Does a NON-toxic cleaner exist to remove polyester & epoxy resin from hands & tools?

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by magentawave, Jul 19, 2013.

  1. magentawave
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    magentawave Senior Member

    Just thought I'd check one more time...

    Has anyone found a non-toxic cleaner for getting uncured polyester resin off your hands?
     
  2. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    I take olive oil and rub on my hands whenever I am concerned about chemical exposure, then put on gloves over that if I am dealing with nasty chemicals.

    :)

    If you want to test drive your chemical exposure.

    Put on your 'suit,' and then open up a package of Cayenne, or Habanero, and wash it off.

    Then take off your 'suit.' And then rub your eyes.

    You will know immediately if your system works or not.

    I test with Habanero.

    Mine works.

    :D
     
  3. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    Olive oil and then gloves.

    There is no way to keep toxic chemicals out of your system once they touch the skin.

    You can decontaminate and reduce the exposure, but you cannot eliminate the exposure.

    So, therefor, always, always, block the chemicals from getting on your skin (& in your lungs) in the first place.
     
  4. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    No, what you want doesn't exist. Wear gloves. Don't slop the **** around. If it worries you that much, don't use it.
     
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  5. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Olive oil is a surface contaminate. It goes from you hands, to your tools , to your work surface. Id stay away from it.

    Use gloves, work clean and smart.
     
  6. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    I would imagine the solvents are less harmful than the resins and hardeners to begin with, so worrying about the cleaner is like shutting the barn door after the horse escaped.

    A chemical trivia post that has nothing to do with the thread. I used to maintain the school athletic fields (sports fields, lawns, golf courses and farm fields are actively and willfully killing the earth) and had a book describing all the various insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides etc plus the fertilizers, promoters, accelerators, retarders etc that are used and all the health and environmental effects of them. Then to put it in some sort of apologetic perspective, the same specs for gasoline were shown and it was worse than almost all of them.
     
  7. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    I believe you are referring to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) compilation.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Material_safety_data_sheet
     
  8. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

  9. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    A kid drinks gasoline, he will get sick as a dog, and probably live.

    I would not say that about pesticides.
     
  10. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    If the oil can go from inside your gloves onto your product, you have a leak in your gloves ....

    Put habanero on your system, clean it off, and tell me what you found out?

    Does your decontamination suit work?
     
  11. ondarvr
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    ondarvr Senior Member

  12. magentawave
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    magentawave Senior Member

    I've been using lots of gloves to keep myself as clean as possible. Who would thunk it?!
     
  13. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    SamSam Senior Member

    When I was doing a lot of dirty work, I took to wearing these kind of gloves. They were more comfortable than thin operating type gloves, stood up to all the chemicals and were very easy to wash off with just a little solvent. They were plenty 'dexterious' enough and with the cuff rolled up, nothing ever ran down my arms. Every night I'd rinse them out and stick them on something so they'd dry by morning.

    [​IMG]
     
  14. magentawave
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    magentawave Senior Member

    Thanks but what is the name of those gloves and where can I buy them?
     

  15. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    SamSam Senior Member

    They are just heavier duty gloves you can get at Home Depot or Lowes, they might be called chemical resistant gloves.
    Try them on first, some are too heavy and stiff.
     
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