User Beware!!!

To All Members

I like most, was always looking for the perfect transfer solution.

When I first heard about the formula 80% Zippo or Ronsonol lighter fluid to 20% Dammar varnish I had to try it.

My shop is sixteen by thirty feet, one entrance door, no windows, heated and air conditioned, warm summer day.

After using the transfer solution I started to feel the Dammar on the skin of my face.

Since this mixture is very volatile it had vaporized into the air.

Anytime I went into the shop I could feel it on my skin.

If you can feel it on your skin You Are Breathing it Also!

I tried the air conditioner, purchased a large fan, then added another door for through ventilation.

I bought a Full Face Filter Mask to moved my equipment out of the shop to my back porch.

It was three months before I was comfortable using the shop.

I can hear the skeptic's now saying it was my imagination, I had many friends report the same sensations.

Do not misunderstand me, I am not telling you not to use the Zippo/Dammar formula, Just be sure you have adequate Ventilation.

I still use Dammar (No Zippo) but I do not use it inside my shop.

I did not report this for a long time, (Did not want to appear Stupid) but I still see it come up in Posts from time to time, so I felt I must say something.

Ken

Interesting.

Seems like my drafty little spot in the garage has some advantages after all.

BTW, just how much of the solution were you using? I generally only use a couple of drops at a time which wouldn't be enough to bother most folks.

I'm chemically sensitive to certain volatile napthalenes myself and unfortunately some of the ones I'm sensitive to are used in a lot of inexpensive perfumes so I can see the problem for someone sensitive to something in the Zippo/Damar mix. I got mywork to move me out of the 'bad' spot to a safe one four years ago and I still take an inconvenient, little used elevator in the mornings to avoid the heavy perfume loads in the main elevators.

Steve

I had a small Model Airplane Dope jar, (not sure how much it held) about two inches high one inch across, (Maybe one Ounce).

I mixed the jar about half full in the correct proportions (80/20).

The problem was the zippo fluid it vaporizes very easily .

I was trying to transfer a two inch by four inch design when I started to notice this funny sensation on my face.

You have to realize that when that material drys it did not disappear, it has vaporized into the air.

The problem was it was carrying a bit of Dammar with it.

The Dammar was the sticky part, that I could feel, that brought it to my attention.

I have been around and used chemicals all my life where you can smell it when you open the container.

I was a cropduster Pilot for about six years.

If you can smell it you are breathing it!!

I don't mean to be an alarmist (The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling).

Just be aware and have adequate ventilation.

Ken

Here is the MSDS on zippo lighter fluid.
http://www.nafaa.org/ZIPPO_MSDS.pdf
Keith

Keith the MSDS you posted is the old formula that contained Naptha.

Ken I believe you possibly had a reaction toward the solution. But used properly it's hard to belive that it is as hazardous as you explain. It takes approximatly 30 seconds or less to apply and then the bottle is sealed again. To do a transfer, close the bottle then came back in the shop the next day and have a reaction to it, you must be very sensitive to it or something. People fill their lighters with this stuff and carry it around in their pockets not nearly sealed as well as a bottle.

I suspect a hyper sensitivity to something in it. In a room full of air even stagnant, the parts per million are so minute that the only way you could be affected is due to some sort of sensitivity or allergic reaction.

Just goes to show us that we're all different physically as well as chemically and who knows how all that works. I used to play in hedges full of poison ivy as a kid with narry a bump but my kid brother could walk by the stuff and break out, I don't understand it really, I guess I lucked out with a kick butt immune system or something. Haven't had the flu in nearly 20 years and no flu shots.

If I were you I'd find another "solution" to use for transfers, that Damar is pretty stinky; try the same mix with Bullseye shellac in place of the Damar or swap out the Zippo with alcohol and see if that treats you better. No sense you gettin' sick.

Steve

I checked it was one ounce mix.

Mike

I think you hit on one of the problems.

As I worked with the solution I did not reseal the bottle for several minutes (until I felt it on my skin).

Once the vapor was in the air (and it was in the air believe me) the room had such poor outside air ventilation it was extremely difficult to remove until I installed another door, purchased a twenty four inch fan and let it run for twenty four/seven.

Tim

Had I heard this story I would have thought the same thing (hyper sensitivity).

However I had many people felt the same sensation upon entering the room.

Not only could you feel it on your skin, you feel it in your eye lashes.

This is one of the reasons I did not report this before (I figured everybody would think I was some kind of nut or worse).

I still use Dammar, just not in a confined space.

However, I feel better now, that I have done my Civic Duty.

Ken

Thanks for the warning Ken. I use damar but mix it with 91% alcohol at about 1 part damar to 9 parts alcohol. I get good results and I have sniffed the mix just to see if it seemed toxic without any adverse effects.

Based on the smell of the damar, I close the container immediately after using. I mixed about an ounce in a small glass vial.

Peter

Peter

You are very welcome

Should you happened to get into a vaporized Dammar situation what you will smell is the carrier, the Dammar is what you must be careful of.

Please understand me I don't mean to keep bad mouthing Dammar.

I still use it but I take Steps So as not to Breath it.

A nice coating of Dammar (No Matter how thin) just cannot be good for your lungs.

Take Care Ken

Hi Ken,
I would say your probable sensitive to the stuff in the mixture. I have notice that if I've
done two or three tries on a transfer the shop starts to smell like chemicals.
This is a problem in small jewellery shops also. I installed a overhead fan to move the
air around in the shop when it seems a bit thick.

I have have also noticed that I'm more sensitive to people smoking. I was never an anti
smoker just a non smoker. All this stuff can catches up to you if you don't protect
yourself as your working through the years. You can shrug it off at 35 years old, but it's not
the same at 56.

So making a fume box for the solution isn't a half bad idea. That way I will still be able
to dance the chicken dance at seventy.

Talk to ya later,
Jim