I hate being itchy all the time.

[Frosty]

Does any one know of a way to stop itching after doing a bit of fibre glass work.

I have had sleepless nights of discomfort over itching. I have tried scrubbing very hard with a scrubbing brush---a hard one-- but it helps only slightly.

Whats the opinion on cold water? --or hot water to open the paws?--or if you open the paws will the fibres go deeper?

Ive also hear that after a while it no longer affects you? how long does that take?

Im not doing anything at the moment but I hate it.

[trawler builder]

hand lotion coated on the arms and hands works quite well ,and never wash with hot water ,cold only till the dust and fibres are gone then a hot shower is fine . there is also a product on the market that you put on first before putting gloves on ...i just can't remember the name of it at the moment . other than that time will make a difference ... if you are blond and fair i am afraid you may be in for a long haul of it .
tb

[fiberglass jack]

heres a few ways, hair conditioner while you shower acts like a lub and helps the fibres slip out, the same with body lotion throw loads on and let it sit for a few minutes then shower with luke warm water, use soft sheets in the bed mabye use a fleece blanket or wear a fleece shirt to bed, the linen and cotton sheets are a nightmare for the itch, another trick is to get some sticky tape and place it over your body and pull it off this will pull some of the fibres out, you could always stay up all night, ive had jods in the past that all i did was grind and trim fiberglass some times 16 to 18 hours a day go home and be to tierd to shower and go to work the next day belive me you will get use to the itch and wont notice it any more, also try the goldbond bodylotion it has a itch relief in it works really good, you can also rub baby powder into your skin before you work it helps to fill the pores before the fibreglass can

[SamSam]

Originally Posted by fiberglass jack

you could always stay up all night, ive had jods in the past that all i did was grind and trim fiberglass some times 16 to 18 hours a day go home and be to tierd to shower and go to work the next day belive me you will get use to the itch and wont notice it any more,

Lol. That sounds like Mr. Natural wearing a hair shirt and pushing a big rock uphill as a religious punishment for some primeval sin!

Wearing throw away clothes helps a bunch. Wear throway gloves and throw them away often. They may be miserable, but for a shorter time, and so is the alternative. The lotion is called a 'barrier cream'. It goes on and dries and forms a light, water soluble crust on your skin which helps some. What I do mainly is when showering, soap up and scratch a lot with the fingernails to break off any fibers sticking out of the skin, that's what itches, that stuff rubbing on clothes, etc. Rig up fans/vacums to blow/suck the stuff away to begin with. When grinding,don't use high speed whirly equipment that throws fine stuff all over, use slow speed gnarly stuff and bear down on it so it more or less rips stuff off and moves it out of the way a few inches. It also helps when grinding and cutting to frequently spray with water to keep the dust down and wash it away.

[War Whoop]

Jack is right fibreglass you get used to but ground carbon fibre is another matter like a zillion blackheads

[rturbett]

Hear is another solution- and it furthers the legend that duct tape fixes everything...
After running a vaccuum across my clothing, I take a piece of duct tape and gently dab my forearms with the sticky side.
If you're really adventerous , you could make a whole work suit out of the stuff, sticky side out. If you do, please post pictures!

[flydog]

I've tried this and it works: Slather your skin up with soap and water and let dry so there is a soapy film on your skin. Then work on your boat. When you take a shower the fiberglass will wash right off.

flydog

[bobothehobo]

I am itchy right now. Fit a 52' carbon firbre deck and hull together this AM. Suited up well, tons of air filtration and vacuums but still got some dust on my face and neck.

I have found barrier cream to definitely work in the past. Didn't put any on today. Mildly stupid.

[Poida]

Found out about the itchy bit when I sanded back a kayak I had glassed. I used a rotory sander and I was wearing shorts and a tank top. The sander had an outlet that once had a collection bag fitted. The opening was facing my body.

I had a million needles in my body and acupunture must work as I didn't die from a disease for years after that.

Poida

[Roboj]

Last weekend I was cutting and grinding out some fibreglass doing the prep work to replace the stringers. I did not get the least bit itchy. This is what I did that worked for me:

Wear disposable gloves, I like the nitrile ones, better than the latex. Tape the sleeves of your coveralls so dust can't enter, those disposable ones are great. Wore a full face shield. Use a shop vac to suck up the dust. With one hand I held the grinder and with the other the vacuum nozzle. Make sure you have a fine filter or bag that can contain the fine particles or you will just be blowing the dust out the other end. I think the shop vac really helped. And afterwards, a cold shower.

Good luck

Rob.

[longliner45]

first a cold shower ,,to close the pores ,,then soap up and rince ,,then a hot shower,longliner

[fiberglass jack]

once worked with a kid that the itch drove him mad that he took a piece of 80 grit to sratch with

[Lancerbye]

I guess we all have a learning curve and anyone who has had to suffer the few days of fibre glass itch desease usually vows to do it different next time. Prevention as was mentioned earlier is the only real cure. The real question is ,if you only do this every couple of years, will you remember for next time? I know I didn't. We tend to foget the bad stuff when the final results are what we wanted.

[Frosty]

In the tropics a lot of suggestions cant be done. For instance sweat is constantly running down your face and well everywhere, sometimes into the trigger of the grinder and you get a shock. The natural response to this is to just drop it--what ever or where ever you are. You would be a good man to be able to fight the natural response and hold onto it untill it had stopped.

Wearing a suit or clothing of any kind( apart from shorts and t shirt) is claustophobic.

Ive tried rubber gloves like the doctor uses, but they just fill up with sweat.

All I do at the moment is plan the job to be at the end of the day. Get in there and do it, then with a really stiff yard brush go for a shower and scrub like hell. Yes it does hurt---in places.

[fiberglass jack]

what are u using a grinder for, a sanding block will do and use some 320 the dust is finer and wont itch as bad, god i love the canadian winter minus 30 dont have to worry about the heat and sweat