Easy way to remove fiberglass from your skin

[bigd14]

For some reason it occurred to me to post this today despite not having worked with FG for a month or so. And since I have nothing much to report on the boat restoration front...

I spent much of the summer grinding and sanding fiberglass and didn't want to bother too much with wearing protective clothing, so I was always getting FG particles stuck in my skin, especially under my forearms. After a few sessions and the resulting itch, I came up with a little trick to remove many of them:

when in the shower, I would take an old credit card that I had sharpened up a bit with a file and scrape it up and down the affected areas. This seemed to remove many of the fibers and greatly lessened how long the irritation lasted.

I also tried duct tape, which didn't seem to work very well and hurt more than the credit card.

Any other FG removal tricks out there?

Doug

[Ceasar Choppy]

I've heard cold water (so as not to open up your pores any wider), and cream rinse (apparently cream rinse is better for taking the particles away than soap). I haven't tried the cream rinse yet. I dunno about the cold water either. I'm usually looking forward to a hot shower rather than a cold one when I get back from the yard.

[Tim]

The hot vs. cold water debate has been going on probably ever since the first person touched fiberglass decades ago--without ever achieving even a remote sense of which is "better". (It's sort of like political parties: neither side is likely to switch positions based on the suggestions of the other.)

I like hot hot water--I find it effective, not to mention comfortable and relaxing after a hard days' work. There's nothing appealing about a cold shower to me.

As an aside, I find that Tyvec only makes things worse in all ways, so I never wear zoot suits. Your results may vary.

[Idon84]

Interesting conversation. The majority of my grinding was finished last year and I only wore a pair of overalls but I too have a method that seemed to work best for me on my for-arms.

I would have a few hot soapy wash rags ready then stand with my back to a really hot shower. I would put my for arms in the stream as long as I could handle the hot water. I would repeat a couple of times to purposely open my pores. Then I used the wash rag gently wiping my skin in the same direction as my hair grew while turning the rag often. This seemed to work best for me. I noticed when I wiped randomly the itching didn't go away and I still had some red bumps from the fibers. As soon as I wiped with the hair it seemed to go away almost completely (notice I said "almost").

Good Luck!

[Desertmariner]

For me i found that wearing the elastic arm coverings along with rubber gloves was helpful. Can't reuse the arm protectors very effectively. Had one fellow put on some used ones and turn them inside out......
rich

[One Way David]

I am devistated to learn that there is something for which duct tape is not the solution.

[mobilchuckje]

Wouldn't using the sleeve protectors inside-out simply mean that you'd be exposing yourself directly to yesterday's fiberglass all day long?

It's not like underwear, where, clearly, that is a workable solution.

[jeffwagnpete]

I really hate fiberglass particals from grinding, they find ways to find the skin and it drives me nuts.

[okawbow]

I grind fiberglass nearly every day, while making archery bows. In hot weather, I wear old cotton dress shirts. The good, fine weave kind protect very well against glass. when I do get glass in my skin, I use illuminated tweezers and a magnifying glass as soon as possible, before the fiber breaks off.

[Zach]

I've found that grinding at at a higher speed with a grit greater than 36 helps.

Almost itch free when I use an 80 grit flap disc on my 4.5 inch angle grinder. It shoots off talcum powder, not big strands that lay around.

Though I have found that if I mix a lot of cabosil it makes my arms itch something fierce.

I also have had to grind a few 48x4 foot pieces of 1708 where the epoxy didn't kick totally. Ground out into snow balls... looked like a pillow case exploded. That itches.