Subject: workshop accident
From: ACRE
Date: 8/26/2003, 7:21 AM


Jeremy Solomon wrote:

Opened the workshop today to do some glassing and found that
a 6 gallon
can of carbereutor cleaner had leaked all over the floor (and some
tools).  Big mess, unbelievable odor.  Now the question,
does the gas or
condensation or ??? of this stuff in my 95 degree humid new jersey
garage somehow affect the fiberglass or epoxy or raw blue foam or
finished pieces or etc? The insight of cooler heads would be
a blessing
right now.

 By the way, no jokes about new jersey and chemical odors
please, I'm in
no mood.

Off topic I know, but you can imagine my current state of mind.

I would suspect the blue foam used on the wings could be
affected. Try with
one scrap piece and see if the cleaner will melt it.


Hold on here. We may be writing Jeremey's whole project off a bit too
quickly. As I read his post the cleaner fluid did not touch the parts and
materials. It's just a few hours exposure to the fumes we're worried about.
Lets break it down and look at each issue:

Completed Parts: I doubt that they'd be damaged, but delamination tests and
tapping tests for voids should be done.

Unused foam, inc. blue wing foam.
Two issues here. Blue foam dissolves with solvents. If it didnt dissolve
it's probably  ok. Issue 2 - Surface contamination causing future layups to
fail. I doubt that this would be a problem, but again - tests will prove
that future layups are ok.

Unused fiberglass
If it wets out ok, (no white showing that wont go away) then it's fine.
Perhaps it would be good to throw out the first couple of wraps.

Unused epoxy.
If it's in a sealed container, then no problem. If not, probably no problem.
Test the first few layups.

It might be a good idea to post this question on a canard / composite
specific list where someone like Gary Hunter could give a more informed
opinion.

My 2c.
John Slade
Cozy IV


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