Phil_H wrote: |
Do I need a 'spray booth'? If you're not going to be building a lot of models then it really isn't essential. As long as you're working in a well ventilated area it should be fine. |
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I'm going to disagree, rather strongly, with Phil on this, although the crux of the matter is how "well ventilated" is defined. There are stop-gaps that are adequate until you can obtain an adequate spray booth, but they are far from being good solutions—they are only adequate.
There are two considerations that must be understood:
- Aerosolized solvents and particulates are much more readily absorbed by the body.
- The source of solvent vapor is not only during actual painting, but during cleaning, when you will be spraying and otherwise using much more solvent.
Of the stop gaps, perhaps the most practical is a large breeze box in a window, immediately adjacent to where you are spraying, and an organic vapor respirator.
A good rule of thumb: If you can smell paint or solvent, your ventilation is not adequate. If you can smell it outside the room where you are working, your ventilation is nonexistent.
Acrylic paints should be considered only slightly less hazardous than enamels, as they often contain alcohols and other, more exotic organic compounds, (including the binder and pigment) none of which you want to breathe.
Always remember that legally, a product can be labeled as "non-toxic" until proven beyond an unreasonable doubt to be toxic. Toxicology research can only test hundreds of compounds in a year. In any given year, thousands of new compounds are invented. Just do the math.
And nobody has the faintest clue about the toxicity of any of these materials in combination with other potentially hazardous materials to which we are exposed every day.
Think of it this way: If you are not exposed to it, it doesn't matter how dangerous it is. What does a single visit to your doctor cost, without insurance? About the cost of a decent spray booth, that's what.