Official Luthiers Forum!

Careful fellas. There is a big difference between dust respirators and actual paint respirators. I was pretty adamant about wearing my 3M dust respirator at work in the body shop but would not have any protection from isocyanates with it. As a matter of fact, the only way to totally protect yourself from iso's is with a complete hooded suit, gloves and a fresh air supplied mask/shield. No exposed skin.

I`ve been pretty healthy all my life, but this past winter I was diagnosed with allergies after infections that would go away and come right back after a month or so. Doc prescribed Allegra, which seems to help alot, but just isn`t quite doing the trick completely.

For anyone who cares here is a recipe for the nose rinse, which is basically the same as they sell in stores and will cost you next to nothing for a large supply.  Even with wearing masks you could benefit from this.  

The Direction are to rinse 2 to 3 times a day with either a bulb/ear syringe(90cc) or a Water Pik(best option but more $$)

Recipe: Carefully clean and rinse a 1-quart glass jar.  Fill the jar with tap or bottled(recommended) water.  Some doctors say distilled water instead.

Add 2 to 3 heaping teaspoons of kosher salt. DO NOT use table salt!! It has unwanted additives!

Add one rounded teaspoon of baking soda(pure bicarbonate).

Stir or shake before each use.  Store at room temp.  After one week pour out any mixture left over and make a new batch.

If the salt seems way too strong you can vary it slightly start with one or two teaspoons.  Same for children, start at one or two and slowly increase to 2 to 3 heaping teaspoons.

If you use a nasal steriod always use the salt solution first then your nose spray(Nasacort, Nasonex, Flonase, Rhinocort, ect.)

So after sawing up some coco, just go clean up, pour some of your solution into a little bowl and rinse with your bulb or water pik.  Then just toss the left over solution down the drain so you don't contaminate the rest of it.  This will work really well.  There are a few different recipes, but this is your basic saline rinse and will work wonders for you.  You can also toss the mix in the microwave for a few second as most people find it less irritating if its a little warm.  I dare you to go eat afterwards, oh man everything tastes so much better.  The same thing used to happen to me out on the deep sea fishing boats, never had a better tasting burger in my life.  I think its because of the salt.

Anyhow, I just wanted to offer that because it would be a really good idea for all you guys who don't do it and do a lot of wood working.   If there are any questions regarding the recipe or process just ask, I'll try to help if I can.  Best wishes. Jason

[QUOTE=burbank]Joe,

What are isocyanates? Are we likely to have them in our shops?[/QUOTE]

Pat, you will not have iso's in your shop unless you are finishing with catalyzed materials. The chemical reaction from the clear and the catalyst crosslinking cause the isosyanates to become airborne as you spray. I only threw this out to remind everyone that dust respirators should never be worn as protection when spraying. Paint respirators are constructed and filtered much differently than dust respirators. While the dust respirators may actually trap some solids that end up in the air, their filters will clog quickly and are not designed to help at all with the airborne vapors and solvents that are created. Sadly, even the best paint respirators do very little to protect us from isocyanates. Isocyanates enter the body through the lungs, eyes and any exposed skin. They attack and break down the nervous system. VERY BAD STUFF. Be careful with any catalyzed paint guys, it's not worth risking your health.