halflight

My Feedback: (5)

This is my six year in the hobby (I'm a builder).

CA fumes are really starting to bother me. I do have a small fan at the end of the building board and an exhaust fan in the window.. this seem to help some but I still get some irration if I'm not careful. maybe I'm getting an allergy to this stuff. I use Titebond wood glue when I can but some areas just need a fast drying glue. Does the orderless CA really help with this condition?

blikseme300

My Feedback: (118)

Yes, your tolerance for the fumes become less the more you are exposed to it. It got so bad with me that I would get nose bleeds from the fumes. Good ventilation is a must. Some brands seem less noxious so I stick with them. PM me if you want the brands. The odorless stuff does not work nearly as well as the quick stuff.

Epoxy and polyester resins are the same. Prevent skin contact and use a proper ventilator if you are going to do large jobs. Wash off any skin contamination with soap and water.

Safe Flying!

Mods-R-Me

My Feedback: (1)

Hey nice to know I'm not alone. I am also a builder and the CA fumes got so bad that I had got two lung infections. I'm only 26! Got a respirator (gas mask) and opened some windows. Solved the problem. Hope this helps.

Mods

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I used to be bothered by the fumes from CA too. Not to the extend of those above, but I didn't enjoy it either. So I quit using CA. So far there are only two tasks that I have found that I have to absolutely have CA for, Hardening threads that are cut in wood and gluing in CA hinges. Other than that I have found that I don't need CA. I build with Elmer's wood glue now and I think that I'm actually putting out better planes with it. My advice would be to completely give up using CA. You won't miss it.

In several discussion with my doctor, and others here on RCU, I've learned a lot about CA. First off, it's not an allergy to CA like most think it is. It's a reaction in your body to the vapors from the CA. Everybody has them, some worse than others. For most people the reaction gets worse over time. I know several that will have breathing problems for days after being exposed to the fumes.

I myself didn't want to get to the point that it bothered me like that, so I quit using (with the minor exceptions I listed above). I'm much happy and don't have problems now that I've quit using it. As I said earlier, I feel that my building is better now that I use wood glue.

Ken

campbec

Hi,

What Ken said. I don't have the extreme reactions to CA but I don't use it very much. I use wood glue and epoxy.

Cheers,

Colin

halflight

My Feedback: (5)

Hey blikseme300..interested in what brands you use. I have been using Great Planes and Handibond. I might just quit the CA if I continue to have problems.

Ernie Misner

In past AMA magazines, in the Safety section, there have been reports of CA fumes leading to heart disease with lots of CA exposure. It is nothing to mess around with at all. Switching to ARF's has helped me stay away from so much of the CA fumes.

Ernie

Intruder38

There have been a number of threads about sensitivity to CA. I am one who developed sensitivity after years of use without problems; one whiff and I spend a week or more fighting asthmatic bronchitis. A fan helps, but the slightest whiff (like getting close to check a glue joint, for example) is enough to set me off. Also, sanding a CA joint enough releases enough CA-laden dust to do the same. Have gone to alaphatics and/or odorless CA. The odorless CA has slower setup time, shorter shelf life, and is twice the price, but is a lot faster than the aliphatics. I have tried a number of brands and have found that the Bob Smith stuff is pretty good.