Coming soon, the dust-free shop

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- On the heels of what has become an international move to waterborne coatings, another trend that started in Europe is finding its way to American shores. Shops in the U.S. are now seeing a variety of products designed to help create dust-free working environments.

Adam Spah, who works in tech services for abrasives for 3M, notes two products being brought to market by his company. The first is a sanding disk designed with multiple holes places in a swirl pattern that help with dust extraction. The second is a dual action (DA) sander that can be fitted with a filter, resembling a vacuum bag, that collects dust particles created by sanding.

Spah says the advantage of all these products is that, along with removing workplace dust so that it doesn't end up on a vehicle finish, each is designed to help technicians work more efficiently by taking up less space and allowing them to work with tools that don't have to be plugged into bulky shop filtration systems.