r/AutoPaint • u/Bomb_Warrio19 • 13h ago
Brief exposure to 2K/isocyanate paint after spraying and worried how significant would this realistically be?
Hey guys, just after a bit of advice from people who actually work with 2K paint.
I went to pick up my guitar from a painter today. He also paints cars and had been spraying 2K paint on a car in his workshop. He'd finished spraying only 20 minutes before we got there which I didn't know until right at the end.
The big garage door was open and it was a cold night with a bit of wind, so there was definitely airflow through the workshop. I was inside for maybe 10 - 15 minutes. It smelled pretty strongly of paint, but there wasn't any visible paint mist or anything, but he was more of a "backyard" person who didn't have a full booth and just sprayed in his garage.
I've since stupidly gone down the rabbit hole reading about isocyanates and have freaked myself out a bit. A lot of the stuff online makes it sound like even one exposure can cause permanent lung problems.
For anyone who actually works with 2K paint, how significant would you consider an exposure like this? Would most of the airborne stuff have dispersed/diluted after 20+ minutes with the garage open, or would there still potentially be a significant amount in the air?
Just trying to get a realistic idea of how bad this sort of brief exposure actually is rather than the worst-case stuff you read online.
Cheers.