Help, my garage is covered in CF dust

General Composites Discussions Composites Talk
#1

I am working on a custom CF project in my garage. I’ve recently done a lot of sanding and shaping by Dremel and by hand. I wore a mask to protect my lungs, and I did all the sanding in the corner of the garage furthest from the door to the house, and where all our stuff is stored.

But despite my efforts, there is now a thin film of black dust covering every horizontal surface in the garage, even those in the opposite corner from where I was working. It’s even getting tracked into the kitchen no matter how many times I wipe my feet before I come inside. It’s like a VIRUS.

I realize there’s probably no magic solution to this situation, but was wondering if anybody had any ideas other than (a) dust everything with a wet rag by hand (tons of boxes, tools, even canned food shelves) or (b) get a leaf blower and try to blow it all out the door (somehow I think this is not as good an idea as it sounds, would probably just re-distribute the dust and knock my stuff over).

Any ideas? Thanks!

#2

Maybe buy some surfacing veil (plug, plug…:rolleyes:) off eBay, fix / drape the veil over the large door opening and then leaf blow / air nozzle turned down, blow the CF dust into the veil while wearing a extra good dust mask!

The veil will catch the CF dust so you can wad it up and toss in the trash.

Otherwise, like you stated, wipe everything down with a wet cloth.

PS: Welcome to our dreams…:stuck_out_tongue:

#3

The wife’s got alergies. So we know about dust control. The only thing that will trap the fine dust particals is a HEPA filter. Shop Vac makes one as an add-on for most units.

http://www.shopvac.com/detail.asp?id=332

I once watched two guys removing asbestos from an abandoned building before it was demolished. They used large shop vacs with these filters as they were the only ones certified for asbestos which when disturbed creates tiny fibers and becomes airborn. They also had the normal vac hose into the shop vac but also an exhaust hose that ran from the shop vac exhaust outside of the enclosure they were working in.

#4

A tip I use on my shop vac’s is to cover the filter in a ladies nylon so the filter does not clog up on it!

Also the clothes washer hose into the sink gets another one to help stop plugged up drians too!

#5

Thanks for the tip!! Didnt know that.

Im going to build this very soon as Ill be doing more stuff from my garage (as my last day at work is Friday…YES!!!). But now youve got me thinking about better filters for it.

http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/plansshare/air_filter_downdraft_sanding_table.htm

#6

Dang, that think looks amazing!!! If I did that, it would look like someone “tired” to build one!

But yeah, downdraft table, vacuum cleaner hose at the work area, or those dust collecting air tools.
Or do it next to a LARGE fan, pointed outside a window/garage door :wink:
don’t forget to move the car.

#7

Don’t aim it at the neighbors either! lol My neighbor has a white car, I’m sure she’d be p*ss’d if I blew black carbon dust all over it! :eek:

#8

How well do these downdraft tables work? I have the same problem with dust and I need something that will catch any airbone dust and pull it down, along with insects and small birds!

I was thinking of building a garage spray booth and do the sanding in there, at least the dust will be contained somewhat.

#9

A Rigid 5hp shop vac flows 289 cfm. A 5hp shop vac with the rectangular adapter can catch nearly all the dust flying off a band saw.

An airmover (Rigid sold at homedepot) flows 2500 cfm. So Im guessing your house might implode when you turn it on.

#10

Sweet!:smiley:
That’s some serious vacuum!

#11

Do you remember the one at the classroom? I’m sure the school just tossed it! :rolleyes:

#12

A machine shop company i used to work at in CA made carbon fiber image quality indicators for the aerospace industry. My boss got ticked off one day because he had to make like 10 of them on the surface grinder ( held down with double stick tape ). Dust was everywhere and he was using a shop vac. It just wasn’t powerful enough and didn’t have a large enough collector to suck up all the dust the grinder was making. If you ask me my boss was just being a wimp about telling the customer we would no longer make them.
But yeah carbon dust is messy stuff and it seems to stick to everything.

#13

make a vacuum table. a table with a metal mesh top, and a vacuum/blower source below, sand all your parts on the table

#14

Hojo…where have you been mr.?lol

I plan on making a shielded/lens water bath to cut/trim and sand my parts in.The water run off can be recycled after a filter/trap up to a point.
I use several different Dynabrade tools and also some hand finishing.
Water keeps things clean and dust free.
Vinny

#15

Now if we only knew WHERE they tossed it!

#16

So these tables have to be pretty big I guess? Big enough to hold a hood or fender and still catch the dust.

I also want to be able to use a table top router, belt sander, DA sander, whatever. Will the downdraft table work for my needs?

#17

[QUOTE=Worldwealth;14979]Hojo…where have you been mr.?lol

well, mostly here in missouri, but also a little bit in china. its amazing how hard it is to find good workers here in missouri, I think Maine has more talented people. We have actually decided were just going to do apprenticeship, and hire some green kids out of highschool. are you still around missouri?

#18

Hojo that’s a really good idea. I’ve used a down draft grinding bench before, neat thing. Ours had these big 20"x20"x 4" thick filters between the bottom of the bench and the suction vent, then the it vented thru the wall to outdoors. If a person were to buy one of those relatively small downdraft benches they cost over $1000 to buy new. It’s an excellent idea to build one and save some serious coin.

I imagine in time i will end up building one… thanks for the tip.:cool: Could probably buy a used dust collector system somewhere. I’m thinking like a thin sheetmetal top with a thousand holes drilled in it, then supporting it an expanded steel mesh. This way the part can slide over the surface of the table without getting hung up on the expanded steel mesh.

I always find reasons i wish I had never sold my Lincoln 255 mig welder :frowning:

#19

also, a good thing to do is to make a mixing station with a blower, fan or vacuum system to suck out any fillers(cabisol, microbaloons.etc…) that your mixing in to your resins to the outside. looks like a arcade machine(same dimentions).

#20

I was under the impression that c/f dust is pretty bad for you… if you’re tracking it through the house, that’s a pretty serious problem isn’t it?