Hi!

I had a terrible headache yesterday and I went to a doctor. He thougt that the headache depended on that I paint models with enamels, (that destroy my braincells!!!)...

Anybody here on Armorama that is a Doctor, that can explain if this is a true statement... ?

Thanks!

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on television (joke)

But seriously, we use lots of chemicals in this hobby and you should always work with adequate ventilation. Enamels, oils, paint thinners, solvents, model cement, super glues, zip kickers, decal solvents, even acrylic paints all give off fumes that bother some people. Personally, the slightest whiff of zip kicker (CA accelerator) makes me ill. Other stuff that might bother you are dust from cutting or sanding resin, or the fumes from heating and stretching sprue.

My advice: get a fan and keep the air moving in your work area. Don't close the door. If possible, open a window whenever the weather allows. A cheap dust mask can help with resin dust, and more expensive respirator masks with proper filters are available for paint fume protection. If you have a room dedicated to modeling, you may also want to install an exhaust fan. Also, don't leave paint or thinner bottles sitting around open when you're not using them.

As a smoker and person who is prone to sinus problems, let me offer a bit more general advice: keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of water. In the winter, air inside most homes gets very dry and dusty. A humidifier can help a lot.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Bob...

I will try to buy one of these "gasmasks"... Actually, I close the door to my room when I paint with enamels... stupid of me... Thanks again!

Not to scare anyone or anything, but here's a link to an article on Track-Link by Rob Plas about the health risks of modeling: http://www.track-link.net/articles/12

Note to my fellow Americans: None of safeguards will work if your house is wrapped in plastic sheets and duck tape. Who knows -- maybe with all those years of exposure to chemicals, I may have developed an immunity ...

True,

thinners, solvents, paints etc cause headaches. Besides that there is another no.1 headache maker, and that's the way you sit behind the workbench and do your modeling.... Like working behind a desk it's essential you sit in a good position. If you don't the muscles in your upper back, neck and head wil ache sooner or later. It looks strange, but these muscles can give serious headaches too.... I know it by experience.

Don't sit behind the workbench in a forced way, relax and move your body once in a while.... stretch those muscles a bit. Excercise while you model....

Almost without exception, the products we use for modeling are bad/very bad/extremely bad for our health. Solvents, paints, glues, resins, kickers, putties, fillers, sawdust of plastics/resins... Many of these increase the possibility of cancer.

Only one word of advice here : air the room well, and/or use a carbon mask that filters this stuff. Don't just buy any mask but get professional advice. Disposable medical gloves come in handy when using products like resin and paint, too.

There's one product I banned from my modeling hobby : microballoons. Though they make nice looking snow on dioramas, they irritate the eyes and nose very badly and for several hours to several days.

I'm not saying "find another hobby". Just be careful. Certainly young people just go about painting and glueing without considering the dangers here. Please do !

Hola!

Im pretty much immune to the head ache thing. I do get a sore neck every now and then from sitting too long. As far as increasing the risk of cancer...everything these days causes cancer, no matter what it is. I always lick my brushes after washing them to shape the tips, even if I washed them in thinner...that can't be too healthy #:-)

Jan the Big Bad, microballoon sniffing Wolf is right. Have some good professional advice on buying a good mask..... don't settle for a simple dust mask ....I wouldn't help. Buy a good carbond mask (1/2 face mask), you'l live longer, probably have less headaches and......gives the neigbours o good laugh once in a while.... #:-)

I paint with enamals. and at the beginning I would get some bad headaches.. I got a respirator and now I use it when I paint and I have never gotten a headache from the paint while using it.. You can pick one up at almost any hardware / home improvement / paint store / they cost around 20 to 40 dollors and its money well spent.

This is why I use acrylics

Marty, even acrylics give off unhealthy fumes, but you are right in that I don't get as many headaches when usiung them...oh, wait, my models always give me headaches, but thats a personal problem.

Rob

Everyone in here is right. If you can smell it, chances are it is not very good for your. Dust masks won’t help. If your wife and kids can smell it, it is not good for them either. Check the OSHA website for MSDS sheets on some of the stuff we use. Get plenty of air moving. I paint outside whenever possible. Be careful out there.

Super Glue MSDS

lacquer thinner MSDS

Somethings you cant smell can kill ya to
Just my four cents
Brandenus

Aragorn,

Go to Clas Olsen or Biltema and buy a 1/2 mask. I've always shyed away from enamels just because of the stuff you are bringing up. The mask I bought cost 179.- SEK at Biltema and replacement filters cost around 30.- SEK a filter. I haven't changed my filters yet but thought I would do that at least every year... The greatest thing is with "lågaromisk" or "luktfri penseltvätt" I haven't had any problems with headaches while modelling!!! It chocolate I have to stay away from the next little while...

Only a few things actually cause symptoms for me. I resolved this by getting a small 6" fan and putting it in a corner of the room. When I'm working with 'the smelly stuff' I flick it on to keep the air moving. In better weather I will open a window/door just a bit to get some fresh air in the room.
Definitely be safe and careful. All these posts are great.

Painting never has bothered me,but I usually leave it to last thing to do before I leave the room. I do remember a story on the use of Floquil paints back about 20 to 25 years ago that a guy wrote about his problem seems that all those years of painting with it caused him to lose part of his liver and have liver problems Doc said no more painting of Petroleum based paints!!! So moral of story don't use it in confined area or switch to Polly S if you find it. And yes they do have the warning on the label about the damage it can do.Pelikan is another great paint that I used in Germany non toxic do they sell that over their? That Tamiya glue is also pretty strong.
Take care and Follow Jan's Ideas as he seems to be the Wise one!!

LOL ! That's because I'm a Belgian ! Don't you remember the big dioxine poisoning of pork and chicken meat ?!?! Since that day I like to keep my pork meat fresh and clean. Can't use epoxy-acrylics-cyanolite riddled spare ribs on my BBQ !

Hooooooooooooooooooooooowl !


Now seriously. My MD also explained that these products not only can increase your chance of developing cancer (though only slightly, it is something worth considering), they also have the capacity to infect your immune system. This means you get a cold (or anything else you don't need) more easily if you expose yourself to these products !

Some of these products have labels that say they are "... known to cause cancer in California ..."

I reckon that as long as I stay out of California, I'll be OK.

I don't have much to add to this excpet to say that I work in a lab and am exposed to some of these solvents. Dust masks will help with the resin sanding thing, but not the solvent fumes. It's a question of degree in my opinion. If you are painting every day for a few hours, then do something about it, or if, like me, you only do an hour every few days, you're probably OK with fresh air circulating.

Just my opinion.

Roger

Basically some brands (at least for me) gives me headaches more than others. I enjoy the smell of Testors/Model Masters, they don't give me trouble. But one wiff of Tamiya is enuogh to send me packing .
What about the waste and the flying microdebris after sanding? They give me really bad headaches. Ditto the Testor's Dullcote. That's the ultimate. I had a bad headache for 3 days after an accidental whiff which involved my nose in the wrong direction of the wind. Sigh #:-)

Apart from brain cells, is there any literature concerning the long term effects of sampling these fumes, such as cancer and the like?
Just a thought.....

Ventilation! Ventilation! Ventilation! I put an exhaust fan in my modeling room over my table.

Another item that helps Is a product called "Gloves in a Bottle" , just apply like a hand cream. It blocks household and industrial cleaners, paint and thinners, cement and solvents, gasoline, gardening chemicals, latex and latex powder, etc.

Cannot be washed off, comes off naturally with exfolliated skin cells.

Works great when working on the old clunker too, grease and grim comes right off.

just one more possible cause of the headaches. we have covered chemicals, and posture, but your eyes can also be a huge cause of headaches. Whern modelling you can some times rely on your eyes focusing on such a small area for an extended amount of time. this can cause eye strain which in turn leads to headaches. the key to avoid all the causes of headaches is to do everything in moderation. its simple, get up walk around, leave the romm for a while.

Cheers,
Paul

Hmm, I've been playing with these things since the days when kids sniffed glue to get high and before. I never get headaches unless I've finished that bottle of red wine I opened to get the foil from. Guess all that rock and roll in college messed up the old noggin enough to avoid the headaches. #:-)