a word of warning

[neil 2,410]

Here is a message to all

I have recently been haveing some health problems with regards to my restpitory system (Breathing) .

I thought it was due to me smoking cigarettes , so i quit smoking which was a good thingt o quit anyway (3months ago now ) still was having trouble breathing

so i started to look at what other reasons that would cause this problem .I have now pin pointed it to the fumes of paint stripper that i have been useing to strip down the parts on the tractor before repainting.

I was carrying out this process in the open air so you might think that it would be ok not to wear a mask, well let me tell you that it isnt .

ALLWAYS WHERE A MASK .

I may have done permanant damage to my lungs now as i have burnt the lining in the lungs and also burnt the throat and nose airways.

So let this be a lesson

Above everything else in restoring these tractors and enjoing this great hobby

Always put your HEALTH & SAFETY first at all times.

I now may have too face years of difficulty breathing as a result of stupidly not wearing a mask

THINK SAFE

[dgoyette 12]

Neil,

So very sorry to hear about your health ordeal. Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery. Respiratory ailments are terrible so thanks for the reminder to think safe in this regard.

When I was sandblasting parts this summer I would sometimes not want to put my mask on if it was a quick piece. Not quite the same as chemical but still could be hazardous long term.

Take care and get well!

[neil 2,410]

Hi

I too have sand blasted without a mask, and i work in the construction industry so i should be more safety consious , but like you said we can easily forget or just be to lazy to make sure that we protect ourselves.

we would be the first to shout if we saw our children doing something that wasnt safe , so we MUST practice what we preach.

Thank you for your get well wishes.

If this thread can save just one little accident then it has been well worth mentioning.

perhaps we should do a regular thread on safety when working just to remind people not to get to complaicent.

[JimD 3,347]

Neil, I hope you make a speedy and complete recovery. You certainly have made me think.

[stevasaurus 23,274]

Niel...hope you have a speedy recovery...there is always time for Safety.

Good Luck :thumbs:

[rmaynard 16,290]

Speedy recovery Neil. One question for you though, what type of stripper were you using, and what chemical fumes did the damage?

I used to work for a paint stripper years ago and the only warning was "don't stay over the methylene chloride tank too long, you might pass out and fall in"

Not much thought was given to the fact that maybe you were stripping your lungs in the process.

Many guys paint without protection. It's dangerous. You may not feel the effects right away, but long-term it causes COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) as well as heart issues and neurological problems. Even latex paint can have a long-term effect on some people.

The new Acrylic Urethanes, and hardeners for enamel are especially dangerous to your health.

I'm sorry you are having problems, but I am glad you brought the subject up. It's never too late to warn others to be careful with what they breathe in the future.

Bob

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Good lookin' out buddy. Thanks for the heads up. Take care and get well soon.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Most everyone already knows this, but please remember that the disposable dust masks you buy at the hardware store (the ones that look like coffee filters with two rubber bands to hold them on your face) are not for fumes & vapors.

3M has a very comprehensive and informative respirator selection guide available online HERE if anyone is interested. :thumbs:

[neil 2,410]

thanks for the kind words guys.

had a particularly bad day today, shortness of breath, getting tired very quickly

back to hostpital in a few weeks .

but hey i but still managed to have a ride on my gt14 to collect some wood for the fire.

perhaps we should do regular safety reminders on here .

[Coadster32 793]

Thank you for the reminder. Easy to get carried away by trying to get that one last thing done today. Hope you start doing better in the near future.

[Redbirdman 7]

:thumbs: Hey dude ! You WILL get better............AND the rest of you, take it from an old timer..........NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU! except maybe your family, friends and fellow restorers. The paint companies, The sand blast companies, the chemical companies, the welding companies and all those lovely people trying to sell you something.........including medical insurance,

NOBODY CARES about you except when it comes to money............

Every dam thing you do LOOK FIRST. Soldering emits lead, welding emits gas, sand blasting causes silicosis, paint fumes cause all kind of things including brain damage............not just to you but to your little kids standing there watching you.

My dad owned a Garden Center in the 1950's and I spent a lot of time restoring mowers as a kid until 1962, when at the age of 20 I dropped dead of a heart attack! Or at least so they thought. Sudden severe pains boiled through my chest, I could not breath and got super dizzy and dropped to the floor. Although I don't remember much past the dizzy part I woke up in the hospital emergency room where I was told the first aid squad pumped oxygen in me and kept me alive (CPR was not invented yet) Although I never really got an exact reason, it appears the paint fumes from an early DuPont enamel (which happened to be Allis Chalmers Orange) or the thinner reacted with the blood vessels in my lungs causing them to swell, and choke me to death...or at least it tried to. To this day, 50 years later I get pains in my chest when I walk past someone spray painting, smoking or wearing cheap perfume, or I get near a friggen CAT!

But because of that episode I studied Hazardous Materials, became a specialist with a city fire department and eventually built up a hazardous material trucking company delivering toxic crap all over the East Coast. I still can't help but laugh at all the tree hugging environmentalists

[rmaynard 16,290]

Ed,

It's good to have you back on the square. I mostly agree with what you said there. The problem is, we all think that "a little bit won't hurt me", so we breathe the fumes not knowing what the long term effects are. It's like smoking. I asked my 18 year old niece why she smoked and she replied that "I can quit before it does any harm. Anyway, by the time I might have a problem, they will have a cure". Yeah, right.

Not everyone will get sick from breathing fumes. Just like not everyone that smokes will get cancer. I breathed asbestos dust for 2 summers while working on boilers. I did not develop any ill effect, but a guy I worked with died of lung cancer before he was 50. Was it the asbestos or was he just predisposed by the nature of his DNA to get cancer? Who know? But why take the chance? This hobby should be fun. We shouldn't let it make us sick or kill us.

Bob

[mavfreak 11]

At my old job I worked for some time as a laminator. I Always used a mask but some didn't. When you read the MSDS it cause nervous system damage respiratory problems and many other issues. When I worked in a body shop for some time it was mandatory to have on a respirator at all times when spraying and sanding.

Sorry to say this but it would be foolish not to.

My respirator is a good one that I bought through the company and a around 50 dollars it was so worth it. Make sure if you get one that it removes mist and dust and is rated for fumes of the type that you using.

A little money now may save your life. Or at least keep you from getting very ill.

Neil good luck on a speedy recovery. Hope you the best

[wheelhorse656 20]

get better soon neil! thanks for the warnings i have been doing somethings latly that i shouls have more precoutions on. :)

[neil 2,410]

Thanx for the interesting comment

i hope that everyone that has read these threads that takes risks will now stop and think before they carryout any works on their tractors or any other projects .

i am only 47 and i dont want to spend the rest of my life using a respirator.

My chest feels like i have a gt14 parked on top of it and i have had this now for about 3 months.

i hope you are right redbirdman that it will get better as im getting pretty fed up with it now

[Anglo Traction 761]

Neil !, I didn't know of the severity when I last spoke to you. I sincerely hope your mending and I'm sure it will improve. The body can take a hell of a lot of abuse and invasion and mend itself. The paintwork can wait. Fix yourself up. I'll come down and hit some of the work for you in the Spring........oh and I'll bring the Masks etc. This is from someone who spent 6 years in the Silk Screen Printing business at the start of his working Life....almost as bad as Glue sniffing (I imagine). the only fumes that get near my nose now is Rum or Exhaust. All the best. :thumbs:

[6wheeler 669]

Neil, I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery. This is a great topic, for I too am a victim of the fume. I am fortunate to not have any permanent damage. 15 years ago I worked at the local grain elevator part time and they wanted me paint anhydrous ammonia tanks over the winter. I was painting in the booth, using Acrylic Urethane paint-- VERY toxic. I was just about done for the night, stepped back and saw I needed better coverage on the side. I hadn't cleaned my gun yet so, there was enough paint to do it. I walked back into the booth, hooked up my gun and started painting.. It was only gonna take a second so I didn't need my respirator. Bad Idea. On my 8 min. drive home I couldn't hardly stay awake or see very well. I made it home ,I thought I was having the big one. I sat down in my chair and literally passed out.. I woke up 6 hours later with the worse hangover I ever had... I went to the doctor he said I was very lucky. It cost me a week of the worse headaches I've ever had. and a pair of contact lenses( no safety glasses either). LESSON LEARNED. Any way, good luck too ya. Pat