Dealing with Fiberglass??

[Oilguy]

In mean... How do you deal with the effects of fiber glass in your clothes and skin when you are done for the day??
I almost want to throw my clothes away so they don't contaminate the other clothes and make me itch all the time...

What do I need to do so that I can surviving replacing stringers and transom??

Plus... I definitely don't want my wife to start feelin the pain... if you know what I mean!!

Do you wash the clothes separately?? Should I take them to a laundromat? How do you control the glass dust?? I was told to try baby powder but how will that work when I am sweating like a fountain??



Oilguy

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

I'm still new at it but learning a few things. Yes - the baby powder seems to help some. I bought several pairs of paper coveralls from NAPA and wear them while grinding and sanding. I like to tape the sleeves over the first pair of disposable gloves and them wear work gloves over that pair. I also use a respirator with particulate filters for grinding and switch to organic cartridges when working with acetone or resin. I also wear goggles and a cap. I also do all the vacuming and cleanup - including changing shop vac bags while dressed out.

When removing the outer clothing, I also remove the most contaminated items first - the respirator comes off last. I've got a separate set of jeans and shirt for doing the nasty work and wash them separately every night. Take a shower in room temperature water to keep your pores neutral - until at least until after the first soapdown.

Those are some of the steps I use to minimize the itch. I also wipedown the boat with a damp rag and a fresh bucket of water everyday to keep the grinding dust down - otherwise you're just getting the stuff back on you and all over everything else.

I also make it a point to remove the cartridges and wash the respirator and goggles in warm soapy water every night. Make sure the cartridges clean side is kept clean - that's what youre breathing.

I'm sure others have their own ideas. Any ideas help.

 

[danond]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Wear a hoodie and a long sleeve shirt with elastic sleeves and neck. Dust your neck with talcum powder before starting.

Take many showers. Welcome to fiberglass!

 

[lowkee]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

From top to bottom in the photo, I use:

- Normal red ear muffs (must be red, blue or black causes infirtility and spelling errors during ibaots postings)
- High visibility goggles (you can watch for the EPA men, trying to stop you from spewing FG dust everywhere)
- High end respirator (unless you find bleeding lungs fun)
- T-shirt (Recommend black with a heavy metal band on it, AC/DC works best)
- Cheesy work jacket (Zip up, long sleeve, barely insulated, elastic cuffs and neck for keeping the evil dust out)
- Tyvek(c)(tm)(patent pending) suit (Find one with legs way shorter than yours, just to add to the dork factor. Retain blue sticker to pretend people think you are from NASA)
- Cheap welding gloves (they cover your cuffs and prevent icky boo-boos when you accidentally touch the grinder or sander wheel after hours of grinding, when you can barely hold on to the grinder anymore)
- Work jeans (stiffer than cool-people jeans, but not much thicker, so you sweat more like a horse than a pig)
- Tube socks (because "There is no ankle"(c)(tm)(patent pending).. and they go way up your leg, sort of like panty hose for non-gay men. Black to match the rock t-shirt)
- Sketchers scuffed leather shoes (because I am too cool to own decent work boots, although the low-rise ankle helps bending over for hours on end, the staple of a good grinding job)

I always have a tower fan blowing over the bow of the boat, which helps cool me off and blow fiberglass dust all over the garage. I feel this helps keep up the appearance of hard manual labor. It has a side effect of helping you grind by carrying away all the dust which would settle right on the spot of your goggles you are looking through.

After each session, I blow myself off using my compressor before I take anything off. Tyvek gets shaken, not stirred, after each session. Work clothes get stored at the foot of the bed, so my wife can complain about the "nasty fiberglass smell". As for washing, I wash my boat clothes in our washer and dryer, just not with our normal stuff.

I can safely say.. I haven't experienced any itching like others mention. Then again, I am from NASA, just look at the suit.

 

[AZSenza]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

The Tyvek Suit is your best friend. As it tears, use duct tape to fix the rips. My respirator is a US Air Force gas mask, the new kind with the big shield VERY good visability but I think they are pretty costly, I buy black panty hose to cover my cartridge to try to keep crap out. The water tube also lets me drink without taking everything off. Use a fan, blow off with compressed air, there is a lotion called liquid glove or something like that, its a barrier cream, keeps the stuff out of your pores. I too wear welding gloves with a long gauntlet. Its a NASTY job! If you do get glass on you, sometimes you can get it out by putting tape on it and pulling it off, like lint. Its gets some of it out. wash first in cool water then finish off with hot to try to release fibers from your pores. You'll learn, find things that work best for you.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Until now, I didn't appreciate the advanced "geek factor" involved. If you're afraid of the fashion police, then this might not be the job for you!

 

[JaSla74]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

& don't take a hot shower when done. Rinse off cold, then go warmish. Wash work clothes separate & don't expect them not itch even after a wash.

 

[special_kaye]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Also, some folks are sensitive to the different fiberglass chemicals. Some resins/hardeners create a reaction in some and not others. Plus, if you're sensitive to the glassing compounds you're using, it's said that this sensitivity gets worse with more exposure. I'm one of the "lucky" ones and don't seem to have any sensitivity to the epoxies I've used.

 

[Oilguy]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Well I picked up my new NASA suit - Gloves - Eye Protection - Mask - and AC/DC shirt and went at it for a couple of hours this morning and....... UH.... This stinks!!!
Although I don't itch >>> I think I lost about 5 pounds in sweat!!

I am taking the other boat out to the lake now to go cool off!

Thanks for the tips >> They seems to be working so far.

As for the cold shower I think I will be jumping into the pool when I am done for the day... Water temp is about 65*F.... Very Cool for me... I like 73*F but it's still early in the season.

OG

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Lowkee,

Just about spit up/choked on a bite of my lunch, and pissed myself laughing reading your post....

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Oilguy, The purpose of the room temperature shower is to maintain the size of your skin pores. If you use hot water, your pores open up and the glass dust and fibers can go farther into your skin. If you use cold water, your pores close in around the material. The baby powder helps fill your skin pores so that there is less area for the foreign material to get in - besides, it keeps you fresh as a daisy and not as funky as you swelter under the layers of protective clothing

 

[Oilguy]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Oilguy, The purpose of the room temperature shower is to maintain the size of your skin pores. If you use hot water, your pores open up and the glass dust and fibers can go farther into your skin. If you use cold water, your pores close in around the material. The baby powder helps fill your skin pores so that there is less area for the foreign material to get in - besides, it keeps you fresh as a daisy and not as funky as you swelter under the layers of protective clothing

Good point!
I am in Central Texas... Keeping fresh would be a nice change... hahaha

 

[mthieme]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Lowkee's got it. A picture is worth a 1000 words.
I have Tyvek suits, glasses, and use nitrile gloves.
I have the 3M respirator too which is rated for fumes (?), but the snap on the back broke...cheesy setup...gotta figure out how to repair it. I'm stuck with the throw-aways at the moment.

 

[88BLiner]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

I try my best to cover up as much as possible but stay cool also. It has been in the mid 70's to mid 80's for the past few weeks here and it is very easy to get over heated which can be really bad.
I usually just wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants, and work gloves. Not to mention the respirator and safety glasses.
As far as the "NASA suit", I guess it is a good thing I live in Cocoa Beach, right next to Kennedy Space Center.

 

[Bedrest2]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Rubbing alcohol is said to dissolve fiberglass fibers and has worked for me.
Good luck!

 

[Oilguy]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

Rubbing alcohol is said to dissolve fiberglass fibers and has worked for me.
Good luck!

I'll see it that works from the inside out... I am going to try Jack Daniels to see if it works...
I have a feeling it will make me forget about any fibers that might be there....

OG

 

[Bedrest2]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

I'll see it that works from the inside out... I am going to try Jack Daniels to see if it works...
I have a feeling it will make me forget about any fibers that might be there....

OG

Rubbing alcohol from the outside. Not the same as JD from the inside.
But might work the way you say it. (make you forget about it)
Good one!
BR2

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

The itch is from a combination of the cured resin and glass fiber and some combinations aren't as irritating as others. Depending on the products the f/g object is made from it can be very bad, or not bad at all, the stuff boats are normally made from is kind of in the middle of the itch scale. Some industries use types of resin and glass that feel like you just messed around with a porcupine.

I haven't found any methods of clean up that appear to work great and stop the itch any better than others. The hot or cold shower debate is one that gets brought up frequently, I don't think it has much to do with the pores of your skin opening or closing since the problem is the glass fibers actually poking into, or penetrating the skin. Hot showers do make your skin more sensitive though and can aggravate the affect of the glass fibers, so a cooler shower may lessen the problem.

I just cover up as well as possible and wear cotton, cotton won't add to the uncomfortable feeling like many other types of fabric will.

 

[Robert D]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

I discoverd polyester shirts will attract the fiberglass fibers...and not let go, even after washing 3 times. Cottom shirts, long sleeve...jeanes and a good quality mask. Wash the clothes separately twice and I fin dthem clean of any 'itch.' Cool shower, followed by warm....a littl eitch for an hour or so, and that's it. Biggest problem then is the mess in the garage

 

[special_kaye]

Re: Dealing with Fiberglass??

First time I worked with 'glass, I built a boat. After flipping the hull, reaching over the edge, no one told me not to touch the rough fiberglass edge. Had fiberglass embedded into the inside of my upper arms. It was so bad it looked like a contagious rash. Took a few weeks before it eased up and started to go away. Hard lesson learned but learned very well.