As I am a very cautious person, I am just curious about the safety of the AIM (now Monroe Models) weathering powders as they contain crystalline silica. If you did not know, small amounts of this dust you cannot even see is dangerous and causes lung cancer as well as other lung problems if inhaled.
Because of this, are there any safety measures I should take when using this powder, besides wearing a respirator just to be safe. For example, would a freight car after weathering with these powders and Dullcote be generally safe to handle or be close to, if any of you have had problems using this powder, and solutions to combat this unfortunate issue.
The reputation of these powders is very good and I am excited to use them, but I have not seen much regarding safety using them and want to know everything I can before I dive in.
Oh, and I forgot to mention I read all the official online PDF’s, but I found the information regarding safety seemed a bit too lackluster to me. I’m really looking for experience from other model railroaders just to get an idea.
Uh oh, I am a dead man for sure. I like to rub the aim products in with my fingers. So far I have survived the asbestos I use to pull off the pipes in elementary school as well as all the semi extreme sports I have pursued.
All kidding aside, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I am well aware of what environmental toxins can do to people and will now go forth in a more informed manner.[Y]
I use a 12v 3’’ computer fan sitting to my right about 12’’ from the work. It can be run full 12v or step down the volts to slow the fan down. There is a mask (the blue ones people are wearing at this time) on the output side lighty misted with water. The ear strings are stretched back around to the fan’s front/input housing. This fan is also used when soldering or heavy foam cutting/forming with hot wire tool.
The rubber gloves serve as a 1) no finger prints on the model for the powders to stick to and 2) removing them makes for easy and fast cleanup of fingers, so I can eat Cheese Curls with clean fingers. The Respirator is a must with fine loose powders, Pan Pastels are more forgiving.
That’s why I got into model railroading and constrction, so I could play with dangerous chemicals and powerful tools…
My friend with the Masters in Environmental Science says “the solution to pollution is dilution”.
I have never used powders for weathering, if I ever do, I will give it a little thought then. Meanwhile I have some models to paint and weather with Scalecoat…
I restore old houses for a living, the lead and asbestos has not killed me yet, I’m 63.
Seriously, there is reasonable care that should be taken with all chemicals, and there are unfounded fears about much of it.
Paint containing lead never harmed anyone in a properly maintained house. And non friable asbestos in residential products has never been shown to cause one illness.
Unless you are weathering cars day in and day out, I suspect the risk is low.
But as suggested above, I do my weathering in the paint booth with solvent based paint.
This, and what matters with nearly every toxic chemical is duration of exposure combined with level of exposure.
I am not going to bother to look up anything on crystaline sillica, but I am confident that the very low level of exposure we have when weathering combined with the fact it is an intermittent/rare task that a casual hobbiest has nearly a zero cause for concern.
Minimal protective efforts coomon to all tasks should be effective.
I would bet that weathering a freight car is not as bad for you as eating a super-sized cheeseburger meal with a soft drink.
Thank you all. I’m considering a small sort of booth to put the car and powder in as an extra precaution besides the gloves and mask which I already knew about. As for rubbing them in with your fingers, the powders are fine if you do that. It’s mainly a problem if you are inhaling them, which means a mask is of course essential. In the future I might take a look at the PanPastel stuff as it is not as loose and is non-toxic, but I wanted to try the AIM stuff first as it has an excellent reputation and many modelers I know use them to great effect. That computer fan is an interesting idea, but I think I’m not ready to dismantle my junked Mac quite yet. As for BATMAN rubbing them in with his fingers, that’s fine as far as I have heard. It’s mainly if you are close to the dust and inhaling it. I might decide to wear double cloth/paper masks to be extra safe and I might need to pick up an extra N95 or two. You can never be too safe IMO. Keep coming with the replies, I’d love to hear more.
We all have different genetics but for the most part what he said. You can not be in this hobby without toxins but for most people the exposure is well tolerated. Yeah I took out a bit of asbestos in my day but that was an odd job here or there. Proubly did alot of lead paint but who knew back then.
