Hi Clayton & All,
I thought this building site recommended acetone as the quick cleansor for accidental contact with epoxy?
Anyway I've used it that way and then rinsed the acetone with soap & water. Now somebody is going to tell me I'll develop an allergy to acetone...? Sorry, I know it's not funny- I finally met someone with the allergy to epoxy by chance at an unrelated sporting event. I knew I'd never seen this guy with all these sores on his skin. He had 1-2" diameter 'tumours' swelling up on his elbow and various sores on his arms and legs so I boldly stepped in with the unpolite question. When he told me casually it was his allergy to epoxy I think my mouth dropped open and I jumped back away from him like he was contagious. He said he couldn't even go out in his sail boat anymore- or near any fiberglass object. But rather than slow continued exposure over time, his was sudden and dramatic. He forgot his rubber gloves before finishing a repair job right before his sail boat was to be relaunched. With a heavy equipment operator dangling his boat in the air and waiting on him, he just reached his bare hand into a pail of fresh epoxy and finished up his last minute repair... and his career as a sailor.
Michael in B.C.

: White vinegar is the best thing to remove epoxy from skin. I keep a
: gallon of it on hand at all times. White vinegar to get the
: epoxy off, then detergent to get the white vinegar off!

: Please note, I used to be pretty careless with epoxy. After reading
: all the warnings here about allergies to epoxy I started
: treating it like nuclear waste. I now NEVER make even the
: smallest batch without a mask, long sleeves, and gloves.
: Repeated exposure can cause you to develop an allergy to epoxy
: which will result in you never being able to use the stuff
: again, and I have even read of people that can't even touch
: cured epoxy once they develop an allergy.

: Once I glassed a surfboard in the living room (obviously a
: bachelor) and promptly went to bed. I woke up the next day
: feeling quite bad and coughing. That was my big wake-up-call. It
: was foolish, stupid, and idiotic. I'm lucky I didn't develop an
: allergy... or die.

: Anyway, obviously you are cautious, and I realize it was just a
: torn glove. Just thought I'd mention while responding because I
: was once not so careful and thanks to people posting here I
: changed my wicked ways.

: All the best,

: Malcolm