The Breathe Cool has served me well.
I've used the Breathe Cool from Turbine Products since around 2005. I initially bought the hood and found it worthless - I now use the half mask. If you're using 2K class finishes, you really don't have an option - the fumes will go through the best of cartridges. I have the pump in the downstairs area and go through 2" schedule-40 to the spray-booth upstairs. All sanding is done with a n100 cartridge mask.
Some other things to consider:
- You need to have a spray booth. Before you go off the deep end, you can build one. I bought a 300' x 40" roll of filter material and built my booth 5" across and, you guess it, a bit less the 40" high. The exhaust fan is 2000-cfm - it is designed for spray-booths with the fume-flow completely isolated from the motor, belt, pulley and outside world.
- Again, if you're spraying 2K-class finishes, which are a few steps up on the nastiness scale from most clear coats, you really do need to be spraying in a separate building - spraying in a room that has a common attic or vent system with family living space in unthinkable.
Back to the Breathe Cool. Mine has served me well. If you have an employee doing your finishing, which I doubt, buying a non-approved is insanity. I priced approved units and they are over $1000 more than the Breathe Cool. The serious units are designed to be worn all day by employees that file workman's comp claims - I wear mine 10-minutes max in a session and, unfortunately, have no one to sue.
We all have around 86-billion neurons. As we get a bit older and are resigned to losing a few, better to use a good respirator and drink more beer.
