I use a 3M-6800 filter respirator (pictured below) for breathing and face protection while sanding. This type of respirator forces all inhaled air to pass through filters. In combination with good ventilation, assisted by electric fans, using this respirator is a vast improvement over simply breathing the ambient air. Sometimes good ventilation can be difficult to achieve, however, and for some jobs (e.g., spraying two-part paints) filter respirators are not an option.

The picture below shows the supplied-air respirator that I purchased last summer. The idea is to put the air pump in a clean-air location and run the 50-foot supply hose into the work area and connect it to the mask. If used properly, the user breathes only pure, clean air, instead of filtered dirty air.

I had not tested out the supplied-air respirator until today, but a backlog of “sanding tabbing” jobs provided a perfect opportunity. The stylized image below shows me in the cabin with the respirator mask properly secured.

I spent about 30 minutes doing heavy sanding of fiberglass tabbing with the disk sander. The improvement over the filter respirator, for a job like this, was significant. Not only was I breathing perfectly clean air, but the air was cool and dry, which I expect will be very welcome in the hot summer months. Also there was less temptation to take breaks, as doing such would require getting off the boat to turn off the air pump. The overall difference, I imagine, is much like the improvement of SCUBA gear over a mask and snorkel for cleaning the bottom of a boat at a mooring.

The following photos show the results of some of today’s sanding.