the outside (a piece of PVC pipe mounted beside the spray booth, which is in the window next to the bench.) My solvent cement bottles sit on or next to the benchtop intake. Because the vent tube can be detached from the PVC pipe by the spraybooth, that pipe also gets used to vent solvent from cleaning the airbrush, so it doesn't have to go through the booth or near anything (like a drying model) in the booth. There are other advantages to that arrangement: I can turn off the booth and even close it on the model while the paint is becoming tack free, thus reducing the potential for dust in the finish, and still safely clean the airbrush, even if I'm using (rarely) a hydrocarbon solvent system.

I also have another muffin fan mounted on the left side of the bench, blowing gently across the bench toward the spraybooth and the benchtop evacuation fan. 

I open a window and spray over a trashcan while smoking a cigar and nibbling on Percocet and Vicodin...

No booth, no respirator, no fire extiguishers, exhaust fans, over-pressured hot zones, negative air hatches, microbial kill-lights, Hazmat suits, SCBAs, sprinklers, halon fire-supression systems or any of that crap... Just a box of bandaids & a few pairs of "painting" surgical gloves I rip off from the exam room every time I go to the ER because I blew up another microwave oven or ran with scissors...

Been cut, burned, stabbed, and I have my own coffee cup at the ER...

I've also been electrocuted, set on fire, blown up, shot down, shot at and missed, shot at and hit, played with live nerve agents, been beaten, battered, and broken,, been in 11 car wrecks and one helicopter crash and am pretty sure that I won't live much past 102...  After all that, I couldn't care less about all that stuff...  I also have an overwhelming desire to door-bang joggers and cyclists on MY highway...

If I ever would have worried about all that "health" junk, my mother never would have let me have m' first tube of Testor's...

In that case, Hans, why do you bother with the open window and trashcan? By your lights, isn't that "overkill"?

Hans von Hammer wrote:

I open a window and spray over a trashcan while smoking a cigar and nibbling on Percocet and Vicodin... No booth, no respirator, no fire extiguishers, exhaust fans, over-pressured hot zones, negative air hatches, microbial kill-lights, Hazmat suits, SCBAs, sprinklers, halon fire-supression systems or any of that crap... Just a box of bandaids & a few pairs of "painting" surgical gloves I rip off from the exam room every time I go to the ER because I blew up another microwave oven or ran with scissors... Been cut, burned, stabbed, and I have my own coffee cup at the ER... I've also been electrocuted, set on fire, blown up, shot down, shot at and missed, shot at and hit, played with live nerve agents, been beaten, battered, and broken,, been in 11 car wrecks and one helicopter crash and am pretty sure that I won't live much past 102...  After all that, I couldn't care less about all that stuff...  I also have an overwhelming desire to door-bang joggers and cyclists on MY highway... If I ever would have worried about all that "health" junk, my mother never would have let me have m' first tube of Testor's...

My kind of guy, Hans. When I was younger I used to live in a 12x12 bedroom. I'd use rattle cans in there on a regular basis, lots of times around o'dark thirty in the morning, wanting to get a coat of paint on so it could dry over night, then I'd go to bed. Still don't care about the fumes much (a little more than I used to) but use the booth to keep over spray off the rest of the house and on going projects.

Glues? Bring'em on. I like the smell of tube glue and I suck my Tenax into the touch n flow like a straw. Did you know that stuff is sweet?

My biggest health problem is a nagging knee and a back that hurts everytime I sit at the bench for more than four hours at a time.

Hans von Hammer wrote:

I open a window and spray over a trashcan while smoking a cigar and nibbling on Percocet and Vicodin... No booth, no respirator, no fire extiguishers, exhaust fans, over-pressured hot zones, negative air hatches, microbial kill-lights, Hazmat suits, SCBAs, sprinklers, halon fire-supression systems or any of that crap... Just a box of bandaids & a few pairs of "painting" surgical gloves I rip off from the exam room every time I go to the ER because I blew up another microwave oven or ran with scissors... Been cut, burned, stabbed, and I have my own coffee cup at the ER... I've also been electrocuted, set on fire, blown up, shot down, shot at and missed, shot at and hit, played with live nerve agents, been beaten, battered, and broken,, been in 11 car wrecks and one helicopter crash and am pretty sure that I won't live much past 102...  After all that, I couldn't care less about all that stuff...  I also have an overwhelming desire to door-bang joggers and cyclists on MY highway... If I ever would have worried about all that "health" junk, my mother never would have let me have m' first tube of Testor's...

Hans, why don't you tell us how you really feel... 

Can we get in touch with your Mom so we can have her take away any glue you now own?  It's quite evident that first tube of Testors has sent you down the wrong path.

Gip

Good to see you around Styrene.

I use a full respirator while airbrushing, but only use a plain cardboard box as spraybooth.  I keep a fan blowing behind me whether airbrushing or handpainting/glueing.  I taped a stick to the side of my X-Acto knife to keep it from rolling onto me.  Latex gloves when handling chemicals, but I wish they were nitrile, latex is kind of itchy sometimes

My workbench is in the living room, no fans for the brush painting (enamels of course) or glue.  My "paint booth" is my driveway, so plenty of ventilation (as long as I keep my back to the breeze).  A quick spritz to check the wind direction and paint away.  I did recently buy a respirator for use when I used a spray gun to paint a closet.  I may start using it when I spray paint outside (the respirator, not the spray gun ).

djrost_2000 wrote:

Good to see you around Styrene.

It's good to be "seen", thanks; and back at ya'.  (I heard a guy say recently that it's better to be seen than viewed.)

djrost_2000 wrote:

I use a full respirator while airbrushing, but only use a plain cardboard box as spraybooth.  I keep a fan blowing behind me whether airbrushing or handpainting/glueing.  I taped a stick to the side of my X-Acto knife to keep it from rolling onto me.  Latex gloves when handling chemicals, but I wish they were nitrile, latex is kind of itchy sometimes

Be careful using a cardboard box as your booth.  Vapors will have a tendency to accumulate and therefore concentrate there, increasing exposure potentials. 

If you're itching, beware of a possible latex allergy.  While I would strongly recommend nitrile over latex, I believe you can still get by fairly inexpensively buying hypoallergenic rubber gloves.  I believe the rubber is synthetic, instead of the natural latex rubber which has the possibility of causing latex allergies.

And you use a full respirator.  Is that a full-face respirator?  While they are certainly overkill to the extreme, IMHO there is nothing more comfortable; plus they have the added advantage of having eye protection built in!

Gip

styrene wrote:

Thought it might be a good idea for all you modelers to chime in and post a couple tips, suggestions, resources, etc. about what YOU do to maintain your hobby health. Do you keep a fire extinguisher nearby?   yes; two actually, one on the main workbench, one on the attached garage where I keep the AB spraybooth Maybe you have a spraybooth.   yes; I use mainly enamels. Also use it whem I "cut" putty with acetone-based nailpolish remover for seam filling. Or you switched from lacquers to latex.   use enamels; if I need to touch up or paint small parts, I turn on a small fan that blows across the workbench. Do you have rubber gloves that work really well, or an incredibly comfortable respirator?   latex gloves, ubt mostly to keep my fingerprints away from the paint :) yes to respirator and DO change the filter as needed  How about any "work practices" that you use?  Tell us about what works (or doesn't) for you.  a "sharps" container for used blades googles that i use when cutting/bending PE always cut/slice away from me small fan blowing across the bench when using solutions all bottles clearly labelled. glues and thinners kept away, in the dark, at room temperature storage until use. read the MSRP of all solvents and "stuff" i use. xcto knives and other "pointythings" have a container for holding while not in use, avoid rolling off table bottle of whatever liquid (paint, glue, thinner) always farther than the model; your hand then wont be able to knock the bottle over when you move it towards you and/or the model. enough clean surface to work in a safe, slow and efficient way. "slow-mo" hands when working Yeah, Im anal compulsive, spent 25 years working in biomedical research labs ;)     This has the potential to help a lot of our fellow hobbyists. Thanks! Gip Winecoff

Actually not a full-face respirator, but it has two filters plus overcovers, and a valved exhaler.

JMart wrote:

styrene wrote: Thought it might be a good idea for all you modelers to chime in and post a couple tips, suggestions, resources, etc. about what YOU do to maintain your hobby health. Do you keep a fire extinguisher nearby?   yes; two actually, one on the main workbench, one on the attached garage where I keep the AB spraybooth Maybe you have a spraybooth.   yes; I use mainly enamels. Also use it whem I "cut" putty with acetone-based nailpolish remover for seam filling. Or you switched from lacquers to latex.   use enamels; if I need to touch up or paint small parts, I turn on a small fan that blows across the workbench. Do you have rubber gloves that work really well, or an incredibly comfortable respirator?   latex gloves, ubt mostly to keep my fingerprints away from the paint :) yes to respirator and DO change the filter as needed  How about any "work practices" that you use?  Tell us about what works (or doesn't) for you.  a "sharps" container for used blades googles that i use when cutting/bending PE always cut/slice away from me small fan blowing across the bench when using solutions all bottles clearly labelled. glues and thinners kept away, in the dark, at room temperature storage until use. read the MSRP of all solvents and "stuff" i use. xcto knives and other "pointythings" have a container for holding while not in use, avoid rolling off table bottle of whatever liquid (paint, glue, thinner) always farther than the model; your hand then wont be able to knock the bottle over when you move it towards you and/or the model. enough clean surface to work in a safe, slow and efficient way. "slow-mo" hands when working Yeah, Im anal compulsive, spent 25 years working in biomedical research labs ;)

JMart wrote:

read the MSRP of all solvents and "stuff" i use.

I believe you meant MSDS (material safety data sheet) instead of manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP).  Sorry, not trying to be the "grammar police", but I've never seen that acronym used in quite that context.  I, too, look at the MSRP but only at the time of purchase.  However, with prices increasing on all goods almost daily, sometimes I'll look at it a couple times (usually in disbelief!).  

JMart wrote:

bottle of whatever liquid (paint, glue, thinner) always farther than the model; your hand then wont be able to knock the bottle over when you move it towards you and/or the model.

Your excellent suggestion brings to mind another tip I've seen used:  Sculpy or modeling clay built up so that it holds a bottle of glue or paint.  The clay is formed around the bottle so that it has a much broader base than the bottle it holds.  Makes it almost impossible to accidentally tip it over.  Plus the clay is pretty inert--it typically doesn't react with organic solvents.  Placing Sculpy in the oven will harden it so that you have a permanent and (almost) indestructible container holder.

All of your tips are very good; thanks for taking the time to share them with us.

Gip

Triarius wrote:

In that case, Hans, why do you bother with the open window and trashcan? By your lights, isn't that "overkill"?

Married...

"I believe you meant MSDS (material safety data sheet) instead of manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP).  "

   of course! LOL been staring at online sales for too long and comparing prices lol  sorry!

I make sure to wear shoes or sandals at the very least.  About a week after the new year I was working on my F4U-5 Corsair when I looked up at the clock and saw, with great alarm, that it was after 2:00 in the morning.  I picked up some bottles of paint, turned to take a step towards the shelf where I keep them, then felt a searing pain in my foot.  I had not noticed that a round toothpick I had been using had rolled off my workbench and fell onto the rug beneath my feet.  As my right foot glided over the carpet, my sock caught the point of it and the toothpick got rammed deep inside my foot.

An hour and a half in the ER and a $2,000 bill later, I now wear shoes or something with a hard sole while I'm working on my kits.  Think about it.  That's equal to 65 Tamiya kits, 110 Monogram kits or a single Trumpeter kit.

Eric

Good "point" Eric!

For that matter, if your workspace is carpeted and you can't change that, getting a desk chair mat to put over the carpet is a good idea. It makes finding dropped items much easier, protects the carpet from spills, and you don't feed the carpet monster. 

Hi Triarias!

I actually have a set of those foam squares by Craftsman on my bare concrete floor.  I tell ya!  Those interlocking foam squares are a Godsend!  But I have a barstool on top of that at which I sit.  The feet on the stool are kind of small which end up putting some serious dents in the foam.  As a result, I put a little throw rug underneath; kind of like a bathmat with the rubber backing.  That way the stool feet don't completely dig into the foam padding.  Maybe I'll have to look for a better stool with less damaging feet.  Have the foam pad and the little throw rug on top sure felt good on the tootsies but now I just get a case of PTSD if I'm down there with only socks on my feet.  Yikes!

Eric

Triarius wrote:

For that matter, if your workspace is carpeted and you can't change that, getting a desk chair mat to put over the carpet is a good idea. It makes finding dropped items much easier, protects the carpet from spills, and you don't feed the carpet monster.

Good points Ross and Eric.  If you're cheap like I am, a quick trip to Wally World, Target, or their equivalent will produce an inexpensive shower curtain that can be put on the floor to catch parts.  Home improvement centers also have polyethylene drop cloths that are larger, and could, if desired, be cut to fit under a modeling bench.

Gip

I always use a respirator and spray booth when airbrushing. I switched to Acrylic paints years ago and never looked back. Less smell and mess involved in clean up compared to Enamels. In my opinion Lacquers are bad news. They reek, even if used outside. I can't imagine airbrushing or rattle can spraying Lacquers indoors!  

I don't use gloves, but I always wash up after any time at the bench. No need to ingest any extra paint or glue residue. Fast Orange Hand Cleaner (with Pumice) is GOOD STUFF!!

I also abandoned using X-acto knives long ago. They have round handles and tend to roll off of the bench, and onto you, too easily. Now I use the Stanley retractable blade knives. They are square, so they can't roll off! The old blades snap off, when you want a fresh one.

MattSix,

GoJo automotive hand cleaner is really good too.  Just two squirts will take all the paint off your hands, and it leaves the skin feeling really soft.

All I had to do with my X-Acto knives was tape a stick to the side of the handle, parallel to the handle (lengthwise to lengthwise).  I've never had a rolling knife since.

Dave

MattSix wrote:

I always use a respirator and spray booth when airbrushing.

If the spraybooth is functioning correctly, a respirator should not be needed, since all contaminants are supposed to be drawn into the booth and exhausted outside.  Having said that, there is certainly nothing wrong with adding an extra layer of protection.

MattSix wrote:

I also abandoned using X-acto knives long ago. They have round handles and tend to roll off of the bench, and onto you, too easily. Now I use the Stanley retractable blade knives. They are square, so they can't roll off! The old blades snap off, when you want a fresh one.

I have an X-acto handle that has what looks like a square nut on the end of the handle that is specifically designed to prevent it from rolling.  I bought mine through an LHS, but I bet they could be found online just as easily.

Gip

djrost_2000 wrote:

MattSix, GoJo automotive hand cleaner is really good too.  Just two squirts will take all the paint off your hands, and it leaves the skin feeling really soft. All I had to do with my X-Acto knives was tape a stick to the side of the handle, parallel to the handle (lengthwise to lengthwise).  I've never had a rolling knife since. Dave

Thanks for the tip on the GoJo hand cleaner Dave! I try it out!

The Fast Orange is great, but it really smells too "orange" for my taste.

I have to wonder if GoJo might be the same or similar under a different name.  I just put a little on my hand and the scent is indeed orangy or lemony, and the jug is orange plastic.  Whatever the case it works great!

When I younger I painted my 1st race car shooting 120 psi outta HVLP gun (sholud be like 25-40 if I remeber I dont paint much anymore) no mask in a garage got stoned outta my mind (unintentionaly lol) and had red boogers for a week lol (and that was real auto paint) think I killed some brain cells on that one....

John

I think my first high was courtesy of testers paint and glue.LOL

I was building a P-51 and when I was finished glueing I went right to painting.

Well afetr 3 coats were on I was feeling a bit dizzy.

I remember when I came out of my room my folks knew instantly what happened and laughed at me, then got me some fresh air.

Now days I build in shorter time spans, use mostly acrylic paints, and always keep the sharp stuff in boxs far from the edge of the table.

Oh, and I inspect the area after clean up for anything I missed before I get up.

Many times I have found parts that I forgot or a used #11 laying on the floor.