Quality respirator

[PeterB]

I shall be working some mother of pearl and other exotic materials. I'll be doing it outside under lots of water along with a large fan. I am interested in a quality respirator to boot. What type do you recomend? Cost?

 

[Chris Meyer]

I use a Racal/3M Breath Easy PAPR. It's a great set up, although a little awkward to put on. It sucks air through three filters that are mounted on a blower that belts on behind your back. The filtered air goes up a tube, across the top of your head, then down the faceshield. The air going over your head helps keep you cool and it then keeps the face mask from fogging. You can get a variety of filters, depending on the substances you are working with. The down side is that the unit, filters, and batteries are quite expensive. However, if you keep an eye open on eBay you can probably get a good deal (like I did).

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[Dan Pierson]

With pearl and woods you're mainly concerned with particulate protection. For that I'm very happy with my Resp-O-Rator. Comfortable, inexpensive, lightweight and works fine with beards.

It doesn't have chemical filters which are important for things like Micarta, but all of the air you breath comes from behind you which offers some protection.