blaughn

I am an RC re-tread - having flown for 3 years about 20 years ago. I built 3 models back then and only on the 3rd model did my sensitivity to CA adhesive pop up. During the process of sheeting the balsa in preparation for covering the foam, I came down with the worst Hay Fever-like symptoms you can imagine. I was rewarded with 2 days of sneezing, running nose and watery eyes.

20 years pass and I re-enter the hobby. I am working on my GP Ultra 40+ and discover that assembly has evolved. I love the precision of using snap together parts and thin CA to make it all come together. So I bought the best particulate mask 3M makes and start wicking CA glue with great abandon..........

I am now 2/3rds of the way through a box of Kleenex, sneezing my way through the evening and totally miserable. There will be no building activity tonight. The particulate mask did nothing. It's the fumes, dummy!

Food for thought:

1. Get a 3M half mask rated for organic and fumes.
2. Avoid developing the sensitivity. My symptoms are mild compared to some who report developing asthma as a result of their exposure.
3. The fumes produced by CA are strong enough to catalyze in contact with the oils left behind by a finger print with no direct contact. It is having a field day in your nose, lungs and eyes.

There, I shared my stupidity...... pass the Kleenex, please. []

Bruce

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Sorry to hear that Bruce. My partner Ken (RCKen) has the same problem with CA. I always attributed it to his being from Oklahoma, but I see you're a Minnesotan too (Actually, I'm a temporarily misassigned New Yorker)

Looks like you'll be making friends with TiteBond wood glue.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Gee thanks Mike!!!!!! Actually, I'm not sensitive yet. But I don't want to be. So that's why I quit using it, before I developed that over sensitivity. Of course I say that, but because of reviews it's probably been a year and a half sense I've had anything on the bench that would require wood glue!!!

But to the original poster here, yes a CA sensitivity is something you don't want to mess with. Many people try to call it an allergy to CA. But I've done some research on it and it's not an allergy. I've talked to several doctors and have done a lot of research on the internet and I've found that it's a sensitivity issue. Everybody has reactions to CA. It's a simle matter of fact. CA cures when it is exposed to moisture. That's what sets it off. Now think about what the inside of your body is. Yep. Moist membranes. The CA fumes react with the moisture in your body. That's one of the reasons why it can hurt so bad. But for some people the reaction may not be so bad, others it can be severe. But one thing is almost 100% certain, over time those reactions will get worse. And once your body decides it doesn't like CA you are in for a world of misery.

Ken

blvdbuzzard

I too have it. I used to use Ca like water. I would burn through 2 or 3 ounces in a weekend. Now, I only use it if I have to. I had a 1 once bottle last for almost 2 years. I have used the foam safe or orderless, yet I still get it.

I have started to use Titebond, epoxy, hot glue, instead of CA. My head kills me for a week after using it. I thought I was over it and I could use it again. No way. I glued up a small 36 in span plane, Man I was a hurting unit.


Dru.

skyraider71

Ca doesn't seem to bother me, should I be concerned anyway? I kit build and use ca
almost exclusively.[sm=50_50.gif]

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

If I use it during the winter and my shop is closed up tight it gets me a bit, sometimes more then a bit. I'm not too bothered by it during the summer when the shop is opened up. First time it hit me it was a very hard hit about like Bruce. I still use it but I'm a lot more careful about where my nose is when I'm gluing. I now use a lot of the wood glues but building something that slow bothers me some. I'm not real sure if I have a cold right now or a CA reaction?? I think I will be finishing up this plane with wood glue though.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

It doesn't bother me either, but there's always cause for concern. But it's a hit or miss thing. Someday you MIGHT develope a sensitivity to CA.

On the other hand, it may never happen.

But it IS dangerous stuff, so it's always a good idea to use it wisely and avoid breathing the fumes.

Alex7403

At the beginning I wasn’t sensitive to CA, I could glue the whole half wing using CA without any symptom.
Then at one time using a thick CA hours after the gluing session I started to cough and couldn’t breath, now im using it only for CA hinges and doing it outside with a mask and still get the irritation.
So my only way to continue this hobby is to use aliphatic glues and you know what I find the aliphatic glues holding much better.
Looking backwards I should have not get to irritation stage…

good luck

blaughn

There are applications where CA is just too well suited to pass it up. It is in those circumstances I will use the 3M Organic and Fumes mask. The rest of the time it will be Hellooooooo Tite Bond! By the way it is 10:00 pm, already 12 degrees below zero and headed downward like the Dow! I probably don't need to hurry and get that Ultra Sport 40+ done all that quickly...........

Charlie P.

I had a friend who built wood "tack & tape" boats with a lot of epoxy and fiberglassing and eventually developed a sensitivity to epoxy. The fumes would cause about the same reaction a person alergic to poison ivy exhibits. Blisters, itchy and large patches of skin sloughing away. Nasty!

Have you tried the "odorless" CA from BSI (Gold Label). I won an assortment at a fun-fly and it is wonderful stuff. Pricey, but if the need is there it is great adhesive.

opjose

CA throws very tiny particulates into the air that can hang and drift for a good while. These CA particles love to bond with mucosa, producing the allergy like effect which is typically not a real allergy per-se.... the stinging in your eyes, nose and lungs is CA itself solidifying and producing it's normal reaction to liquid.... e.g. your it is BONDING with your eyeballs!!!

CA was developed for and is used for closing up wounds, cuts, etc. because if it's relative non-allergenic properties, while making quick and strong bonds.
( I've had large cuts closed up in the ER this way... just CA with a purple dye.. )


You can avoid problems with CA, by putting a slow blowing fan near your workspace, so that the air blows across and away from you and your face...

Try it, the improvement may surprise you.

Clay Walters

When I learned Ambroid was no longer available I searched around for alternatives and picked up some UHU. I was trying to find a link for reference but it seems they've changed their product names a tad so I cannot be certain this is the same stuff.

http://www.saunders-usa.com/uhu/?brand=93

Some folks may find the smell objectionable but I don't/didn't find the smell as difficult as a strong dose of CA fumes.

Anyhow, its an alternative I rarely see mentioned anymore but, when I started balsa models as a kid Ambroid was what everybody used.

Regards,

Clay

goirish

I have tried all different kinds of masks. Nothint works for me. It doesn't affect me until I get ready to go to bed, then all H*** breaks loose. I have to sleep sitting up. Yup, you guessed it. I don't use it anymore. If I have CA hinges my wife (bless her heart) will put the drops on for me. Side note. I don't use very many CA hinges anymore. Mostly Robart Hinge Points with Pacer Hinge Glue. I have started using the gorilla wood glue (not the expanding type) looks like Titebond for the other parts. It grabs quick and dry more clear than Titebond or Elmers. I still use epoxy where called for.

Rufcut

I have a mild to moderate reaction to CA fumes. I have a good size fan that I stick in the window near my building table to draw the fumes away from me. It really does make a big difference. No more burning sinuses.

brett65

My Feedback: (18)

When I was fixing my decathlon and sheeting the nose of it, the CA would burn my nostrils a little bit, but I have a small clip on fan on a shelf above my workbench that I try to keep on so that there is an airflow keeping the fumes from building up and stagnating.