Tim,
This has to do with product liability. There is no telling what crap
someone might blast off--lead in paint, and other heavy metal
contaminants along with asbestos being possibilities. For "industrial
blasting" you need a full hood with a NIOSH approved respirator that
uses pumped in fresh air to be safe, and the manufacturers don't want to
imply that there is any protection from these compounds by using just a
mask.
I think we will survive occasional open blasting with these masks, it
takes a long period of exposure to get lead poisoning, but blast
cabinets are safer if you do a lot of parts cleaning. You should bury
your blast off debris to keep pets from licking it off their feet. There
most likely is lead in the paint used on some of our old parts. Lead
oxide was used as the white pigment base in many paints up to the 70's I
believe. Lots cheaper than the titanium dioxide used today.
Tim Mullen wrote:
>
> I recently had to do a small amount of sandblasting (a couple of A-arms)
> to remove some rust.
> Since I didn't want to breathe the dust, I decided to get a respirator mask.
> The problem is, they all said "Not for Abrasive Blasting" on the packages.
> What are you supposed to use?
>
> I went ahead and got a decent mask, since I figured it was a lot better
> than nothing...
>
> Tim Mullen
--
Stuart MacMillan
Seattle
'84 Vanagon Westfalia w/2.1
'65 MGB (Driven since 1969)
'74 MGB GT (Restoring)
Assisting on Restoration:
'72 MGB GT (Daughter's)
'64 MGB (Son's)
Parts cars:
'68 & '73 MGB, '67 MGB GT
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