Herman is right on.
I was initially concerned with using epoxy, but after having used it for several months (daily, 7 days a week or so), I am quite content with the stuff.
Just do everything you can to keep it off your skin and ventilate when it is curing. Wear a respirator when applying. You shouldn't smell it at all if your respirator is working.
One major thing is your clothing and shoes. Don't wear the same shoes and clothing you worked in epoxy with back into the house. It will get everywhere.
Just be very neat with the stuff. That's the key to avoiding health effects.
Also, I have noticed large differences in "toxicity" between various epoxies, even within the same manufacturer.
For toxic epoxy, get a batch of 5 minute epoxy from the local hardware store, mix that up and apply it to something. That smell is terrible and seems pretty toxic.
Most of the name brand epoxies in the USA are formulated to be easy on people. I use System Three. Even within System Three, the General Purpose is a little more pungent than the Silver Tip. System Three fast hardener makes it the worst. Gasses off a lot.
Silver Tip... I have swam in it and it didn't even bother my skin at all while the General Purpose made me itch a little from irritation.
Don't be too nervous. With clean work, you should not develop an allergy because it takes exposure to develop an allergy.
I read this somewhere:
Everyone will become allergic to epoxy at some point. Each person has a certain number of hours of skin contact before they become allergic. No person knows how many hours it will take them, so the best practice is to just avoid all skin contact.
Nitrile gloves are the BEST. I gladly pay extra for them because they not only protect better, they also last much longer, so they end up being cheaper in the long run.
The hardener (amines) are the worst part... caustic and will cause immediate itching and redness on the skin. The resin is fairly tame and doesn't seem to cause any problem on my skin.
Oh and one thing to always remember is to step into a full roller tray of epoxy as you start each lamination. Step right into the middle of the pool of epoxy and then trip a little to flip the roller tray over your foot, soaking your protective pants and your shoes, making a big puddle on the floor. If you do it right the roller tray should end up upside down with no epoxy left in it. I seem to do this each time I start laminating a new hull. The laminations come out beautifully when I do this, so it seems to be the secret trick.
:r
