bad urethane experience-need info

I sprayed Imron back in the 80s while in voed school.It had the same effect on me,same with enamel with a hardner.I stay away from that. safe for the enviroment, butt itll kill you.

 

Nasty stuff ,Over the winter I did panel painting wore respirator and was high for awhile a little dizzy and no chest pain ,Urethanes are more caustic than straight enamels ,I only paint my own stuff .I wish you well ,Gonna have to stop for awhile .Youll get through it ,You need time . Im using Enamel again Urethanes are to nasty for me .....

 

Bingo, I am involved deeply with aircraft and this was a serious problem with isocyanate cured uerathanes due to the fact that most use it in strip and repaint for aircraft. Imron being the most popular.

The two canister filters masks do not remove it and over time you can become sensitive to it some pass out and crash there aircraft. I know deaths have been associated with those paints also.

You must us a remotly sourced air mask when shooting the stuff. The ones with a feed line on them.

I would get to your doctor and tell him what happened.

 

I realize this is an old post but just read through entire thing and am glad for it. I have done minor rattle can painting in my garage here and there and a couple driveway racecar jobs and was considering painting my truck in my shop. I will not do it without a suppled air system and will research materials i use. 6 months ago I Painted a racecar in my garage. One day after I started having chest pains, shortness of breath and light headedness sore throat and on 3rd day lost my voice for 3 days. it didnt occur to me it could be the paint until a week later when I put two and two together.This post was a wake up call for how serious this shit is and how it affects us if unprotected. I am glad it was brought back up.

 

Yup, I can second the aviation comment.

One day, at my previous job I was in the paint booth. Shop foreman came in without a respirator on to tell me something really quick.

Next thing I know, I'm picking his ass up off the booth floor.

He'd been in the business for 25 year and I guess that was his final paint exposure experience.

He never went near the paint shop again, doctors orders.

Shawn

 

used to work in a body shop. the owner had been overexposed to urethane and was overly sensitive to it. he couldnt go near the spray booth when the painter was spraying or mixing it without breathing probs.

 

Since this old thread has revived, I'd just add that my child has nut allergies and I think this conversation is really about allergic reactions instead of just urethane. What I've learned is that your body's reactions "ramp-up" and overcompensate from each exposure. Eventually you can get to the point where one molecule of the offending stuff can set off a chain reaction. Kids with nut allergies can react from even touching nuts with their hands or from particles in the air.

Personally, I've also become sensitive to some "garage" materials. WD40 gives me headaches and even rattle-can paints make me light headed. I used to practically swim in the stuff with no problems.

When a product says "use with adequate ventilation" they mean it.

 

This might be a dumb question but was the op using hvlp or regular setup. Would the hvlp ,if used in the driveway with a charcol mask, made it any better ?

 

I finally bought a disposable suit and full face respirator. I haven't painted a full car in awhile, but I haven't had issues YET.......that I know of. I know california outlawed the old version of acrylic urethane, went to a water base paint....except for limco. I'll wait and see if the waterborn paints work good. I still have some urethane and enamel left in the paint cabinet.

 

everyone reacts different, just error on the side of caution. I hear this stuff can seep through your skin also.

 

When our new shop was built, the environmental types red tagged the paint booth , until a positive pressure suit system was installed. The painters were in a full suit, including a hood, and a filtered outside air source maintained just enough "positive pressure" inside the suit and hood,...to keep fumes out.

4TTRUK

 

absolutely. you will actually absorb as much through your skin as without a respirator. bad stuff...

 

And one more entry point often over-looked..........the eyes.

 

zman is 100 percent right Its also absorbed through your skin and eyes ,20 years ago My lung collasped Im allergic to something in laquer,I know my body's limit .After spraying I need 3 days to fully recover.

 

Day 3 did you have a new respirator.............

 

Epoxy primer gives me an instant headache. Even the day after it's painted.

 

Engine Man, take it from the voice of experience about epoxy. If you are experiencing such as :1 skin irritation 2 respiratory problems 3 mucous membranes such as your eyes and your nose water excessively 4 nerve excitation such as your headaches, then your body is telling you to get the HELL away from that epoxy. You are sensitized, to a light degree, altogether though, a strong message you should heed.
It will only get worse, believe me, I'm living it. Now I can't even be in the same building area of anyone using epoxy, not even a little JB Weld to mend something not weldable.
Dave

 

I hope the OP has recovered and responds to this thread.

The thing I'm concerned about is it sounded like one of our own calling for more regulation of our hobby. We get enough of that crap already from our enemies. There have been people calling for government restrictions on old cars in the name of safety, the environment, and "the public good" for years.

If paint manufacturers start getting sued it will simply result in higher costs for everyone and limitations on buying paint and supplies. The OP stated that he followed the directions on the can. We don't know if his mask fit properly, had new filters (since they are only good for 30-60 minutes of exposure). In the days before the internet I bugged the crap put of the jobber for all the information I could. The facility I painted at on a military base in the early 90s wouldn't let us spray urethane since it was known then that full supplied air was needed. So I used Dupont isocyanate free clear and/or acrylic enamel.

With the internet now, it took me about 10 seconds to find the MSDS for the Nason clear I use. It states clearly any isocyanate needs positive pressure respirator and full skin/eye protection. Dupont will not sell any products online now, I suspect because of liability issues.

http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/visitor/common/pdfs/b/product/nsn/MSDS/US_en_GNRC_28-1_RFN.pdf

Also, an allergy is different from toxicity. MSDS refers to PPE needed to prevent toxic levels of exposure. Allergies vary from person to person and are unpredictable. Some people can be highly sensitive to a perfectly non-toxic substance such as latex.

I hope the OP is OK and enjoying his hobby for a long time as I intend to.

 

HVLP most def makes a huge difference - and saves material to boot. The old guns put more paint in the air than on the car literally.

Just used Eastwood (made by Kirker) epoxy primer for the first time - thought it was much less nasty than the USC polyester surfacer I used right before it on the bodywork, that Eastwood also sells. Even curing in less than 50 degree temps the epoxy cured fast and had hardly any smell the next day. While the USC smelled bad for a week until I covered it in epoxy. For both I did heat the shop all day and sprayed around 65 degrees.

Now bee stings - got plenty of those in my life with no allergic reations - last time I swelled up like crazy from a single sting.

 

Just think of ALL the chemicals car guys come in contact with. Heck, for years no one had any idea about the harm they may cause. Brake dust,brake clean,carbon tet,oils,fumes,tire smoke,battery acid,magnetic fields and on and on. You just HAVE to be as careful as you can. Remember when we only worried about the number of stitches it would take to fix us back up?

 

i have a friend that used to farm alfalfa/clover.the leafcutter bees helped greatly in pollination.the nests were cleaned every year,the dust is considered almost toxic-allergy wise.he never used a respirator the first few years,now cant even think about it,his lungs start to itch.horrible stuff.he is now deathly allergic.

i am using enamels at work,brush and rollers,no sprayin.fumes are too much even at that.this thread is an eye opener,as my son is painting equipment including the inside of tractor cabs.although he is an adult,i am compelled to drop in and see what he is applying and what ppe his employer is providing.

in the repair industry,its insane how many chemicals/toxins/allergens a person can expose himself to in just one day.

 

Years ago we used a prpoane torch with a rubber sampeling hose to detect freon leaks. The flame would change color when a leak was found and the freon would burn. Later we were told that phosgene gas was being produced. Also found out that the original brake clean products when used to clean intake carbs and then burnt in combustion could produce the gas.

 

I am

For many years I mixed paint for autobody shops painted a few cars myself went to Sherwin Williams, DuPont, and a couple other schools got my certificates and all. This was late 80’s and all through the 90’s. I am here to tell you it is all dangerous I was continuously on a daily basis being exposed to the fumes even spills on my skin. First my eyesight got bad then I developed asthma my manager was constantly going to the doctor also he would have to get cortisone shots in his feet all the time he had been there 35 years couldn’t wait to retire get his 401k and spend the rest of his life fishing, he was a good man and a great boss. The guy from OSHA would come by twice a year they would go to lunch and he would leave that’s it, no inspections. Years later I would find out why all of what I have written here so far would become very important to me. In 1999 6:00pm I was getting ready to clock out when I was asked to mix one more gallon of paint for one of our important customers I got the binder open picked it up when it slipped out of my hands hit the table all the contents shot up and covered my face and neck it went in my eyes ears nose mouth chest and there were places on my arms too. I could not open my eyes and was trying to find my way to the bathroom which was locked key was on a nail this bathroom was also in the front of the store I was in the back I had my hands out in front of me feeling my way to the bathroom then trued to feel for the keys finally I got in. While I was doing this the boss who was young and filling in for my regular boss was calling a ambulance. I got to the hospital they could not get the paint off of me I had 3rd degree burns to my chest and my eyes were flushed out for a solid hour then he patched them and sent me home with the name of a eye doctor that I was to see the next day. Anyway this is when the nightmare began after I got home right when I walked in my door I started getting dizzy, later on I passed out hit the floor when I woke up I crawled to the phone to call a ambulance my co worker picked me up took me home again I got home my head started buzzing and ringing so loud I would throw up them my body would jerk one way then another really hard I had no control. Not only was I blind I kept experiencing all these symptoms and several more for the next two months the patches came off my eyes two weeks later my eyesight has never been the same very blurry I am just 61 have cataracts glaucoma. The ringing and buzzing in my head has never stopped I just learned to live with it it is getting even louder now. That day changed my life forever I was sensitized just going to the grocery store still can make me dizzy especially the aisles with detergent or plastics. When I cook I wear a mask the smells can make me nauseous. There is much more I could say about all the damage to my organs the many more symptoms my cognitive skills etc. etc. and one of the grosser symptoms of mucus tons of it. Not to mention the pulmonary embolism I had three months after it happened. Solvents benzene all chemicals are very dangerous they can kill you I had been getting small exposures at work daily for years then when the big spill happened that was it all it took. BTW a new young man became manager my all boss retired he never got to go fishing he died right after retirement. Also be careful I loved my work and was good at it my new boss loved me before I got hurt he would say I was going to make him a rich man. But afterword I became a liability I felt so betrayed the doctors were no help they are not equipped for victims of chemical exposures then or even now and it is fixing to be 2018. Please be careful suit up at work if you smell the chemicals when you enter your workplace there is a problem prime indicator. Tell your boss make sure your workplace has enough ventilation and a eyewash or what ever new technology they use today. Remember you become a liability the minute you get hurt if you have a workplace accident when you leave the hospital don’t go to the doctor the er has for you to see on the paperwork find your own protect yourself. Please believe me when you try to explain how you feel Doctors and even your friends will look at you like your crazy. To this day my kids still don’t understand we are close but it is so hard for me to explain to them and I get so flustered because my brain shuts down when I get upset and what I mean to say comes out all wrong. It doesn’t help that no doctor will back you up or explain things to you. I was lucky enough to have old friends in the body shop business who knew what I was talking about they started a fund and I was able to go to the right kind of doctor a immunologist/toxicologist at the time there were only a half a dozen of them in the world his name was Dr. Andrew Campbell from Houston Texas. Now he couldn’t fix me but he could explain to me what was going on and gave me the materials to read and workbooks to help me live as normal a life as possible. He knew what kind of tests to run they cost thousands of dollars but worth every penny because he confirmed everything. Everyone who works with chemicals of any kind needs to be very cautious not everyone will die of occupational illness that does but most will unless lots of things have changed in the last thirty years I hope they have, I hope OSHA hires qualified caring people to put in the fields to make the managers of these establishments follow guide line to a tee and have all the necessary equipment available, weekly safety meetings and all masks along with proper suiting made available daily. When I went back to work after my accident the first thing I did was suit up I took it right off the shelves Amy new boss did not like that even though it was proper procedure I kid you not I felt like Meryl Streep in that movie with Cher when she got hurt at that chemical place where she worked. No one was listening to me or believing me and they were trying to make me mad so I would quit, at the time my daughter was at College Station fixing to get her degree she was on my insurance and she needed surgery I wasn’t about to quit until she got it. Believe me I needed to quit I would get dizzy and nauseous just walking in the door plus if I had to drive the Co. Car to go see a customer sometimes the exhaust coming from the cars in front of me would come thru the air vents in my car it would make me so dizzy and sick I would have to pull off the road. Anyway my daughter had her surgery she graduated and I left that horribly place I have only told a small portion of my story. I hope I wrote it to where it makes sense it is all very true I just still have problems with my mental and verbal organizational skills one more thing all of my relationships were and still are forever affected by this God bless you all stay safe.