[AT] respirators and Isocyanates (Urethane paint)

[John Wilkens]

Good food for thought Dudley!  I'm still thinking about it.  To my 
way of thinking having a tractor so perfect is not much fun--and too 
expensive for what I do with them.   I'm still enjoying learning how 
just to get a decent "farmer quality" paint job.       John




At 12:17 AM 03/30/2008, you wrote:
>George's response/philosophy on using the old standby paints has reminded me
>that this is my philosophy as well.  I guess, however, that I arrived at
>this philosophy not because of safety concerns (although safety should
>always be paramount) but because I've become cheap.
>
>In 1984 I entered the muscle car world when I bought a 67 GTO and like a lot
>of folk in that world I wound up pouring a gazillion dollars into bodywork
>and paint to say nothing of the mechanical work.  As you might guess this
>became a "garage queen" which only made it out on a handful of occasions
>each year.  I was always up tight that someone's knees, elbows, chin (when
>they bent over to inspect), grimy fingers or just their moist breath was
>going to come into contact with the car.  When my oldest granddaughter was
>about four (she just turned seventeen) I came so close to yelling at her to
>not touch grandpa's car when it dawned on me that this is not the kind of
>guy, let alone grandpa, that I want to be.  I kept the car for several more
>years but I virtually lost all interest in it and my attention turned to
>antique tractors, which I vowed would never have expensive paint jobs for
>the reason given above.
>
>My first tractor restoration, which was in 95, was a 52 John Deere Model B
>that I sprayed with John Deere green (no hardener) and brushed with John
>Deere yellow ...less than a hundred bucks in paint.  There are scratches now
>on the sheet metal from the tractor going through brush and fuel stains
>around the gas cap but I've come to love those imperfections as they remind
>me not of a showroom tractor but of a real working tractor.
>
>I had a Super H Farmall sprayed with PPG/Ditzler paint with hardener five or
>six years ago and then a year later I sprayed an MTA with IH paint (no
>hardener).  Like George said regarding his experience it's pretty hard to
>tell the difference.  These tractors also have fuel stains around the filler
>cap and one has a small rear engine oil seal leak and the other a hydraulic
>leak at the two-way valve.  But to me it's these imperfections that give the
>tractor entry into the working class of tractors.
>
>I still enjoy very much going to car shows and admiring the $$$$ paint jobs
>just as I do the tractors at the shows.  But I am now content to let someone
>else pay for them and get the ulcers from worrying about them while I enjoy
>playing in the dirt or mowing fields with my tractors.
>
>Dudley
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
>[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of George Willer
>Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:34 AM
>To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
>Subject: Re: [AT] respirators and Isocyanates (Urethane paint)
>
>John,
>
>Take it from a guy with badly damaged lungs.  There is no reverse!  The
>catalyzed paints are best left to the professionals with their exotic
>equipment.  Those of us who are doing our own painting with less than
>perfect equipment can still get a nice job using the old standby paints that
>don't require the dangerous additives.
>
>Some years ago I painted two identical tractors two weeks apart using IH
>dealer supplied paint... one with hardener and one without.  I can only tell
>them apart now by the damaged (lifted) paint around the gas cap.  That's the
>one with hardener.
>
>George Willer
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
> > bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of John Wilkens
> > Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 3:19 PM
> > To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
> > Subject: [AT] respirators and Isocyanates (Urethane paint)
> >
> > Thought it's about time I got serious about tractor painting and my
> > health!   Can anyone suggest an affordable air-supplied face
> > mask/hood that I could hook up to my air supply?  I'm starting to do
> > a lot more painting with catalyzed paint (mostly acrylic urethanes)
> > and I don't have a multi gazzillion dollar vented paint
> > booth.....just an empty wood shed.....until the weather get good
> > enough for outside painting.  The more I read about the nasty
> > isocyanates in paint catylists the more I think I'd better protect my
> > lungs!  Looking for ideas.       John W.
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>AT mailing list
>http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at


                    In the wide-open spaces of NE Oregon