a note to those who paint

[crumpton]

i have been painting my bikes for over 4 years now. health has been dropping a bit lately. tests show liver enzymes through the roof with no good medical explanation. likely cause, exposure to toxins.

i always wear a proper respirator and full suit but always broke the rules in several areas. i often paint in flip flops. no hood and more times than I can remember... have cleaned clear off my heads with thinner.

i am no longer painting and hope to see things come back to normal. i know it can be done safely. i think the little things count. take care and cover up completely. only wash with soapy water and if you get paint on you that doesn't come off with water, just live with it till it wears off.

ciao

[Clockwork]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Nick. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

-Joel

[themanmonkey]

Bummer. I've visited a lot of shops over the years, and watched a lot of painting and very rarely do bike painters really protect themselves. Maybe it's the casual aspect of our industry that leads to not protecting themselves, but I'm surprised I've not heard many more stories like yours. Get better.

[dbohemian]

It is easy to get lax. Thanks for the note. My next purchase will be carbon filters to clean the odor out of the paint prep area. I have a full suit and positive pressure respirator hood so that is covered.

Nick, How do you know it's not the chemicals that you work with making frames and is instead the painting portion?

[anthonymaietta]

Thank you for the note Nick. Its a real wake up call for those of use who do paint.

[crumpton]

Nick, How do you know it's not the chemicals that you work with making frames and is instead the painting portion?

i so rarely come into contact with uncured epoxy but it does happen. i'm sure it hasn't helped but my research into Toxic Hepatitis points to xylene and the other solvents in paints.

i think being totally covered in a positive pressure suite is the way to go and totally safe. but i am going to step back for a while anyway. will create far more time for frame building.

[crumpton]

thanks for the kinds words. i am not really so bad off and i am sure I will see a full recovery.

my post is intended to bring attention to the risks and encourage respect for proper usage.