Dangerous misuse of solvents has been noted here several times in the last 3 months, so please read further for a refresher.

Here I go again (former analytical chemist in a clincal lab)!!:
DO NOT USE ACETONE or any other strong solvent to clean your hands !!!

Skin contact with almost all organic solvents should be completely avoided. Period. The more frequent and the longer the duration of skin contact, the more likely you'll develop dry skin, flaking, cracking, some form of contact dermatitis, subsequent infection and potentially systemic toxicity (headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), if not eventually carcinogenesis (cancer). I don't care if acetone is in nail polish remover: it's use precedes our current understanding of it's hazards. It is used on the nail and cuticle to remove nail polish. It should NOT be used to eradicate dirt & oils from your hands. Use ordinary SOAP & WATER. If you need to keep a surface completely free of finger prints or oils, learn to work in a glove that has ample dexterity and is also impervious any solvents used. Your hands are worth the investment in disposable gloves (latex, nitrile, or PVC -poly-vinyl-chloride-). Most pharmacies now carry these, Lowes, etc.

Rubbing Alcohol (70% IsoPropyl Alcohol, 30% Water) or Denatured Alcohol (91% Ethanol + 5% Methanol + 4% Water) are strong enough for most needs. WEAR GLOVES for anything stronger, or for more than a few moments exposure.

Any solvent you use will do to your FLESH what you are trying to do to your PROJECT: it will strip out the oils, and penetrate into the open pores, dissolving everything in it's path. SKIN, EYES, LUNGS. Inhale enough, and that list will include your BRAIN and your LIVER. What more can I say? I developed a dermatitis on my hands this way that took years to calm down.

ACETONE, Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), Methanol (MeOH), Methylene Chloride (MeCl2), Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4), ether, kerosene, gasoline, and many other available organic solvents are dangerous to your health and a serious fire hazard. Keep away from heat, sparks, flame and electricity. "Poof!" Or better yet, just keep them away from yourself & your shop completely. Cliff Hall, Gainesville FL -Mark 1:17-

I can't speak from a background in chemistry, but I certainly can vouch for what solvents will do to your skin. I had (and still have) problems with contact dermatitis on my fingers. At present, the skin next to my nails on a couple of fingers are cracked as if they were sliced open with a razor blade. The skin on my fingers is constantly dry, even though I regularly apply skin lotion. I stopped using acetone several months ago, but the problem persists.

Hey Clyde, sounds like you should stop using razor blades too. I am only 39 and fully addicted to rodbuilding. So, most likely I'll be doing this for another 40-50 years if I live that long. That's the reason I won't use anything stronger than rubbing alcohol and I probably won't be using Permagloss anymore either. I've only got so many brain cells to last the duration...

I know there are safe ways to use dangerous chemicals but frankly it just isn't worth it to me. I'd rather avoid them completely.

"I probably won't be using Permagloss anymore either"

Add xylene to the list.

Wear a respirator and rubber gloves and you'll have no problems.

I've worked in the printing industry for more than 20 years and can atest to what these posts are saying about health risks.All you need do is read the MSDS sheets on these products,And you will see there are many potential problems besides dry skin.

As an interior house painter, I totally agree. Include mineral spirits to the list. At the phamacy look for 91% clear rubbing alcohol instead of 70%. I like it better than denatured alcohol for rodbuilding chores. Ralph

White viniger is a good solvent for cleaning up epoxy, and you can drink it. Just finished restoring a wooden drift boat, and while I used almost 3 gallons of acetone to clean tools and such, I bought tons (like 3 boxes of 100) of laytex golves to work in. But for removing epoxy from my skin (I'm surprised that I didn't glue myself to something), viniger worked great. Reglued a loose reel seat on a cheap rod last night with epoxy, cleaned up all the overrun with viniger, which doesn't eat EVA. Oh yeah, a heat gun will make removing dried epoxy a piece of cake.

James, are you drinking the white vinegar before or after cleaning the epoxy with it? White vinegar with chicken or fish, switch to red vinegar for beef and game.

One more thing to think about... not all gloves are created equally.

If you expect a pair of gloves to protect you, you better know whether or not the gloves are compatible with the solvent you are working with.

Acetone permeates and/or degrades many glove materials quite readily and can actually bring some of the epoxy molecules with it to contact your skin.

I've seen problems with this exact scenario in industrial settings where more allergenic types of epoxies were being used and having people get sensitized by this very route.

Generally, Latex gloves are less protective than nitrile gloves, but some solvents such as Hexane, Acetone, or MEK may require specialty gloves such as heavier gauge nitrile, butyl rubber, or the like.

A great source for glove compatibility is...

www.chemrest.com

...which provides information for all of the gloves made by "Best Glove Company".

I could go on and on but I thought I'd bring that point out as well.

Erik Kunz

P.S. I'm a Certified Industrial Hygenist in my real job (Occupational Health & Safety geek that is).

I hope this thread will not inhibit my taking internally certain home concoctions, with a corn mash base, to steady my nerves prior to undertaking delicate single thread inlays. Can the chemist in the crowd define the meaning of the 150 Proof Lable on the glass milk bottle that the stuff comes in?

Gon Fishn

Bill Stevens - For the strength of an ethanol (ethyl alcohol) solution:

PROOF = 2 x (the % Ethanol by volume).

Example: If my Amaretto is 28% alcohol, then it is 56 proof.
If my Grand Marnier is 80 proof, then it is 40% alcohol.
If your moonshine is 150 proof, then it is 75% alcohol.

For ethanol, 190 proof (95%) is likely the highest purity available.
It takes special distillation techniques to reach 100% ethanol, because ethanol & water form something called an azeotrope at 95% ethanol which prevents the ethanol from boiling over without bringing 5% water with it.

Let's just say that I think that's God's way of saying: Boys, it don't need to get no better than this. Shut her down, grab a cup, and drink up. (But not too much). ... IMHO, -Cliff Hall- Gainesville, FL. (John 2:10).

Cliff, I too am an analytical chemist. I agree 100% with what you are saying. I also note (and emphasize) what Erik Kunz noted about gloves. Make sure they are resistant to the solvent. I have found that denatured alcohol is just as good as acetone for rod building and clean up. It does contain methanol which is toxic. Minimize exposure to all organic solvents, but alcohol is the lesser of the evils.

Just for the heck of it, I'll add a story as to why I try to be so carefull with chemicals. I wore denim jeans, as always while in college, this one day of Organic Chem Lab. Didn't have physical contact with anything in the lab as far as chemicals. Went home and did the wash. My jeans came out with several small holes eaten in them very near my crotch!!!!! ' Nuff for me!!!! Had to steady the nerves to go back in there again!!! I wore an apron after that too. I never had any other problems personally. My friend did release a rather potent Ketone into the lab while working across from me. Got everyone high and one heck of a headache!! One other student blew up an experiment, under the hood though. And lastly, I grabbed a girl's arm just before her bare hand made it to the contents of the Sodium Hydroxide container! That got my heart pumping!! Check Harbor Freight and local shops for special sales on gloves.
Ray