Official Luthiers Forum!

I was doing a search for CA glue debonders and ended up in a thread on an RC plane forum where one person mentioned that CA glue will release with heat. That drew a response from someone who seemed to know what they were talking about that contained the following:

"Use of heat to seperate is dangerous, CA distills off rapidly abouve 160 degC , the `gas` that leaves the soldering iron is liquid CA as it cools when you breathe it in., if it burns it can form highly toxic compounds"

This is something to think about for those of us who like to "stabalize" our sides by coating them in CA prior to bending (with heat). Something I've done only once and won't do again.


Pat

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Excellent info., Pat...thanks for posting!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Thanks Pat. That's very good to know.

This doesn't surprise me. I was once trying to achieve a very tight bend in a brittle wood. the piece split and I repaired it with CA. After it was cured, I started bending again and the fumes were unbearable. I'm glad I stopped.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Thanks, Pat! Very important info.


Regards,


Corky Long

Come on guys, you are not going to live forever! You can't worry about everything!

I had a co-worker who was a chemist. He told me several times that there are no old chemists.

Some guy post something on a RC forum and it gets repeated here and treated as fact?
I could not find any information on cured CA. Last time I checked, cured CA is acrylic. A quick look at a MSDS for acrylic reveals these facts -

3. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Appearance: Clear to opaque solid
Odor: N/A
Viscosity: N/A
Melting Point: 150C/300F

8. REACTIVITY INFORMATION
Stability: Stable
Conditions to Avoid: Temperatures over /570F.
Hazardous Decomposition
Products: Thermal decomposition or combustion may emit vapors,
carbon monoxide, or carbon dioxide.
Incompatible Compounds: Acids, bases, and strong oxidizing agents.

12. STORAGE AND HANDLING INFORMATION
Maximum Storage
Temperature: 99C/210F (softening temperature).
Storage Measures: If material is stored under ambient temperature conditions, it is not
hazardous. However, extensive storing at higher than the
maximum temperature will emit vapors, carbon monoxide or
carbon dioxide.
Handling Measures: Processing of the material under high temperatures will cause
hazardous emissions of vapors, carbon monoxide or carbon
dioxide. Blower collecting and local exhaust ventilation systems
should be installed to prevent contaminant dispersion into the air.
Sawing of this product generates particulates regulated as “inert”
or “nuisance” dusts. To minimize dust emissions, engineering
controls should be employed, such as baghouse filters and
cyclone separators.

Superfund Amendment and
Reauthorization Act
of 1986 (SARA) Title III:
This product may be considered an immediate (acute) health
hazard due to potential MMA emissions. However, reporting of
thresholds for the material is not required because the
concentration of its MMA component is below the de minimis
concentration (40 CFR Part 370).

So,
What do we do with all of this? Use standard precautions. It is best not to heat plastics. The temperature mentioned above is 160C , or 320F, which is above the melting temperature for acrylic, and at about the top of our bending temperature range. I would not treat sides with plastic before bending, especially one that has a melting point within our process window. (The OP mentions use of a soldering iron, presumably form debonding CA in an RC. Soldering is done above 180C/360F. )
You should never heat plastics to that temp without understanding what it might do. Will it melt or ignite or??????
If you do heat plastics much above 110 F, ventilate properly and consider using a good breathing mask/filter that is specific to the kind of material you want to filter out.

Have a safe day/week/year/career!

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.