<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
         <<  Lancair Builders' Mail List  >>
         <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Gentlemen and Ladies,

While it has been mentioned before on this subject, it bears
repeating...OBTAIN AND USE A SUPPLIED AIR RESPIRATOR WHEN PAINTING WITH
MODERN PAINTS....

A regular mask w/ cartridges usually has some leaks due to facial
hair/bone structure/ etc...   Want to try a regular mask?  Please do a "match" test first. Wearing
your mask,  have an assistant light a regular paper match and blow it
out immediately about two feet under your chin.  With the smoke wafting
up around your mask, and with eyes closed, breathe deeply (you'll be
moving fast and sweating when you paint so try to simulate the deep
respirations that accompany reasonably hard labor),  if you smell any
odor at all,  get a different rig. Do this test several times w' your
head in different positions to replicate the contortions you will be
going through when you paint your pride and joy.  Even though this may be the only paint job you will ever perform,  these
materials are just G.. D... TOXIC!  They cause brain damage BEYOND what
most pilots/builders are already supposed to have suffered<g>. I kid you
not. Thay are also carcinogens and no one wishes to be a breeding ground
for that.

A supplied air respirator is so much safer because it operates at a
positive displacing pressure under the hood and excludes the incursion
of the vapors when worn correctly.  There are models out there that are
fed by your shop compressor through an oil scrubber/filter, so no
special air supply is needed.  Yes they are warm to wear, and it is not as simple as just throwing on a
cartridge mask, but it is worth the time and effort.  You WILL need to
touch up your work from time to time so you will most likely use this
many times over the years.  The effects are cumulative and the downside
is enormous.  Work safely please.

Want some proof?  Go to any "low budget" paint shop and try to find an
"old hand" that is spraying without a good air rig.  Those old hands
that took chances are either drooling idiots, insane, emphesemic, or
dead.

You plan on flying for years to come.. On an IFR approach to minimums w/
your tensions heightened by a vac failure,  do you really want to be
short a couple more brain cells than necessary?  Will the speed/accuracy
of your synapses detirmine the outcome of your life ?  While somewhat
melodramatic,  this is where we can break the first link in this
accident chain.

We are all invaluable to those that care for us despite our faults....
Build safely and live a full life.

Warm regards to all......Jeffrey B. Chipetine

LML website:   http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
Builders' Bookstore:   http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair

Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.