Re: [bolger] xylene
Court Gettel wrote:
1,4-dimethylbenzene.
It's a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon, similar to toluene
(methylbenzene), or benzene.
I wouldn't describe it as frighteningly toxic (reserving that for things
like plutonium salts or cone shell venom), with the proper precautions
(well ventilated working area, gloves, coveralls, goggles, no smoking or
naked flames) it sohuld be possible to work perfectly safely with it,
especially since those are the kind of precautions I'd take for working
with large quantities of epoxy, glass fibre, and wood anyway. The
biggest dangers from xylene are breathing large quantities of vapours in
a confined space, and setting light to the vapours. I'd actually be more
worried about having somewhere suitable to store it in any quantity
(more than a couple of litres), than actually using the stuff.
Here are a couple of pages with more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylene
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts71.html
Pretty much anything you use to build a boat will have the potential to
cause health problems, but most of the time they only require a few
simple precautions to ensure that problems can be avoided. Whenever I
contemplate using a particular material or method of construction,
safety always gets some thought, as I intend to complete my project
whilst retaining all of my fingers, both of my eyes, and as many of my
mental faculties as I possessed at the start.
Dan
> I think xylene is the chemical I read about awhile back that was frighteningly toxic. If it is, you do NOT want to get any on you at any cost at any time for any reason. It is DEFINITELY worth doing some research about.Xylene is a mixture of three closely related compounds: 1,2- 1,3- and
1,4-dimethylbenzene.
It's a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon, similar to toluene
(methylbenzene), or benzene.
I wouldn't describe it as frighteningly toxic (reserving that for things
like plutonium salts or cone shell venom), with the proper precautions
(well ventilated working area, gloves, coveralls, goggles, no smoking or
naked flames) it sohuld be possible to work perfectly safely with it,
especially since those are the kind of precautions I'd take for working
with large quantities of epoxy, glass fibre, and wood anyway. The
biggest dangers from xylene are breathing large quantities of vapours in
a confined space, and setting light to the vapours. I'd actually be more
worried about having somewhere suitable to store it in any quantity
(more than a couple of litres), than actually using the stuff.
Here are a couple of pages with more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylene
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts71.html
Pretty much anything you use to build a boat will have the potential to
cause health problems, but most of the time they only require a few
simple precautions to ensure that problems can be avoided. Whenever I
contemplate using a particular material or method of construction,
safety always gets some thought, as I intend to complete my project
whilst retaining all of my fingers, both of my eyes, and as many of my
mental faculties as I possessed at the start.
Dan
I have two comments about xylene and CPES.
I think xylene is the chemical I read about awhile back that was frighteningly toxic. If it is, you do NOT want to get any on you at any cost at any time for any reason. It is DEFINITELY worth doing some research about.
I have an old boat which had a lot of core rot between layers of fibergalss. luckily for me, I was put onto a site called The Rot Doctor. (www.rotdoc.com) He sells CPES. It's not "generic" epoxy plus a lot of solvent. The resin is wood-derived, not petroleum, and consequently bonds much better with wood. Furthermore, it penetrates about 4 times as deeply as the next-best product, under test. I doubt you could match it with a home brew. The other nice thing about The Rot Doctor is that he will answer, thoroughly and well, any questions you email him in less than 24 hours, and he won't stop answering until you stop asking. I suggest you see what he has to say about it before you go through a lot of work for a less-than-good result. I have been using CPES abundantly and have found it to be every bit as good as claimed.
Regards -
Court
I think xylene is the chemical I read about awhile back that was frighteningly toxic. If it is, you do NOT want to get any on you at any cost at any time for any reason. It is DEFINITELY worth doing some research about.
I have an old boat which had a lot of core rot between layers of fibergalss. luckily for me, I was put onto a site called The Rot Doctor. (www.rotdoc.com) He sells CPES. It's not "generic" epoxy plus a lot of solvent. The resin is wood-derived, not petroleum, and consequently bonds much better with wood. Furthermore, it penetrates about 4 times as deeply as the next-best product, under test. I doubt you could match it with a home brew. The other nice thing about The Rot Doctor is that he will answer, thoroughly and well, any questions you email him in less than 24 hours, and he won't stop answering until you stop asking. I suggest you see what he has to say about it before you go through a lot of work for a less-than-good result. I have been using CPES abundantly and have found it to be every bit as good as claimed.
Regards -
Court
--- Inbolger@yahoogroups.com, grant corson wrote:
> Doug, I never heard of xylene, is that something available at a
hardware
> store? Sounds great
Xylene is available at most paint stores. It is one of the ingredients
in automotive paint reducers. I mention xylene specifically because it
seems to have the least ill effects on epoxy strength.
Many other solvents work just as well if all you want to do is make a
penetrating epoxy. Methyl or denatured alcohol, acetone or just about
any automotive paint reducer will work fine. I use acrylic enamel
reducer because I have several gallons stashed away.
Those of you who were on some of the old egroups boat lists remember a
product called CPES (clear penetrating epoxy sealant). It had such a
religous following that to suggest the possibility of making it
yourself got you verbally assaulted. Turns out it was just generic
epoxy with about 40% solvent added. The guy made a killing for a few
years. Can't blame him for that but the CPES cult was reminiscent of
Wharram catamaran groupies. Weird!
Doug
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