I’m interested in getting myself a decent reuseable face mask for general diy / shed use.
General sanding, painting, etc etc

What would you recommend ?

What look are you going for? I found this set-up ticked the murdering lunatic boxes well.

Couldn’t see what the Jeff I was doing though after 2 mins.

Halfmask respirator.

3m are good, get a particilate filter for dusty stuff and a vapour filter for painting/varnish etc etc.

Just like that but a little more stabby

I use force 10 twin cart masks.

Just pay attention to the time limits.

You get different cartridges for vapour and for dust.

General sanding, painting, etc etc

Sanding usually = dust protection

Painting usually = organic fume protection

etc etc = ??

Different requirements = different mask or cartridges.

As one to keep and reuse – this kind of 3M one (3M make fekkin loads of different ones) is comfortable and gives a good fit for most faces. Nominally semi-disposable but you’ll get loads of use for one at DIY levels of usage. Creeping up in price (probably do to the pound being in the shitter) as they used to be more like £14

Keep it clean and in the foil pack its sold in. They have an activated charcoal filter which will use itself up if you leave it exposed in storage rather than in its packet but thats only an issue working with solvents – it’ll still perform for dust regardless. You can get disposable dust covers to put over the filers to protect them from clogging with excess dust but I’ve never really had a problem with that and usually only need to change them because they’ve gotten mingy or because I’ve damage the mask or the straps

Something tricky with PPE is getting eye, ear and face protection all working together. It can be quite difficult to find a dust mask and safety glasses combo working well together – either because the face mask covers the bridge of your nose and pushes the glasses up – or steams them up. A visor can be a better bet in that respect.

I use this one from Screwfix.
It’s very good. Replaceable filters, comfortable to wear.
I wear it every day when I’m emptying the big dust extraction bags at work and when I’m doing some gnarly sanding.
Works well.

Tillydog. Thats what I’m trying to figure out. Do they do a general cartridge for all or is it that specific ?

I guess for me I’m more converged about vapour from paint, cleaning chemicals for brakes, thinners etc
Cutting carbon, wood, metal and general dusty environment.

Would I be better off getting two different masks or one body and change carts?

This is all new to me so any help is appreciated.

The HSE’s guidance : http://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/priced/hsg53.pdf

If you go for a powered hood/helmet you wouldn’t have any concerns about face-fit – but initial price is higher. Choice of correct filter for type of exposure is required.

If you go for a powered hood/helmet you wouldn’t have any concerns about face-fit – but initial price is higher.

Just to check – we are talking about DIY here? And not turning up for a shift at Fukushima.

Just go all in with a hood / helmet with waist mounted powered filters so that you can have the peculiar experience of wearing a machine that sucks up your farts and blows them straight in your face 🙂 I use one if I’m going to be welding and grinding for 10 – 12 hours. But they’re not very take on/off-able so too inconvenient to use in most circumstances. I haven’t taken it out of its box in more than a year.

Would I be better off getting two different masks or one body and change carts?

There are all sorts of specialised dust and fume and vapour filters dedicated to specific industrial applications. In a DIY setting a mask that can filter out paint/thinners is going to be able to (and I know this sounds like witch craft*) filter out saw dust pretty effectively too, – even if its not a specific dust filter.

*I don’t want to get too scientific but sawdust is bigger than gas.

In an industrial application it would be a waste of a good vapour filter to use it for dust filtering but in a home use setting you’re never going to make the service demands (either in quantities of dust and vapour or duration of exposure) on respirator cartridges that people would in the workplace. (I’m excluding bearnecessities from that broad statement here – he has at times created volumes of dust in his house last seen in the Pompeii) So a mask with one vapour filter or dedicated semi- disposable vapour mask will deal with low VOC products and small quantities of more potent materials, and the modest quantities of nuisance dusts you’re going to experience working around the house. What matters is that the mask actually fits you.

Right, there’s some poor insight and erroneous assumptions on this thread and its an important thing, so here’s the deal.

A respirator/face mask is only useful if it seals to your face well (face-fit) and you have the correct filters for the job at hand.

Face fitting can only be confirmed by proper testing, either using a bitter flavoured aerosol kit and test hood or pressure loss testing with a machine a laptop. If you have a beard, unless its a tiny goatee that fits under the mask, you’re basically not going to get any protection. Stubble can significantly affect seal integrity too.

Mostly for DIY its particulates that are the issue. Its perfectly possible to get FFP2 masks (and FFP1) but frankly, these are for nuisance type dusts and wont stop anything fine. Don’t bother with anything less than FFP3 which gives appreciable protection. Fundamentally, FFP3 stops significantly finer particles and those are the ones that have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs where the damage is done. Most P3 filters also have a clip on pre-filter to help stop the big stuff blinding the P3 filter.

Fumes and vapours are more complicated. There are a range of specialist chemical filters, but the two that are likely to be useful are low boiling point VOCs and high boiling point VOCs (VOCs = volatile organic compounds) mostly, all the nasty stuff can’t really be found in domestic level DIY products these days and therefore its typically low boiling point VOC filters that you need.

Each manufacturer calls these something different, for example, A1, A2, etc.

Its super important you get the right one, because if you don’t match the filter to the substance, you’ll get no protection. Its even more important that you realise that virtually every major retailer out there lacks the scientific understanding to sell you the correct product. So make sure you get the manufacturers specs and educate yourself.

I’ve been involved with 2 spray shops (2 pack) where they thought they were protected because they were using filters as advised from ARCO, but they were the wrong ones.

Of course, unless you know that your mask seals on your face to begin with, having the correct filter is utterly pointless.

Its possible to get a ready reckoner on how good a face seal your mask gives you – Get one with a rubber seal and exhalation baffles. block the filers and inhale. The mask should collapse with the vacuum you create and should not return to its own shape unless you release the vacuum. This technique precludes basically all the white, formed ‘felt-like’ masks that you get in most DIY shops – those need to be tested by other means, usually bittrex aerosol solution (3M)

We use these at work when required.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/3m-7523-half-mask-respirator-filter-kit-large-p3/13249?kpid=13249&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&gclid=CLmn7YOo2dECFYsy0wodCvQCeA

They’re common, comfortable enough, fit most people we try them on, consumables are easy to change and commonly available, and they’re side mounted so the weigh of the filters isn’t ‘nose heavy’ which can be a problem that affects seal integrity when actually moving about.

Probably a bit costly for DIY occasional use though.

^^^^^^^ what he says but please be aware of 3m fakes from the land of endless tat. FFP3 is my minimum right up to gearson respirator at home

I use the same one as Kayak23 when sanding etc.
£19.99 in toolstation (usually never more than 50 yards from screwfix )

Another recommendation for 3M here. Top quality (despite some being made in the UK). There are a few models with replaceable filters as mentioned above but the standard 4000 series should be more than enough for most diy jobs

We use the 3M 6000 series masks at work, not cheap but wearable for an 8 hour day without issues. Way overkill, but it is nice being able to work without glasses falling off or steaming up.

Beards have an effect, but ive a beard and it still seals (hand over filter, cant breath so its sealed enough, the bitter tests are for dealing with properly toxic stuff, not just irritating solvents).

For cartriges youd need a set of the brown (organic) filters for solvents, and the paper pre-filters (which are just cheaper). The organic ones filter particles too, but they’re pounds rather than pence.

You know when the organic cannisters are used up when you can smell solvents, its that simple. We changed them after about 5 days of using solvent parts washers (so a very high level lf solvents in the air! ).

Scienceofficer

^What he said.

Only to add that the ‘Material Safety Data Sheet’ (MSDS) for the paint, etc. that you are using may specify suitable ‘Respiratory Protective Equipment’ (RPE) – i.e. filter type.

And a reminder that RPE should be the last resort – The money may be better put towards a dust extractor for your sander or better ventilation of your painting area.

ETA: 3M make quality stuff.

EDIT EDIT: In a DIY context, it would be unusual that RPE was critical to what you were doing – Consumer grade paints, etc. aren’t normally terribly bad, and your exposure to them will only be occasional. Avoiding nuisance dust is key (IMHO) – if you can’t, basically whatever fits well and is comfortable to wear.

All bets are off though if you’ve got hold of commercial materials (e.g. 2K paint!) or spend hours in a solvent laden shed.

Thanks all, I appreciate your help.
I’ll get myself on the 3m site and see what they have.

I checked out eBay and yes, they do have some very cheap 3m so assumed they were fake.

Also, no beard so no issues with a seal.