I have been building some model kits lately and i am wondering about the safety of the plastic weld that i am using. The bottel talks about all kinds of risks like nervous system damage, etc. Has anyone thought about this as it relates to plastic weld products? is there a safe alternative?
All glues tend to have volatiles. It is just something you will have to put up with. Just use adequate ventilation. Most of the warnings are California driven warnings of impending death or written by lawyers looking to cover all bases.
This is much like a lot of the drugs on the market that are on TV. Known side effect disclaimers tend to make a person with the malady the drugs are designed to treat, choose to just suffer through the malady rather than risk death, suidcide, open pustules, permanent ED, etc., which are known side efects.
Unless you are locked in a broom closet attempting assemble 50 plastic kits in one night, I wouldn’t worry about glue bottle labels.
Of course none of this is important or relevant if you are a paranoid worry wart. For if you were you’d definitely want to go live on a mountain in Tibet with your begging bowl and prayer wheel.
Just use common sense. The labels are specifically written for people with zero common sense and to cover the manufacterers butt if your kids start huffing the stuff with a clothes bag over their head.
Richard
That’s the best advice anybody can give.[tup]
I been in the hobby for over 55 years and I haven’t worried to much about health warnings since I’m not in long contract with the fumes and I wash with hot water and Dawn dish washing soap to remove any residue…I also learned how to use Testors tube glue many years ago.
Pretty much everybody knows that it’s possible to concentrate solvent-based adhesives in a paper bag and get high. I’m convinced that all these warnings are intended to deter people from doing that.
Don’t deliberately inhale the stuff, but you don’t have to hold your breath while using it, either. If you’re using it in a small room, then you should probably have a vent fan going. Otherwise, no worries (unless someone in your house is sensitive to the stuff, that is.).
Hi
The safest thing you can do is nothing.
All of the materials and tools we use throughout our lives have some safety hazard associated with them.
Thats why the manufacturer puts the safety warnings on them. Most of the glues and paints we use when used in a well ventilated area in accordance with the instructions are safe.
If it did not have the nasty solvents in it. It would not weld (melt) the plastic parts together.
The trouble usually starts when instructions and warnings are ignored.
The big problem is the if there are any safe alternatives they don’t work.
A classic case for this is environmentally friendly creosote substitute it doesn’t stop the rot and doesn’t deter or kill the little munchy bugs it’s supposed to.
regards John
Don;t deliberately inhale it, dont drink it, and don’t wash your hands in it. Yes, it’s bad for you, but just a little common sense goes a long way. While I don;t expose myself to things at the levels you’d get if modelmaking and soldering were your daily jobs, if this stuff was THAT bad, I’d be dead long already.
–Randy
I think you have to choose a happy medium between paranoia (which has its own stress related dangers) and euphoria (which means you have inhaled too much of the stuff for one night).
Seriously, for most smaller projects the amount is not likely to post much of a threat unless you are trying to do 20 kits a night. Where you might want to take some extra precautions is when you are assembling a larger kit or doing a lot of styrene scratch building. That is when you should have an open window or other source of fresh air in the room, and if the fumes are becoming noticable, a fan or similar device to exhaust the air.
I tend to get rather involved when I am working on a project so I am inclined to keep my head down and not pay much attention to what is going on around me. Not too smart. Fortunately I have a canary in my coal mine - my wife! She is very tolerant, so if she comments on the smell things have likely gone past the medium point and are heading for euphoria and the resulting headache.
As has been said - common sense!
Now, I had better get the bug spray for all those butterflies that are flying around my workbench![:|][;)][(-D]
Dave
Thanks guys