: What kind of respirator do you need to protect your lungs against epoxy
: fumes?

Gordon,

I'm not so sure it's the vapors you need to be concerned with when working with epoxy. Rather, you certainly must be concerned about the dust. That said, it’s never a bad idea to protect yourself from toxic fumes though.

I'm only familiar with 3M brand respirators. I found the respirator issue very confusing too. So I called 3M’s 800 number. They will walk you through the entire thing: 800-243-4630. Just tell them what exactly your intended use is. You might want to speak with your epoxy manufacturer too to see what they suggest!!

I settled for a 3M 7500-series half-mask. It's silicone rather than latex rubber. It’s very comfortable. The entire thing is reusable and serviceable. They're available at www.labsafety.com. For particulate I went with a P100 filter (#2091). For ‘organic vapor’ i.e. fumes, I simply got their OV filter (#6001). To these two filters I also added a 502 adapter so I can mount the P100 on top of the OV should I want the benefits of both filters at the same time.

There are other companies/brands out there too. 3M is just the one I happened to choose.

(I have no affiliation w/ any of the companies I mentioned above.)

Try the link below. 3M has a load of info and PDF’s you can download from their website.

Kevin