accidents will happen - paint and thinners

[amberwood]

and they just did.  I am currently repainting the new old truck..and having scored a free job lot of 2 pack epoxy, plus thinners etc I was up for it. The short story. Lumps in paint, gun blocks up, lid off gravity gun flushing thinners through the blockage and it decides to burb a slug of thinners and paint residue back up INTO MY FACE. Luckily I closed my eyes in time and just caught it across the forehead and on the eyelids. Excruciating burning pain would the short version. Rapid panic that I had just blinded myself followed by huge relief that yes I could see the bottom of the sink as I washed my face and eyes for the next 20min.

It will be the quick unplanned job that will get you.

DTR

[beenthere]

I'm not a good example of a 'user of safety glasses' either, and such things as you experienced are good lessons that safety glasses should have been worn.  You are lucky and missed a bullet.
Maybe your near-miss will help some of the rest of us protect our eyes. Wouldn't be fun to go through the rest of our days being blind.
Thanks for telling us.  20-20 hindsight is usually pretty accurate. 

[leweee]

safety goggles or full face shield would be a better chose(than glasses) when handling materials that splash.

[Stephen1]

I have safety glass's that have bi-focals in them, so I have them on all the time I am in the shop, otherwise I can't see what I am doing. they have save my eyes a few times. 

[PineNut]

I have a pair of safety glasses I keep as a reminder. It has a chip dead center of the right eye. The insert of a table saw came loose and hit the blade. (I don’t know how it came loose but it did.)  A chip of metal flew up and hit my glasses. Am sure glad I was wearing them.

[Raphael]

  My most recent pair of safety glasses has the sun sensor lenses, prior to purchasing them I had the bad habbit of relying on my sunglasses when working outside.
  A close encounter with a concrete nail will convince you to put them on really fast.