You should take the necessary precautions during a car paint repairs project to avoid accidents. Paint shops and auto body shops use flammable, caustic, and carcinogenic chemicals in their line of work. The health risks associated with painting materials can be serious and long-lasting to the employees and customers if the necessary safety precautions aren’t enforced. Each person entering the auto body trade should be aware of the health risks they face daily.
Burns and flammable substances
Car paint prepared with lacquer thinner and reducers poses flammability issues when spilt, sprayed or aerated into the atmosphere. Kerosene, cleaning solvents, gasoline, acetone and other petroleum cleaners are combustible. Airborne solvents ignite in the open air without proper ventilation. They can be ignited by a spark source. Automotive ignition, orbital sanders, grinding wheels and welders provide ignition sources for the combustion of these materials. Towels and rags that have been stored improperly can ignite by static electricity or spontaneous combustion. Flammable explosions can cause blindness, severe skin burns and traumatic concussion.
Airborne sanding particles
Painting and body refinishing techniques use abrasive grinders and sanders to smooth metal and refinish painted surfaces. Sanding disks used in auto body shops produce microscopic abrasives of rust, silica, and methylene chloride. These dust particles become airborne. They can linger to be inhaled by people without proper ventilation. Inhaling such particles can cause emphysema, asthma, and other lung-related diseases. Shop personnel are urged to wear respirators and the necessary eye protection when doing car paint repairs.
Airborne chemicals and paint fumes
Auto body painters are at a high risk of inhaling isocyanates. These include paint pigments and two-part coatings that cause a hardener in combination with catalysts. The sprayed airborne paint chemicals include cadmium, chromium, and lead.
Sealer paints and primers contain ethyl acetate and aliphatic isocyanates. Clear coat paints contain petroleum naphtha, toluene and mixed dibasic esters. Body trim work and metal cleaning contain epoxy resins, styrene, methylene chloride and adhesive fumes. These airborne chemicals can cause respiratory diseases or inflammation and skin rashes.
Impact dangers and blindness
Car paint workers use high-speed rotating tools for grinding, sanding and refinishing. Orbital sanders, drills, sand, buffers and bead blasters can throw metal or other objects into the eyes of employees. Wire wheels and sanders can throw very high-speed objects into the workers’ faces. This can cause blindness or eye injury. Improved safety goggles should be used to negate this hazard.
Direct chemical contact
A lot of chemicals associated with the car paint trade produce destructive and harmful results in direct contact with the skin. Cleaning solvents become absorbed into the skin when they come into contact with arms and hands. These chemicals produce the same reactions, ailments and diseases experienced by inhaling but on a lower scale.
These chemicals produce eye-watering, reddening of the skin, rashes, sinus problems, and blisters. Every car paint worker should use the right safety equipment at all times. Protective gear to use during car paint repairs includes safety goggles, gloves, overalls, hats, particle masks, respirators, and regulation boots.
