Ridewell Paint Upgrade – Hot Work Notice
Date: 2018-08-09 12:00:00 am
As part of our continual improvement process, Ridewell has upgraded its paint to Aquaguard WLA2409 by Valspar. This new water-based paint improves corrosion resistance several times, boasting 500+ hours of salt fog performance. It also eliminates solvent emissions and waste disposal. Aquaguard is used on a wide variety of products in this industry and should provide a noticeable improvement over our existing paint.

With that said, safety is our utmost concern. Please see the following safety notice from Valspar in regards to working with organic coatings.

SAFETY – General statement for hot work on coated metals

Hot work performed on metals with organic coatings – including burning, cutting, welding, or grinding – will generate degradation and combustion products in the form of vapors, fumes, and smoke. The composition of the coating degradation products can be both complex and dynamic – with a variety of substances potentially being created and the types of substances changing with time depending on the activity being performed. Typical organic coating thermal degradation products that could be expected include: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, aldehydes (including formaldehyde), organic acids, nitrogen oxides (NO, NO₂, etc.), phenol and bisphenol compounds, among others.

Whether these degradation and combustion products present an employee exposure risk and whether PPE (e.g., respiratory protection) is required will be dependent on factors that are specific to the activity and the location where it is performed. Chief among them is the availability and adequacy of existing exposure controls such as ventilation – either general exhaust or local exhaust ventilation. Other factors that require consideration include the duration of employee exposure, the surface area of coated part, frequency of the activity, and the location of employees relative to the emission source.

The best way to determine what hazards the operation presents to employees is to sample or monitor the air quality and determine the exposure to employees. A qualified industrial hygienist should be consulted to assist with this assessment.