# Safety glasses and scraping?



## ProWallGuy

I did a bit of exterior work today. Had to scrape and prep/prime 3 double garage doors. As I was scraping, twice a chunk flew in my eye. I was able to dig it out, but it made me start wondering. It would probably be a good thing to wear some sort of safety glasses while using a scraper. 

Anybody do this already, or require employees to do it? Does OSHA require it? 

I've gone as far as thinking on wearing a dust mask while doing any type of sanding. I get tired of blowing my nose, and seeing the wall color in there. That can't be good. :no:


----------



## Brushslingers

Ya, scraping requires you to wear proper eye protection... so says OSHA. Don't know anyone that does though... heh


----------



## Wolverine

lol...

I'm not a painter... but I've scraped alot of paint on my own houses. One time, the same thing happened to me and it scratched my cornea. OW! So, glasses are a good idea...

Also... I would highly suggest the dustmask during sanding... I know you all know about lead in paint... but... have you considered Crystaline Silica? Ever heard of silicosis? You don't want to! Wear the hot sweaty dustmask!


----------



## slickshift

Yeah, I tend to wear both when scraping
Unless it's just a little teensy spot or something


----------



## Workaholic

When i was younger on the west coast i worked in quite a few mills and saftey glasses are required. I should wear a dust mask when sanding down a house too, never do though.


----------



## PlantainPainting

If you wear eyeglasses they make a great product called "crews." They are safety glasses that comfortably fit over your eyeglasses. They rarely fog up. I even wear them interior when I sand joint compound; No under eye cake-up of powder.

Latex paints almost scare me more than oil paints. It seems lots of people think the fumes are safe to breathe and the dust is nothing more than a nuisance. At least twice this year carpenters have given me crap like "Jeez... it's only latex why you wearin' a respirator." I answer "Because I want to live long enough to retire."


----------



## slickshift

PlantainPainting said:


> If you wear eyeglasses they make a great product called "crews." They are safety glasses that comfortably fit over your eyeglasses.


Where do you get them?
I've been looking for over-eyeglass safety glasses for years


----------



## PlantainPainting

Hey Slickshift. They sell them online at www.crewsinc.com/. If you want to see them in person take a drive down the mid-cape to Chatham Hardware on Main St. in Chatham. I saw a few on the shelf there the other day. You can stop by the paint dept. and get yourself a $55.00 gallon of satin impervo while you are there lol.


----------



## slickshift

Thanks!
I'll have to check them out
Man I just went through Chatham today...not "downtown" though
Lol on the $55 Impervo
I may take that route next week though to check out the "Crews"


----------



## Downeast

They still filming that movie in Chatham ?


----------



## Rich

They sell osha approved glasses everywhere these days. I've gotten them from HD and now they have nice ones at SW. I wear the ones that are the same size as regular sunglasses.


----------



## PlantainPainting

The movie must be done by now. What a PITA that thing was- closing down roads to film and such. At least it was fun hearing from the crew about Grasshopper's antics at the local bars.


----------



## slickshift

I haven't heard the film crews had left the area, but I think they are done closing down roads
I think anything left (if anything) is inside homes and on private property

I still haven't been "downtown"


----------



## Lornmastro

sorry guys not to redirect this thread back to a painting topic....lol...instead of stargazing... but what exactly are the health risks related to using latex paint without a respirator??....and now you can tell me the dirt on the stars...lol


----------



## Wolverine

MOST latex paint has toxic components in it (like NMP)... I read an article that paint containing NMP will have to be labeled as toxic... (*I'm not positive but I think this is next year)

I don't think NMP is a problem from inhalation but I think there is a dermal risk (ever get paint on your hands?). 

As far as a respirator is concerned, there are STILL plenty of different kinds of solvents in waterborne paints. I'm sure all of you have smelled Ammonia from time to time which is used to activate HASE type thickeners (http://www.specialchem4coatings.com/tc/rheology-hase/index.aspx) (which are the most common).


----------



## Mandrake

To get back to the original post.. I don't see many painters wearing safety glasses although contractors that I work with do provide them for their employees. OSHA does not specify each instance where glasses are required but they do require employers to provide PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) wherever hazards exist that can not be eliminated. The OSHA standard(s) are comperhensive enough that not only should you have safety glasses (29CFR1926.102(a)1) but for most scraping and sanding operations you should be providing gloves (for hand protection), dust masks or respirators(respiratory protection) and sometimes ear protection when power tools are used (19CFR1926.95(a)). If someone is working above you the Standard would also cover head protection, i.e, hard hats (1926.100(a)). I don't think I've ever seen a residential painter with a hard hat but the standard would require it. I've never heard of a residential painter being cited for no hard hats, but in the extremely rare case of a fatality involving a falling object the employer would be subject to a substantial fine.

Anyway - safety glasses are always a good idea.


----------



## Firemike

I did the same thing that Wolverine did, I scratched the cornea of my eye with a piece of ceramic tile during a demo job. Talk about a PITA, it was sore for about two weeks. I have always know from a young age while working with my grandfather in his machine shop about the importance of safety glasses, as well as other protective equipment, but like many people, I was too lazy to take the 3 minutes to go to the van and get some safety glasses. I paid the price, luckily it didn't cause any permanent damage. Now, I wear safety glasses any time I am doing anything that may cause chips,sparks, metal shavings, etc. Sight is just to precious to take chances with.


----------



## Joewho

I wear eyeglasses and they are the curse of painting. But I don't wear them for close up work.

No safety glasses. Scratched my cornea several times over my career. And will probably continue to do so. Hopefully, I won't have to do any more exterior scraping..unless I move back to IL.

Scraping is usually outside, usually in the summer and sweat running down the safety glasses has gotten them snapped in half more than once. I don't like anything on me. No watch, chains, jewelry and I hate to have the eyeglasses on. So, I've gone most of my life not wearing eye protection and just rinsing out the dirt, paint, drywall. If it doesn't wash out, it will be in the corner when I wake up tomorrow. Timhags post about the plaster and lathe brings to mind what is in the kleenex at the end of the day.

I tried contacts and it doesn't work out for painting. Especially for sanding.
Once got a drop of oil base on a contact. Rinsed it in thinnner, washed and put it back in. These days, in a desert with constant wind, I've given up on contacts.


----------



## Formulator

Wolverine said:


> As far as a respirator is concerned, there are STILL plenty of different kinds of solvents in waterborne paints. I'm sure all of you have smelled Ammonia from time to time which is used to activate HASE type thickeners (http://www.specialchem4coatings.com/tc/rheology-hase/index.aspx) (which are the most common).


 
I'm a pretty "new school" formulator and yes, I do know and understand what HASE thickeners are and what the mechanism is, but my question is this: What's a typical percentage of ammonia in a final formulation for something using a HASE thickener? 

I'm all about the tricks and HEURs so I honestly don't know.


----------



## paint_booger

*SAFETY 1st!*


----------



## CApainter

Good question Pro. Just today I was using the "Paper Tiger" as part of a wall covering removal project. I wear safety glasses quit often. So this Tiger is a tool i hadn't used in a while, and didn't consider any problems with **** getting in my eyes. Low and behold, ting, a piece of hard ass vinyl comes springing up in my eye. Wore the glasses the rest of the day. But the damage was done.


----------



## CApainter

Good question Pro. Just today I was using the "Paper Tiger" as part of a wall covering removal project. I wear safety glasses quit often. so this Tiger is a tool i hadn't used in a while, and didn't consider any problems with **** getting in my eyes. Low and behold, ting, a piece of hard ass vinyl comes comes springing up in my eye. Wore the glasses the rest of the day. But the damage was done.


----------



## vermontpainter

de ja vu :thumbsup:


----------



## CApainter

Now you know how I'm seeing after a couple of Brews.


----------



## Brush and Roller

I'm doing an exterior right now and I wear safety glasses. I can't count how many pieces of paint would be in my eye if not for bouncing off my glasses.


----------



## GMack

I just go straight to the respirator if I have to wear sfatey glasses or other eyewear. My saftey glasses don't get fogged up with the respirator; they do with dust mask.

Quote from Joewho: If it doesn't wash out, it will be in the corner when I wake up tomorrow . . . 

Just realize that it won't always be in the corner when you wake up and then you could be in for a really fun experience like a had a while back. I got a peice of metal in my eye once though at the time I wasn't sure if it was dirt or metal. Anyway, I couldn't get it out all day. Went to sleep thinking it will work it's way out by morning. Wake up with a swollen red eye. Go to my regular doc who can't get it out with a q-tip. Get sent to the eye doctor. He got it out . . . with a drill!!! . . . Eye propped open with some big metal contraption, numbing eyedrops, and a tiny drill that sounded like a dentistry tool direct to the eyeball. Really fun stuff. I thought it was Clockwork Orange revisited.


----------



## NEPS.US

I once got a metal splinter in my eyeball and had to get it pulled out. The splinter started to rust in my eyeball so after they pulled it they had to use a grinding wheel to buff the rust from my eyeball .....good times! I still cringe thinking about it!


----------



## GMack

NEPS.US said:


> I once got a metal splinter in my eyeball and had to get it pulled out. The splinter started to rust in my eyeball so after they pulled it they had to use a grinding wheel to buff the rust from my eyeball .....good times! I still cringe thinking about it!


Sweet! Yeah, big saftey glasses guy right here. Don't need anymore heavy artillary to the eyeball.


----------



## CApainter

Biggest culprit for sharpnel is the infamous wire wheel. Had a couple wires strike my cornea, even with glasses, during a swing shift job at a refinery.. Thought it would benignly float to the corner of my eye once I got home and rested. No such luck. This bitch kept me up all day, crying in pain. Had to go to the doctors and have the procedure described in a previous post.

Full face respirators for me.


----------



## NEPS.US

It wasn't painting..... I was restoring a '69 Vette and was under it drilling out a exhaust manifold with no glasses....dummy sparks and metal flying everywhere ...but I didnt care because I had just scored a sweet set of original factory side pipes off ebay and couldnt wait to get em on. I had the car pretty much stripped with no doors, ect, ect. I had it running with the pipes (no cover on it) and hopped out of the car and burned my leg on the pipes.....I stood there in pain with metal shards in my eye and a 2nd degree burn on my leg drinking a beer listening to my new pipes ....happy days!


----------



## Housepainter

Neps it is amazing what we will do (and suffer) for those things we love...:yes:

Good looking ride!!


----------



## tsunamicontract

and when bleaching too:yes: that stuff hurts when you get it in your eye too, found out today


----------



## greensboro84

I have a serious fear of losing my sight or hearing. I am usually wearing sunglasses while scraping outside, but if not, i keep some safety goggles to. I can't imagine scraping an awning w/out glasses on. Although, I get crap at work when the other guys are using saws etc... and i suggest they wear glasses. "What! Man, thats for wimps." I also keep a small container of shea butter in my tool box for burns and when Im using any solvent based stuff, i take that shea butter and rub it all around my eyes, then if paint or, god forbid, KILZ gets splashed, it wipes right off. KILZ is some crazy stuff man. I def understand why it has that name. Reminds me, Im getting pretty good with my brush work. my "supervisor"(boss'man's son), had me kilz some quarter round that shouldve been kilz'd on prep day, with his "primer brush" a yachtsman, hard as a rock, no flex at all, im not kidding, but i did it, and it turned out nicely. i was proud i could churn out decent work with that brush, felt like a wire brush. but yeah, i always wear glasses when scraping, although, ive never wore them while sanding hardwood floors.


----------



## BESMAN

i do a lot of sanding and scraping under eves doing exteriors....i always wore sunglasses but chips and dust would still get behind them and into my eye. I was at target one day and saw swim goggles that were cheap..tried them out....and it was great for the stuff above my head, then i would switch back to regular glasses when working below eye level.

and sunscreen....do it.


----------



## nEighter

major props man! Wearing those in a pool.. i swear it drains the oxygen from you body. May just be me but always seemed to do that.


----------



## BESMAN

yeah...its not the most comfortable thing, especially with a respirator...but it works well in tight situations


----------



## tsunamicontract

use ski/snowboard goggles, they are vented! you can even get them with a fan on them. I like my new oakley glasses for eye protection.


----------



## BESMAN

there you go...little more expensive....probably nice and cozy though.


----------



## tsunamicontract

BESMAN said:


> there you go...little more expensive....probably nice and cozy though.


way more comfortable than swim goggles. You can get a pair for probably 30 bucks? Or call up a ski area at the end of the season and see if they have some lost and found ones you can buy that no one has claimed.


----------



## graybear13

I got really tired of the plastic safty goggles fogging up and just generally being a PITA so I tried a pair of motocross goggles and they are the sh*tz !!! Goes over my glasses with no problem and have a foam padding around the edge for ventilation and comfort .


----------



## johnpaint

graybear13 said:


> I got really tired of the plastic safty goggles fogging up and just generally being a PITA so I tried a pair of motocross goggles and they are the sh*tz !!! Goes over my glasses with no problem and have a foam padding around the edge for ventilation and comfort .


Man that's a good idea.


----------



## tsunamicontract

motocross goggles are very similar to ski/snowboard goggles


----------



## jason123

Been in some demo jobs were there is no light coming in because of the dust and 90% percent of the guys are not even wearing dust mask full 3m for me n95 or n100... hell 90% percent of the time I have on goggles when im painting ceilings.. Im more of a younger guy and it just seems the older guys have some thing about safety... latex paint jobs I tend to neglect the mask... the new 3m mask with the soft rubber is pretty comfortable:thumbup:


----------

