Wear your gear.

[ActingLikeAKid]

This is your "hey, gloves and a mask are a good idea" reminder.

I was painting my latest project and found Rust-Oleum "High Performance" enamel works great. $5 a can at Walmart. It advertises "15 minute drying time" but isn't really fully cured for much longer than that. In any case, though, the important thing is that the mist is fine enough and the cure is fast enough that you end up with a shocking amount of particulate in the air.

I should really have been wearing a proper respirator.... but I'm glad I was wearing the mask.

Look what it stopped. First pic is the inside, second pic is the outside. Black paint mist shows up well. Glad this isn't in my lungs/nose.

 

[grouch]

Duh.

 

[ActingLikeAKid]

Duh.

You'd be surprised how many people are cavalier about safety.
I actually heard someone recently say "gloves are for wimps". I'm OK with being called a well-breathing, no-skin-conditions, didn't-get-cancer wimp.

 

[soopirV]

I'm one of those that are a bit cavalier about safety...I always wear gloves when working with epoxy, but painting and sanding are usually "bare back" out of convenience/impulse. These are good images to keep in mind!