NO, a charcoal filter w/prefilter is not enough protection against a true urethane with iso catalyst. That filter will work with a catalyzed acrylic enamel or synthetic enamel, but not with a true urethane.

I purchased brand new 3M 6001 cartridges and prefilters P95 kit from Lowe's
hardware
store, put them in my 3M mask- and was doing painting over a 3 day period on
my
old car. The mask is also brand new and only used 3 times previously, the
seal checked and quite tight on my face- no leaks.

I was using Eastwood Flat Black Urethane 2-part paint (called "rat rod"
paint on the label). It is described as a "true urethane". Per previous
talks with a rep from 3M,
I broke the job down to smaller tasks to limit my exposure to any
isocyanates and urethane
in the paint- and also painted the parts outside. Each part required 2
coats of paint, with 10 minutes flash time between.

First day painted undersides of hood and trunk lid, jambs of doors, and rear
filler panel- painted them outside on saw horses, parts removed from the
car. Stored the respirator in a sealed ziplock bag when finished.

Second day, flipped those parts over, and painted topsides of same panels
outside.

Third day, pulled car outside, masked it off, painted roof, front fenders,
front rubber bumper, rear quarter panels, and rear tail panel. (1970
Pontiac Firebird) Just when finishing up, I backed car back in garage, I
got quite dizzy. After cleaning spray gun and walking toward fuse panel to
shut off compressor in garage, I felt like I was going to pass out and lose
consciousness.

From the time I opened first can of paint, until pulled car in garage, and
left the area, I had my respirator on at all time- until I got to my actual
car I was driving home, took mask off, got in and drove away.

It became obvious that after only this short time of use with the filters,
that paint fumes were coming through the mask already- even though it was
stored between uses in a ziplock bag to preserve filters.

I drove about 20 miles to gas station, still light headed- when I got out of
car, got VERY dizzy- some sort of delayed effect- similar to the feeling of
doing 4 shots of whiskey at once- lightheaded and vision effected.

I then drank 2 bottles of bottled water, and bought a cup of coffee, which
seemed to help. Went home, ate 2 bowls of soup, that seemed to help, but
effects came back to some extent shortly thereafter- they are
lightheadedness, tingling in arms/bones, raw throat, slight phlegm and a few
coughs. At night one sharp chest pain for a second or so, that then went
away.

Now it's 2 days later, and although I'm functioning ok and keep improving,
I still have a slight raw feeling in my throat and chest, lightheadedness
slightly, and now tingling in my hands and forearms, like bone pain, but
very slight- last night I had to take painkillers for that to go to bed.

I called the vendor for the paint, and had them fax the MSDS sheets to me- reading the MSDS for the paint, it states that maximum time exposure to the
paint with a charcoal cannister respirator, is only 1 hour total. The
third day painting, I had been painting slightly over 1 hour, perhaps 1 hour
15 minutes total.

This is a great discrepancy between the cartridge changeout recommendation,
and
the MSDS sheet for the urethane paint. Changeout time for home hobbyist
users is considered to be
when solvents are noticeably breaking through- in my case, I had no solvent
breakthrough but was quite dizzy and
feeling effects of ISO fumes breakthrough- I just could not smell them with
the mask on.

I've been painting as a hobbyist mostly now, for 25 years- and have never
seen a paint break through a new charcoal cartridge so quickly before in my
life. I'm just passing this info on to you- good thing I was painting
outside and not inside- had I been inside with door closed, I would have
been in a severely hazardous situation, and would have been overcome by the
fumes- and most likely would have sustained more serious health
issues/effects.

It has become apparent that the 3M charcoal cartridge 6001 is not adequate
protection against a "true urethane" paint- even when painting outside.
They give approx. 2-3 days use of protection at best- and/or no longer than 1
hour of protection at one time.
I suspect the cartridges become saturated and breakthrough occurs very
quickly with urethane
- the fact that this also occurred outside in open air is
startling.

Doing a search online, I found this information stating the 3M 6001
filter is not for isocyanate paints. There are many other vendors that state in their ads, these charcoal respirators are not for urethanes. See below link and copy/paste
description. There is obviously conflicting information in regards to the
6001 charcoal filter and ISO type urethane paints.

http://store.pksafety.net/mulcar.html

"The 3M 6001 Organic Vapor Cartridge is NIOSH approved for a wide variety of
organic vapors. Each cartridge contains granulated charcoal that is treated
to absorb organic vapors from the air passing through as you inhale. Used
mainly to protect against solvents, such as those in oil based paints.
Others would include paint thinner, lacquer thinner, turpentine and fuel
vapors. Also absorbs bad smells. Not for use with urethane paints that
contain isocyanates. Attaches to the 3M 6000 and 7500 series masks. For
paint spray and pesticide applications, use with a prefilter such as the
5P71 or 5N11 and filter retainer 501."

regards,

painter

: Hi Dan,

: If I could intervene a question directed at your response;

: I just talked to the folks at Bristol Finish in Florida today. They make a 2
: part urethane coating called Tradtional Amber Urethane. I talked to a tech
: guy and he said it would be fine to spray Bristol wearing the 3M Organic
: Particulate respirator cartridge 6001 on a 7500 series half-mask
: respirator, with the bottom of the garage door cracked open. Would you say
: this is accurate? I don't want to risk my life for the finish on my wife's
: boat.

: BTW, I brushed and rolled Bristol on my last boat, but did not like the
: results that offered, that's why I'm thinking about spraying with an HVLP.

: Brad