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This is my first time on this site -- so the response may be too late for your needs. I also have a Harbor Freight system. The cloth head/neck cover that came with it didn't last too long. The plastic became rather hazy. I have used a welding helmut as someone else suggested to you. This works fine and replacing the small plastic component costs less than a dollar. Also tried large plastic face shield. It is the best option from the standpoint of vision. However, the shield take a beating and is relatively expensive to replace. So by and large I used the welding helmut in conjunction with the Harbor Freight cloth head/neck cover with the plastic portion removed. This keeps most of the sand out of my hair, etc. Dust is a problem, both from the standpoint of inhalation and vision. I blast in the open, hopefully with some breeze! I would not recommend this if a lot of blasting is done. The chronic adverse health effects of crystalline silica are well documented. However, for occasional use I consider the health risk minimal. A filter mask of some type is probably prudent -- one of the paper type with an elastic band should reduce exposure quite a bit -- at least for larger particles. Smaller particles could still be a problem -- and the smaller ones are the ones that penetrate into the lung. As toxicologists say, the dose makes the poison. Bearing this in mind, I try to reduce my exposure to the dust but don't believe that my hobby exposure is of much concern.
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