Yeahhhhhh ... soooooo ... I work in nuclear power and from experience in the Navy plus lessons I've learned along the way, "personal safety" and "personal responsibility" are big in my book so your question has hit a nerve. I'm the type of guy who likes to look-up the answers to questions by researching facts, thinking about them, asking follow-up questions, and forming my own opinion ... I view the forum from my home computer so just for kicks I opened another tab in my browser and ran this search on google:
asbestos '80s car
... reading 3 of the top 5 results it appears that some manufacturers had OE asbestos brake linings into the '90s (Ford, to alleviate brake squeal) and asbestos could have been in the OE hood pads on our G-bodies.
https://www.asbestos.com/occupations/auto-mechanics/
... so at least two data points for you, free of charge
Part of your question is about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so in good conscience I have to mention that one industry stance is that PPE is a "last resort" of protection, something that (hopefully) saves your *ss when you do everything right but something screwy happens that even the best planning & work practices couldn't account for. Some personal stories on the use of PPE (or lack thereof):
asbestos '80s car
... reading 3 of the top 5 results it appears that some manufacturers had OE asbestos brake linings into the '90s (Ford, to alleviate brake squeal) and asbestos could have been in the OE hood pads on our G-bodies.
https://www.asbestos.com/occupations/auto-mechanics/
... so at least two data points for you, free of charge
Part of your question is about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so in good conscience I have to mention that one industry stance is that PPE is a "last resort" of protection, something that (hopefully) saves your *ss when you do everything right but something screwy happens that even the best planning & work practices couldn't account for. Some personal stories on the use of PPE (or lack thereof):
- When I was in the Navy, one of my assignments was to an aircraft carrier and during a shipyard period one of my jobs was to perform the close-out inspection of water tanks. If you think of a ship with ribs ("frames") that forms the hull, the tanks are formed by putting a metal plate on top of some frames and cutting holes in some of those frames so water can move between the spaces/compartments formed. During our time in the yard, these tanks were emptied, dried-out, sandblasted, and then recoated/repainted. My job was after the paint had dried and the fumes from the coating had been vented (certified gas-free, no respirator needed), I inspected every square inch of the tank to ensure no tools, rags, or whatever had been left in the tank as that could contaminate the water and/or cause a clog somewhere in the system ... once I exited the tank and had found no problems I would observe workers shut and install/tighten all the bolts on the access hatch, the inside of the tank not to be seen again for years. I'd inspected about 4 tanks without incident when one day I was told whichever tank had passed gas-free so it was ready for my inspection; when I entered the tank I did my usual thing of finding the furthest place from the access hatch and started working my way back. About 5 minutes in I started to feel light-headed ("fumes are kinda strong in this one") and after an additional 10 minutes I found my way back to the access hatch and stuck my head out for a few minutes to get some fresh air, the shipyard guy who was waiting for me said that he also noticed the fumes were kind of strong. I felt better after about 5 minutes so I went back in and found the spot where I left off ... I inspected two more compartments before I decided something was wrong and left the tank, telling the shipyard guy I'd come back another day and went straight to my boss to tell him the tank failed because something was wrong ... I later learned the gas-free engineer had not done the cert properly (and been kicked-off the project for it) and I was right to leave when I did. I think that if I hadn't left when I did I probably would have collapsed in the tank and no one would have known for a good 5-10 minutes (or longer), so who knows what would have happened then. *I* alone decided how to act in that situation
- Look-up Bleche-White Tire Cleaner ... it's mostly lye so it really cleans your whitewalls, redlines, or raised white letters. I half-heartedly followed the handling instructions the one time I used it -- I used rubber dishwashing gloves instead of the recommended chemical gloves, it's the "one time" I used it as I didn't rinse-off the gloves before putting them aside and a month later the fingers of the gloves -- and other parts that had made contact with the cleaner -- were just gone ... I afterwards read an online review where a guy joked you can use your bare hands when handling it, but when your fingers start to tingle STOP and go rinse as that's your skin starting to slough off
- One of my projects with the Mustang involved using marine-grade adhesive and aluminum etch (gluing aluminum discs to plastic). Once I bought the stuff I researched the hell out of proper handling and it caught my attention the etcher could cause chemical burns (hmm ... Bleche-White said the same thing) while the adhesive was volatile non-organic chemicals, so I picked-up a quality respirator (not the dust masks that you use with drywall but one with active charcoal filters certified for what I was doing), a chemical apron, chemical gloves, chemical goggles, and chemical waste bottles. I was glad I had all of that when I rushed a bit in handling the etcher and splashed some of it on myself (apron and gloves) and nothing bad happened ... felt better still when I took the etcher waste to a "household chemical turn-in" and the guy who asked what I was turning-in had a "holy sh*t!" reaction when he realized what I was telling him and gave me detailed instructions of what to tell the unloaders as it had to be separated from the normal paints & gasoline & motor oil other people were turning-in
- You think your dad is wrong so you've asked whether someone here can validate your opinion ... and BTW, you do realize that in all likelihood some of us are about the same age as your dad or older, right? Why listen to us when you don't want to listen to him? ... but anyway, what're you gonna do?
- Give him lip service that you'll do it but not actually do it?
- Tell him "no, dad, I'm not going to do that stuff because the guys on the forum said you're wrong" ? My hat's off to you if that exchange goes well -- my dad (or more likely, my mother) would've told me the guys on the forum can then help me find a place to live as their roof, their rules, EVEN IF I'm of age
- If you do some research and think everything is wrong because it contradicts your opinion then fine, that's you exercising your judgment
- If you do some research and think to yourself "man, I don't like the sound of this, and there's no way to tell whether I should or shouldn't" then consider PPE ... better to be cautious in that respect than later say "if only I had ..."
