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Hi,
Today I used acetone to repair some abs binding. Went well, but I normally don't use acetone much, so no gloves, respirator, etc.
What are the precautions I should be taking when using this stuff?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Gloves and respirator for me, but I confess I get lazy and cheat once in a while. Try to use the stuff with ventilation. You know...open some windows, use a fan, etc. I mostly use it to dissolve little shavings of plastic binding, which I can do in a tightly covered jar. Not too much risk there, until I start smearing the resultant goo on a binding joint. Then I'm exposed a little longer.
I frankly don't know what its specific risks are, but they can't be very good for us.

By the way, I am told a 50/50 mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid makes a great penetrating oil for stuck screws and nuts elsewhere in the shop. I have tried it, but can't comment on whether it was any better than a normal product.

I've said this before here and got softly lambasted for it, buuuuuut...

Acetone is pretty mild stuff. You can do a lot of reading about it on the internet.

I definitely don't wear a respirator, and usually don't even wear gloves for a short task. Like wiping down a spray gun, or something like that.

Right now, I'm stripping some windows, and using some old acetone to wash off the residue...I've got a pair of gloves for that. Due to the prolonged exposure. But it's mostly so I don't jack up my skin...dries your fingertips out.

This is exactly what I used it for today. But I just chopped up the binding with scissors. Next time I'll definitely try the "shavings" method, as I think it would go faster. Dead simple, and wish I'd have thought of it.
Thanks for the reply, and the idea.
Mikey, what kind of gloves. Will nitril work?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Among industrial solvents, acetone is one of the safer ones for toxicity. The main hazard is ignition.
http://www.chemical.net/home/acetone__safety.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetone#Safety

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David Malicky

I was just reading up on solvents and acetone seems to be about the safest petroleum distillate there is. HAPS and VOC exempt according to Bob Flexnor who is something of an expert in wood finishing.

when i was a kid i used to airbrush model airplanes and t-shirts with Testor's enamel, in a 10x10' bedroom with the door and windows shut tight in winter. when i was finished i'd blow a cupful of acetone thru to clean it, and clean the parts in acetone. never worried about masks or gloves, nor did my parents! but i was under the impression that acetone was one of the more carcinogenic solvents..?

From Wikipedia:
"Acetone (systematically named propanone) is the organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO. It is a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, and is the simplest ketone.

Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically for cleaning purposes in the laboratory. About 6.7 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2010, mainly for use as a solvent and production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A.[8][9] It is a common building block in organic chemistry. Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and as paint thinner.

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes. It is normally present in blood and urine. People with diabetes produce it in larger amounts. Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children have higher levels of acetone.[citation needed] Ketogenic diets that increase acetone in the body are used to reduce epileptic attacks in infants and children who suffer from recalcitrant refractory epilepsy."

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks, guys. Set my mind at ease.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Women use it all the time to remove finger nail polish no masks or gloves.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I have heard that common varieties of acetone from the hardware store, etc., have significant benzene residue and thus are harmful breathed or absorbed through the skin.

Acetone? Pretty safe until you spontaneously combust.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Not to derail the thread, but Trevor's article has me curious -- is the new theory that acetone buildup leeches out of their bodies and into their clothes, and then is ignited by a cigarette or other ignition source, or that they truly just burst into flame at room temperature due to acetone buildup? I've always wondered about the spontaneous combustion thing since I was a kid.


Ken Jones
Mountain Song Guitars

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

As far as carrying through the skin, I experienced a dramatic example as a child. I was slightly allergic to epoxy. I would get some itching on my wrists. So, I thought I would invent a new kind of glue. I mixed epoxy with a plexiglass solvent. The solvent carried the epoxy through my skin and resluted in my whole body turning red like a sunburn and hurting to the touch. It hurt to wear clothes. I did this twice before I was sure what caused it. If I get epoxy on my skin, soap and water is not enough. I also clean with ethanol or naptha, then wash. But I think I will not use epoxy anymore. Last time the gloves tore and I did not clean up. Two weeks of the worst stuffy, drippy nose I have ever had.

Mike Baker,

Nitrile is the best I've found, but it still sorta dissolves. Lates lasts about 2 seconds with acetone on it, so don't buy those.

Thanks, Mikey.I think I will at least use gloves, as I don't want the absorption through the skin.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I use rubber gloves when I use it, but just so that it won't dry out the finger tips. Never used much of it.

James

Be more worried about the flammability aspect of acetone than the health aspect of it. Methanol in denatured alcohol is much more dangerous to your health than acetone. Acetone is highly flammable so you are still advised to have good ventilation while using it, vapors can accumulate and cause an explosion.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Acetone's about as benign as can be; safe as non-denatured ethanol, but does totally dry out your skin. Like any other solvent, it'll make your skin more permeable to other stuff, but so will water.

I have been wondering about the actual explosion risk of acetone, in relative terms. It's got a high vapour pressure, but it's not very energetic when you light it on fire. It's certainly nothing like gasoline or lacquer in that regard. The amount required to really burn something is a few orders of magnitude higher than the amount that'll kill you, so ketosis isn't much of a candidate for making people flammable...not any more than glycolysis turns our blood into caramel, anyway

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Yummmmm, caramel.
Thanks Bob.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

It can dissolve whatever and pass through your skin into your body .. read the Material Safety Data Sheet (OSHA) on it , or anything else that is questionable .

By law a Material Safety Data Sheet MUST be produced for any chemical you will use in your shop. They are quite easy to read and are easy to find online.

Google "Acetone MSDS".

Most of the comments here come from well informed people with good intentions but the information in a typical MSDS leaves no room for interpretation.

Acetone is not perfectly safe from a health standpoint...but on a list of zero through four...it is a one.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I have had acrylic nails applied on my picking hand for about 14 years... the fact that I have had no health problems whatsoever as a result of this continued exposure to acetone admittedly says more about the strength of my immune system than it does about the potential danger to others less fortunate, but I would have thought that the lack of any evidence that continued exposure to acetone has caused any significant health problems for nail technicians (who are exposed to acetone 1000 fold more than any other profession) more or less speaks for itself.

Beards and masks don't get along to well so me open the door, turn on 8 inch Elicent inline (grow op store) on other side of shop, get nice cross ventilation and then open and use acetone or whatever me else me be using.

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