I know many people use extruded foam board for scenery, but I was reading the MSDS for STYROFOAM and FOAMULAR and it said the cutting or sanding it made tiny dust particles that irritates eyes and skin. I would be using it in a small room, is it actually safe?
I’d recommend the extruded foam. It’s much stronger than Styrofoam and easy to work with. Cutting it is easy as well with a steak knife, razer, jigsaw, etc. I wouldn’t worry about any small pieces but you could wear a dust mask.
You can wear a dust mask or cut/sand/shape it outside in a well ventilated area for safety.
If you use a hot knife or hot wire knife to cut it with, be sure you use a mask, do not breathe in the fumes, and are well ventilated.
Minor work with it either way should cause little concern if common sense is used.
The finest sanding I do on the extruded foam is with a Surform tool Not very fine dust. A good shop vac is nearly a necessity. You can use anti static clothing spray to help keep the shavings from sticking to everything. A hot foam cutter is good also, as mentioned have good ventilation and you should have no problems. Steak knife or other sharp cutter, no problems at all with fines.
Have fun,
Richard.
One needs to be very careful reading MSDS sheets. While the underlying idea is a good one (let’s inform workers of the nasty crud we’re making them use for their job), they can often border on the ridiculous. Remember that the concept of the MSDS is to protect someone who is using the product in a workplace environment, where they’re typically exposed to very high concentrations and can’t just leave if they have a problem (also to protect employers from lawsuits).
ANY fine dust can potentially irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs, and any liquid can be aspirated, causing drowning or cause eye irritation (even water). Likewise, many solvents – including common rubbing alcohol – can cause skin irritation, especially in people with sensitive skin. But for most of us, it’s not a problem. I mean, I wouldn’t cut foam above my head and let the dust fall on my face, but it’s never bothered me while I’m just cutting it. Similarly, don’t TRY to inhale alcohol vapors… but you don’t have to wear a respirator and rubber gloves either.
Heed the warnings about not breathing the fumes if you’re cutting the stuff with a hot cutter, though. One lungful of that and you’ll never work in a confined space with it again.
That’s what they make safety glasses for. Ever cut wood and get saw dust in your eye? As for irritating the skin, never bothers me. But then I never sand the stuff. A quick pass with a torch or stack knife and you can do wonders to the stuff. Remember to have a fire extinguisher handy when playing with a torch and work outside if possible or make sure the area is well ventilated.
I always keep a couple of fans going when I work in the train room regardless of what I’m doing. They keep the air circulating so any fumes from melted styrofoam, glues, paint, etc. don’t concentrate in one place.
“Styrofoam,” the trade name for the blue Dow product, is extruded polystyrene. Perhaps you are thinking of beadboard, which is not extruded and is not Styrofoam.
Dante
the pink and blue foamboard are advertised as extruded polystyrene. It technically may or may not be styrofoam but not marketed that way. Styrofoam as a product is usually visioned as the material styrofoam cups are made of and definitely for a layout.
“Styrofoam” is in fact the trade name for Dow’s blue extruded, closed-cell polystyrene. Foam cups and similar foam containers and packaging may be called Styrofoam, but that is incorrect-trust me. They are forms of what is commonly called beadboard, which most people prefer not to use on layouts-as evidenced by many threads on this forum-because it is more difficult to cut with precision, is messier and not as strong for use as a structural bench top.
The only reason for my pressing the issue is that if a person wants the extruded product but thinks he/she is getting Styrofoam when buying the various beadboard products (such as used in cups-they are not Styrofoam), they are likely to be sadly disappointed.
The pink extruded, closed-cell polystyrene is Owens-Corning’s “Foamular.” There are other extruded, closed-cell foam products out there made of polyisocyanurate and urethane and possibly other chemicals, too (I am not up-to-date on the market).
Dante