Don't inhale toxic fumes.

roddie Sat Nov 03, 2018 6:31 pm

Our hobby is a lot of fun.. but there are health-risks involved with some of the materials that we might use.

DON'T breathe the fumes "given-off" from the products that we use in our modeling. Most are unhealthy.. and some can cause irreversible health-hazards/allergic-reaction with repeated-exposure.

I live in the N.E. USA.. and now that the weather has been getting "colder".. I will be working indoors on my models.. particularly building.. but also repairing.

Like many of us; I use CA (Cyanoacrylate) glue to assemble 90% of the components of my models. Also known as "super-glue", "Hot-Stuff", "Zap".. and many other trade-names. This adhesive is an "instant-type" of glue. It works GREAT for our purpose.. BUT we're apt to use a large-quantity for a given application.

CA glue gives-off fumes within seconds after the pieces to be assembled are joined. This is known as "kicking". There's a "vapor" that can actually be seen if you're watching. There are also "accelerators" sold, to speed-up this process. Sodium-Bicarbonate (baking-soda) works as an effective accelerator for CA.

I developed an allergy to CA back in the 1990's.. after using it to reinforce several-dozen wood-joints on my upright-piano's action. My experience with this allergy.. is that it affects my respiratory-system. If even slightly exposed; I feel symptoms similar to having a head-cold which can last for days. CA allergy of this type isn't uncommon.. so be forewarned.

I now need to be mindful whenever I use it.. even for the smallest of repairs.

I will be using CA glue in my downstairs (basement/cellar) shop throughout the Winter months and decided to take a simple precaution. I have a "box-fan" downstairs, that I use nightly to dry-out my stinky shoes for wearing the next day. I know that you didn't need to know that.. but my fan now serves multiple purposes.

I simply installed a pair of screw-eyes into the overhead-beams.. to accept bungee-straps to suspend the box-fan "just behind" me when seated at my workbench.

On slow-speed.. there's generally enough air-movement to disperse the harmful-fumes from CA glue applications.. and also soldering.

If you don't have a box-fan.. placing "any" fan behind you, that blows against your backside will help to displace harmful vapors.

ALWAYS head the warnings on product-labels. If fresh-air/ventilation and/or respirators are required.. be sure to comply.

Levent Suberk Sun Nov 04, 2018 1:06 am

You are right. I don't use CA glue because fumes always irritate lungs.

balogh Sun Nov 04, 2018 1:04 am

I could not agree more...just rebuilding my classic Cosmic Wind R/C plane - after a midair accident that resulted in a wrecked fuselage but left the wing, elevator and stabilizer intact - and even if I do most of the CA work on my porch i.e. open air I cough and sneeze every morning and evening like I had caught a strong cold. Notwithstanding its allergic effects I still opt for CA glue because it supports a fast build.

Maybe I will postpone the remaining CA work for tomorrow and will continue today with covering the parts already made..just to give my respiratory system some time to recover..

The CA(lprits Very Happy

) in the bottles in front...

Surfer_kris Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:00 am

A fan that blows will just recirculate the bad air around in the room?
What you need is an extractor fan that takes the fumes out of the room and lets fresh air in...

I've stopped using CA completely, there are plenty of other glues to use instead. Soldering is different though, the older stuff works better and there you do need an extraction fan or lots of fresh air.

Oldenginerod Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:35 am

I've used a lot of CA in my work and can say I have never experienced any symptoms apart from occasional stinging eyes. (and stuck together fingers Laughing

)
That's not to say that I don't recommend taking precautions, just that I guess not everyone is susceptible.

Surfer_kris Sun Nov 04, 2018 5:58 am

With many chemicals, such as e.g. epoxy, it is just a matter of time and exposure. Once you get over-sensitive and allergic it is too late...

Forgetful John Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:47 am

Speaking of CA glue and also soldering --

Many years ago Zenith would put a daub of CA on their rebuilt, exchange circuit boards in spots that would develop bad connections. Many times re-soldering these spots would make the board functional again.

But when the soldering iron was applied to the daub of CA on the board a plume of smoke arose that almost knocked me off my bar stool! It would also irritate the eyes in a major way.

Needless to say that only happened once to me, I always used good ventilation after that experience.

Maybe that's why I am Forgetful John?

getback Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:48 am

I hear you Roddie , haven't had the CA bother me (corse i haven't used any in a while ) But i did try and Dope a few pieces in the house and that was not the way i remember it when i was younger LOL Since it has cooled of and been burning a fire and running a inferred heater in my room its gotten very dry in the house and gave me a sinus headache for the last few days , i am using a pot of water on the wood stove now !! Bee save out there Very Happy

roddie Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:45 am

Thanks for the replies fella's. Yes.. ideally a workbench is placed somewhere in-between two open windows on an outside wall.. or in between an open door and window, with a box-fan in one of the windows for exhaust. The issue with this set-up is; the shop-temperature quickly equalizes to whatever the outdoor temperature is. Depending on the indoor/outdoor temperature differential.. and the amount of time that the exhaust-fan is operating; the room can become too uncomfortable to continue working.

**Cribbs74** Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:25 am

That stinks, can’t say I have ever experienced that. Can’t you wear a mask while working? The fumes shouldn’t be able to pass through. Even the cheap throw away masks would work I imagine.

Ron

Dave P. Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:44 am

Hmm. I've had some nasty sneezing fits recently whenever I go into my shop. I attributed it to dust. Never even occurred to me that it might be CA fumes. Any idea how long they might hang around?

Marleysky Sun Nov 04, 2018 10:25 am

I recently opened a jar of Testors Hot Fuel Proof Dope, to see if it was in liquid or semi-solid state. Oh, the wonderful smell of my childhood. That distinctive fragrance of Butyrate Dope filled the air. Just as I was enjoying a memory of building and painting my models in the unventilated basement of my childhood home, my wife comes in from shopping “ What’s that horrible smell? “ Why that’s what it’s gonna smell like when I paint my planes, says I. “ Not in this lifetime or in this house” says she! So, I’ve been told I’d have to do my painting in the Backporch, with the windows wide open and a fan running. Which was my plan all along, as my existing work shop has no ventilation and there are open flames from the boiler and water heater which would not mix well with painting in close proximity. From the dark dank of the basement to the sunny fresh air breezes of the back porch go I.
Here this seems fitting as a youthful memory:

roddie Sun Nov 04, 2018 11:10 am

getback wrote:I hear you Roddie , haven't had the CA bother me (corse i haven't used any in a while ) But i did try and Dope a few pieces in the house and that was not the way i remember it when i was younger LOL Since it has cooled of and been burning a fire and running a inferred heater in my room its gotten very dry in the house and gave me a sinus headache for the last few days , i am using a pot of water on the wood stove now !! Bee save out there

Yes.. sealer, dope, paint, thinner; they're all tough to work with once the weather turns cold. My wife will get a migraine headache if she smells certain odors. I tend to wonder if this is an actual physical reaction.. or whether triggered psychologically. Whatever the case; if a flea farted... she'd smell it.

I wouldn't dream of even just "opening" a container of Butyrate-dope in the house.

BTW......... I'm all "stuffed-up" today.. which I attribute to working with the CA glue last night.. even "with" a fan on. Rolling Eyes

I was making some repairs to one of the first model airplanes that I designed back in the early 1990's.

**944_Jim** Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:42 pm

Marley, I feel your pain!
I think you and I are going to be in the same pickle. After doping a couple of planes and putting them in the vented bathroom, my wife has "offered to allow" the hot water tank/storage room to become my models/hobby room.

The room is the 22'x5.75' storage room in the garage. First order of business is to strip the sheetrock and add a wall and door between the hot water tank and the rest of the room. The tank end will get about 7' from wall to door. The smaller partitioned space will need to be vented through the garage wall. Then the exterior wall for the "hobby room" will get a through-the-wall ac unit and lots of bright light and gloss white walls. It will be insulated to minimize "cool loss." The AC is to dry the air so my balsa, kits and built planes don't warp. I may actually build a mini paint booth vented by a small bathroom vent into the end of the room.
Aah, what we do for marital bliss, comfort and health!

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