Do I require a good quality respiratory face mask for casting poly resin?

[Daveum79]

I have just got into casting resin and purchased my resin making kit from mbfg.com in the UK. I got halfway through the bottle mixing part 1 and part 2 then noticed that for one of the parts it recommends using a face mask. I have hundreds of resin figures to cast so want to do this right. I've stopped everything after reading up on the hazards of resin casting as there are long term health implications that got me really worried if casting regularly. When I watch many of the resin tutorials on youtube none of them are wearing masks just gloves.

Can anyone recommend what type of face mask I should be used as I had looked at the 3M 6900 Face mask and they go for about £120.00. On ebay they are selling for about £60.00 and this doesn't seem right unless they are fake and there do seem to be issues with lots of fake branded respiratory masks online, so I'm slightly concerned about where to purchase from and who to trust. I see the main issue with using poly resin is that when mixing it causes a toxic vapour even though it is claimed on bottles they they are odourless. What is a suitable face mask to use that covers whole face. I don't really want to spend over £50.00 unless it is essential.

thanks

 

[blaster]

If you are doing the odd castings now and then, most people do it on the work table, wearing only a simple face mask and wearing disposable gloves. These can be purchased at pharmacies or DIY shops. If you are planning hundreds of resin figures to cast, this sound like rather involved work and should perhaps be done in a dedicated work space with strong fan blowing from behind and open ventilation. For commercial purposes, I think that people also invest in a small fume cabinet with flexible ducting to the outside. The mixing, casting and setting of the resin is done within this cabinet.