People often ask whether a respirator is needed when working with our epoxy resin. The answer is not a simple yes or no, because it depends on your workspace — and on understanding what the actual risks are. This blog goes through both.
At Craft Resin we believe in offering advice that offers the maximum protection so that you can work with resin in the peace and mind that it’s not negatively affecting your health. If you are ever worried about your health while working with our brands products we will always advise that you take the maximum precautions, your health should always be the number one priority over creating!
So lets get stuck into this subject in more detail...
The short answer is:
Work in a well ventilated area. If you cannot, wear a respirator.
That is not a hedge, and it is not us being over-cautious for the sake of it. Like all epoxy systems, Craft Resin is classified as harmful if inhaled, and that classification is exactly why ventilation matters. It is also classified as causing skin irritation and, with repeated contact, an allergic skin reaction.
Gloves and eye protection every time. Ventilation always. A respirator whenever the ventilation is limited, uncertain, or you are working for an extended session.
If you’re asking this question then you are probably concerned for your health, and that alone is a great reason to be over cautious and protect yourself as much as possible.
The longer answer is:
It is very difficult for us to evaluate if your workspace/home is ventilated enough to enable you to work respirator free. Unless you are working outside, or in a special workshop that has been evaluated by a safety company to have the correct ventilation, then we will always presume that it isn’t well ventilated. Ventilation isn’t just opening a window, the air needs to be circulating and filtering outside, even with a window open, depending on the size, location, wind direction etc this might not be good enough.
Add to that, it is very hard to control the temperature in some locations when windows/doors are opened, and this can then cause issues to occur in your resin projects themselves.
A respirator can be uncomfortable at times, in warmer temperatures it might not be the most pleasant to work in, but your safety is more important than anything else, and taking this extra step might be the best option for you.
Wearing a respirator is a personal judgement about your own workspace. We recommend one wherever ventilation cannot be relied on.
We also can’t recommend which respirator to purchase, there are lots of brands on the market that all cover protection for a multitude of things. If you speak to a respirator supplier they will be able to recommend one that will offer you the correct protection for your specific needs, they will also be able to make sure you’re getting on that fits correctly.
Why low odour does not mean low risk:
Craft Resin is solvent-free and VOC-free. There are no non-reactive diluents in the formulation, which is why it has so little smell compared with resins that do contain solvents.
That is a statement about odour, not about safety. The two are not connected, and this is the single most common misunderstanding we see. VOCs are what make markers, nail varnish and fresh plastic smell. Removing them removes the smell. It does not remove the need for ventilation, and it does not make an epoxy system harmless — ours still carries a harmful-if-inhaled classification, as epoxy systems generally do.
So if you have read anywhere that a low-odour resin needs no precautions, including on our own older pages, that was wrong and we would rather correct it than leave it standing.
The risk that actually matters:
Toxicity and sensitisation are two different things, and the confusion between them causes real harm. A toxic effect is immediate and dose-related. Sensitisation is your immune system learning to react to a substance — an allergy.
Sensitisation is the one that ends resin careers. It builds up silently over months or years of small skin contacts, and once it develops it is generally permanent. Someone who has become sensitised to epoxy often cannot work with it again at all. There is no cure and no tolerance built back up.
That is why gloves matter more than most people think, why you should never handle uncured resin bare-handed “just this once”, and why the makers who work with resin for decades are the ones who were careful from the first pour.
If you do have any reactions or abnormal symptoms when using Craft Resin always consult your GP/Doctor as soon as possible. Tell them it is an epoxy system and mention skin sensitisation — it helps them a great deal.
Also always wear personal protective equipment as a barrier to stop any irritation from happening in the first place.
With regards to what respirator to buy, we cannot advise you on this. Suppliers of safety equipment will be able to advise on the best respirator to use, they may need to see our Safety Data Sheet in order to check which would be the correct one for you.
As always this guidance aligns with our brands epoxy resin, other brands can be formulated differently and therefore we cannot advise what their safety precautions are, please speak to them directly if you are using another resin brand.
If you have any questions regarding safety, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
