Paint Mixing Room Archives : Tools USA

BODY SHOP HAZARDS: MIXING PAINT

Body shop hazards exist in every body shop. When body shops paint vehicles, the workers have to use a paint mixing station to get specific colors. There are many different types of chemicals present in materials such as primers, sealants, catalysts, hardeners, additives, pigments, solvents, and isocyanates (highly reactive, low molecular weight chemicals). Most of these substances are toxic, and exposure to them can be hazardous to health. Isocyanates are the leading cause of occupational asthma in the United States.

According to OSHA, workers in auto body shops are exposed to a variety of chemical and physical hazards. Chemical hazards may include paints, fillers and solvents from spray painting operations; silica from sandblasting operations; dusts from sanding; and metal fumes from welding and cutting. Continue reading BODY SHOP HAZARDS: MIXING PAINT

Are Your Filters HAZARDOUS?

Just as you would in your house, your paint booth filters must be changed to protect the quality of air you breathe and the environment. For the health of painters, spray-painting operations must use paint booths with exhaust filters. Exhaust filters are designed to collect paint and other particles, preventing them from polluting the air outside the shop with paint overspray. Because the paint being collected on the filters can be hazardous, it can also make the used filter potentially hazardous. So how do you know if your booth filters are considered hazardous waste?

1.) Evaluate Your Filters. No matter which type of exhaust filter you use, all types must be evaluated to determine whether or not they are hazardous. Avoid conditions that could lead to spontaneous combustion in dumpsters. Both hazardous and non-hazardous filters have been known to spontaneously combust.

2.) How Can You Determine Hazardous Filters? Determining a hazardous filter can be done in two ways.

a.) Through knowledge of waste

-Only use paints and coatings which contain regulated metals.

b.) Use of laboratory testing

-Arrange a testing with a company capable of performing TCLP (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) test.

Get more information on paint booths, filters and environmental concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency.

If your filters are hazardous, you must store them in a non-leaking container marked with the words “Hazardous Waste” with the waste description attached. To select the proper container you may want to contact the disposal facility you are planning to use. A licensed hazardous waste transporter is required to ship the hazardous waste to the disposal facility. A special paper called a hazardous waste manifest must be accompanied with the shipment.

Non-hazardous filters cannot be disposed of in or with your normal trash. Your waste is to be sent to a permitted landfill or burner by a waste hauler. Make sure filters and the paints they contain are completely dry prior to disposal to minimize the chance of fire.

In North Carolina, if the paint on the filters is DRY then it is not considered Hazardous. If the paint is WET, then it is Hazardous. Consult with your jobber, filter supplier, and/or your local authorities for assistance in properly characterizing and handling your waste filters.

A Paint Mixing Room is a Dangerous Place to Be

There are always “do’s and don’ts”, whether it’s fashion, workplace etiquette, or paint mixing rooms. That’s right! There are “do’s and don’ts” to using paint mixing rooms. Paint mixing rooms can be very dangerous work areas because of the toxic, flammable and hazardous materials stored in it. Use safe precautions to ensure your health & safety.

Keep away from. Extreme care shall be taken by individuals mixing solvent-based paints to remove from all possible sources of ignition, such as matches, cigarette lighters, and steel buckles.

Avoid contact and wash your hands! Persons handling painting materials shall avoid contact of material with skin and eyes, and inhalation of mists or vapors. When painting materials are handled, care shall be exercised to wash hands before eating, drinking, smoking, or using toilets. No food or drink shall be allowed in the paint area.

Proper attire.Personnel shall wear nonskid, rubber-soled shoes or canvas boots over their shoes when working. It is also a good idea to wear a Paint Suit to protect your clothes, skin and hair.

Illness. Workers with a history of chronic skin diseases, allergies, or asthma shall not be permitted to work with paint compounds and thinners.

Always remember skin contact, eye contact, ingestion, and breathing mists or vapors in excess of the threshold limit value, (TLV) a level of chemical substance to which it is believed a worker can be exposed day after day for a working lifetime without adverse health effects, shall be avoided. Follow these guidelines when working in a paint mixing room, and your well-being will be protected.

Standard Tools and Equipment Co. to be Featured on the “World’s Greatest…” Television Production

NEWS RELEASE

<May 18, 2011><Greensboro, N.C.>
Standard Tools and Equipment Co, a trusted manufacturer in the automotive aftermarket industry, announced today that they have been selected by How 2 Media to be a part of the popular television series, “World’s Greatest …”, featuring their paint booths. The show airs on the ION Network.

The company goes to market as Tools USA and paint-booths.com, to sell hundreds of products through their mail-order catalog and their various Web sites. Products include auto lifts, frame machines, pulling posts and clamps, tire equipment, powder coating equipment and, or course, their paint booths.

One of the first online sellers of Paint Booths, their Tools USA internet store opened in 1999. Recognized by Google Inc. (1,000,000 Leads Generated), and Internet Retailer (America’s Top 500 Largest Retail Web Sites), they have a history as a successful online retailer.

“We started selling to Body Shops and in the early 80’s, the company developed the very first national catalog for the body shop professional,” says Michael Kestler, President of Standard Tools and Equipment Company. “Our many years of experience in the collision repair industry helped us to develop the superior paint booth products that we offer today. The value, quality and efficiency of our paint booths have been major factors in our expansion into other industries and our overall success.”

With over half of their paint booths being sold outside of the body shop industry, Standard Tools has supplied paint booths to such industries as NASCAR teams, Woodworking shops, military, schools, government and many varied manufacturing industries.

After a careful interview process, the show determined that Standard Tools’ experience, technology and customer-service made for not only a great paint booth, but a great story too.

“We think they have an interesting story to tell and we will help tell that story in a meaningful way to our viewers,” said Gordon Freeman, Executive Producer of the show. “Standard Tools is a major company operating in the somewhat fragmented Spray Booth manufacturing industry. The difference is that they sell direct, which affords and enables them to offer products at the lowest possible prices without sacrificing quality.”

“World’s Greatest…” is a 30-minute television show from the producers at How 2 Media. The show features the world’s greatest companies, products, places and people. Past businesses featured include Anheuser-Busch, Lenox China, Land’s End, Samsung, and Xtreme Motorsports.

A film crew will be visiting Standard Tools’ facilities in late June to get the story behind the story on why Standard Tools makes the World’s Greatest Paint Booths. They will begin shooting the segment, scheduled to air later this year.

“We are thrilled to be a part of ‘World’s Greatest…’ and honored for the selection,” Kestler continued. “We are excited to highlight the company’s history, manufacturing process and the story of who we are and why we do what we do.”

About Standard Tools and Equipment Co.
Tool USA, founded in 1979 is an operating company of Standard Tools Holding Corp. (Standard Tools and Equipment Co.), a privately-owned holding company. Standard Tools and Equipment Co. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive body shop equipment. Manufacturing and corporate offices are located in Greensboro, NC.

For more information, visit www.toolsusa.com or www.paint-booths.com or contact Kat at Katm@standardtool.com.

FABTECH 2010

Tools USA and Paint-Booths will be attending FABTECH 2010. FABTECH is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, finishing and welding event with over 1,000 exhibiting companies.

FABTECH 2010
Georgia World Congress Center
Atlanta, Georgia
November 2-4, 2010
https://www.fabtechexpo.com/

Be Advised – The New NESHAP rules could affect your business!!

New NESHAP 6-H RULE – Paint Stripping and Various Spraying Operations
The National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) is the air quality division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NESHAP defined new air quality requirements for surface coating and paint stripping operations in 2008. It becomes enforceable at the end of 2010. This new rule defines a form that has to be submitted for new or modified spray and stripping operations for vehicles and mobile equipment. The forms and requirements are available on-line through your local EPA office at https://www.epa.gov/. Continue reading Be Advised – The New NESHAP rules could affect your business!!

Going “GREEN” – Our History and Getting Started in Your Shop

Have you every built a deck, a table or a fence only to find out that you wasted 30, 40, or even 50% of the material purchased due to poor planning and design?

Standard Tools and Equipment Co. has been making collision repair equipment, spray booths and dust collectors since 1979. We have refined our processes and equipment to result in a waste level of only 7%. Scrap steel is sent back to the mill to be processed into new steel; scrap wood is ground up by a recycler for use in chipboard products; and hazardous wastes are processed by federal government-approved waste handlers.
Continue reading Going “GREEN” – Our History and Getting Started in Your Shop

Autobody Equipment Financing

Tools USA now offers financing on a paint booth, frame machine or multi item purchases! To take advantage of our new program, please call 800-451-2425.

To be approved for the financing, qualified customers must meet the following criteria: 1. located in EST zone, 2. acceptable credit, 3. agree to ACH monthly drafts, 4. minimum of 40% down payment, and 5. must finance $3000 which would require an order of $5000.

Financing rates will be between 10-14% with 24, 36, and 48 month lease options with a $1 buy-out.

Going Green in 2010

Today there is an increased awareness of protecting our environment from hazardous emissions and waste. Everyone is ‘Going Green’ to reduce these environmental pollutants. All types of companies are expected to address this matter, including firms operating spray booths. Spray booth operations can reduce waste in one of two manners: a dramatic overhaul of the entire process or incremental improvements.

Dramatic overhauls are expensive because they typically require intensive planning and resources. By focusing on the materials and equipment companies also bypass an opportunity to improve their employees and business processes. Production is almost always impacted during a change of this type and often afterwards. Even with an overhaul companies should not assume that all wastes will be eliminated.

Incremental improvements can be made in a manner that does not upset the production of a shop. These improvements can be started immediately and scheduled with available resources, government incentives, and production requirements taken into account. This is the process recommended by the Tools USA specialists.

Example of an Incremental Plan:

Benchmark current operations: material types and volumes used, liquid and solid hazardous waste recorded, gaseous emissions calculated, hazardous operations noted, and level of operator knowledge
Identify materials used to eliminate the most hazardous; many paint and solvent manufacturers now offer low-VOC options
Evaluate solid and liquid waste by identifying waste source, retraining employees, mixing precise materials for jobs, and eliminating storage of excess material
Understand gaseous wastes and new filter options
Evaluate storage and spray guns

These steps require only a small investment and create a good foundation for future conversion to powder coating or waterborne paints and equipment. A shop that understands and addresses existing issues with incremental improvements will recover investments for major changes more quickly than a shop that makes only a dramatic change.

Please contact Kelly Goudy or the technical staff at Tools USA if you have questions about ‘Going Green’ with your spray booth operation.

Tools USA In-House Financing!

Tools USA has a new in-house leasing program for spray booths, frame machines, or multiple item purchases. To qualify, a prospect must meet the following criteria:

Acceptable personal credit.
Minimum 40% down payment.
Located in eastern or central time zones.
Agree to ACH monthly payment drafts.

Customers will be able to choose 24, 36, or 48 month lease options. Tools USA rates will run between 10 and 14%. All leases will be $1 buy-out financing leases.

The minimum financed after down payment is $3,000 (original price of item or items will be $5000).

An application can be requested by calling 1-800-451-2425.

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Category: Paint Mixing Room