After effects

[Dagger6actual]

Well I had cancer. Back of my throat on the base of my tongue. After surgery, chemo and radiation I'm left with no saliva glands...so no spit! Have to sip water at least every 30 min. I'm not complaining....hell I'm happy to be able to pass on this warning...we use glues, paints and other chemicals. Yes some are non-toxic...to one degree or another.
But this picture shows me just finishing some assembly and getting ready to paint...
I ask you all to be careful, be smart....nope, I never smoked..and I'm careful now....I hope you are too...most cancer is survivable now...but the process, that journey, is no D--- fun...so, take care...be smart....

 

[spud]

I hate cancer, but did you actually get it from modelling ?

 

[Dagger6actual]

Nah...I had been out of modeling for several years...however, when I was building "back in the day" we didn't know how some of the chemicals could affect us. Both my parents were two pack a day folks so I was exposed to that...if it had any affect...who knows.
They're pretty sure mine was probably environmental...note the "probably"...
I've seen a lot of videos of guys painting, using pretty strong chemicals, glues, etc. and not wearing any protection. Since building a good model is as good as sex should we wear protection for that too? Ok, I'm showing my senior dementia there!! LOL...
Wearing the mask is just a slight inconvenience...I sometimes slip into the fantasy of being Maverick..."break left!"...

 

[Grendels]

This is in part as to why I have such a large spray booth. I do all my painting there and rarely does any of the chemical fumes escape it.

I do have a respirator like that for sanding resin....

 

[spud]

well no way would i wear one of those when building as the fumes are not that strong, unless u knock it over ;D i very rarely use enamel or alclads in my booth so i don't use a mask as big as that but if i was on the smelly stuff i would defo be using one like that

 

[noname]

I agree with you Dagger. Better safe than sorry. Spud brought up a very good point. Some glues and paints aren't that smelly. But beware! That does not mean they can't hurt you. And those low odour solvents? That just means they don't smell that much, however in most cases they still have the same toxic chemicals in them.

Even some water soluble paints are not good for you. Take Tamiya acrylics for example. On the bottle it says, "Do not allow product to come into contact with skin, eyes or mouth.",...."Use in a well ventilated room".

The way I see it is, why push it? We are all exposed to pollution both inside and outside our homes. There is junk in our food and personal cleaning products, off gassing from plastics etc.etc. I say, why push it?

I believe it is healthy to remind ourselves of this once in a while. I know I get lazy time to time. ;D

 

[Chris S]

Hey Dagger ,

Good to know you beat the cancer mate I too had a couple of fights with it , in the Bladder twice ! . Mine was also associated to the different chemicals I used in my work ( Spraypainting ) I didnt have to get the Radiation ,but did have the Chemo ,which isnt pleasant at all
Anyhoo ,you are right in what you say ,and I dont consider spraying anything without a mask and gloves now ,its just commen sense , once you get used to doing it ,it becomes routine .

Chris.

 

[WebbyNZ]

Great advise, for the cost of a kit you can get a decent mask, and those cheap paperish ones don't count, they are adequate for keeping particles out but do next to nothing for the fumes.
I suggest getting some thinner or something that has a real odour and trying a decent mask to see the difference, and thats just the things you can smell.
And don't forget anyone that has to share your workspaces. Family, pets etc are also vunerable so make sure you are away from them or invest in some sort extraction system to get those fumes out of the house/garage.