Respirator 101

I have looked all over google and this site to find some answers about which respirator is best to use while grinding away the old glass to bed stringers to the hull. With so many different ratings and styles, brands, and accessories to choose from the bottom line question is difficult to find an answer to. Which filter is best for this application, and how many hours should I expect to get out of them? I already have a half face AO Safety brand respirator that I bought a while back for some drywall work.

My best guess right now is that either an N99 or N100 filter is the way to go.

For anybody wanting to learn more I found wikipediato be the only place with any useful information. The directions in the filter package is very vague about how many hours to expect from the cartridges as the lifetime is affected by the environment you are working in. I will be doing all my grinding work outside. Thanks for the help and happy grinding!

Not exactly the answer I was looking for but that is something to consider if you can accommodate that ie tools, location. I am talking about the inevitable hull grinding with 24 grit flap disks, to get down to the bare mat, dust producing mayhem. Are you saying you do all of that work with water running over the grinder and no PPE?

Thanks Eric that answers one question! Use the filter till it is clogged.
Which rating cartridges do you use?

I would definitely buy a full face if I was not on such a tight budget(have been looking everywhere for the steal of a deal). Going to have to settle for the equipment I already have for now.

Here is what I use Hobby Air to paint with and plan to get a full face mask when I go to do my stringers. You only get one pair of lungs---

Luckily, i do work for Serv-Pro and they donated 2 full face masks to me, there are nice because you can change the glass or plastic when they start to scratch, no problems at all with them

Not trying to put down your method, and believe me I know all the dangers of working with glass which is why I started this thread. There is nothing funny about dying from cancer, emphysema, or fibrosis. I have witnessed them first hand myself too. I was attempting to make a joke about smoking a certain something through the machine that makes you hungry. If you don't get it you don't get it. You are lucky to already have this machine and will be very safe. If anything I envy you.

Again I can't afford a $462 machine but I can afford the best filters they make for my mask. I am STILL trying to get a consensus on what that is based on their ratings. The key is to get the right PPE for the right job. A spacesuit would work great too but again the price tag makes it unreasonable for MOST of us and Tyvek works real well.

For such a simple question I am a little disappointed at the responses received so far. This does not need to be a 10 page thread. I was looking for a short sweet thread with the answer to a very important question. How to be safe without breaking the bank so others could benefit down the road.

Which filter rating is appropriate for this application?

Thanks Mike.

N95 is adequate, N99 and N100 are above the call of duty. I want to be as careful as I can so I will stick with the face mask and N99 or N100 filters. Other filters may be more appropriate for different applications like painting, gelcoating etc, as the R and P filters are oil resistant and oil proof respectively.

oh the years I spent maskless, you know the ones, no seat belts, no air bags, kids in the front seat, spraying hundreds of gallons of Caterpillar white lead base paint, some day i will regret it. I wear that mask religously now

Would using a shop vac hose near the cutting help with the dust?

My opinion is do it outside, on a windy day, with a mask similar to Keegan's photo.
A shop vac does a little to help but you are moving so much and changing angles, i think it is hardly worth it. If you can do the bulk outside, and just little touch ups inside, that is best. This is why it took me an extra 3 weeks to get started on my boat. Had to wait for tolerable weather outside.

By far! even digging old foam takes a distant second place to grinding.

Keegan, I understand where your coming from. I bought it for the Imron and now use it for alot of things.There isn't a filter made that will protect you from isocyanates other wise I'd have bought one. Like Eric, when I was younger,I didnt think about it.But as you get older your perspective changes.

Your better off outside anyway,you'd be finding glass dust 20 years down the road if you were inside,you know Murphy's law   

GottaSki;

How was the clean up using your method. Does it sling a slurry.

Yes you did say pnuematic. However many of the guys currently rebuilding are using electric. I was just trying to help those rebuilders.


Sorry !!!

GottaSki wrote: You guys can't read for sh|t, I never said no ppe and clearly said pnuematic grinder.

If you had read the opening this thread is ABOUT PPE So maybe you outta get YOUR glasses checked buddy. Not all areas of the hull drain to the bilge, so you are just going to fill all those areas with water? Sounds like a lot more trouble than its worth to me. Plus its freezing cold out there. Maybe you live somewhere warm with your head too far up your ass to read. Good for you.

If you would like to contribute in a constructive manner to a thread I started about respirators then come on back. If you want to talk about grinding techniques START YOUR OWN THREAD!