[TheForge] finishes and safety

[Catherine Jo Morgan]

Re Krylon being relatively nontoxic - not really. It contains toluene,
maybe another solvent as well, that causes kidney and liver damage,
nerve damage, etc. In addition, it is a tetragen - can cause birth
defects. Lest you laugh if male - studies have shown a higher level of
birth defects among kids born to men who work with solvents. This
applies more to men who work all day with them, probably in the
factories that make the solvents or do metal cleaning. But the point is
- once the solvent is in your system, you're breathing it out for many
hours afterward - and it gets in your clothes etc.

Also be aware that altho Krylon uses acrylic polymers, it's still a
solvent based finish - so it's highly flammable. Watch for any sparks -
even electrical switches - in the spray area.

Even the General polyacrylic I recommended has a health hazard rating of
2, as I recall (0 being nontoxic, 1 being slightly hazardous.) Maybe
it's only a 1. Anyway - you don't need a respirator to work with it
(which I'd recommend for Krylon) but you do need gloves and ventilation.

Of course, everyone does as they please with information like this. 

Catherine Jo Morgan
Morgan Sculpture
Iron and mixed media vessels
cjmorgan@hemc.net
706-754-3812

online artist journal: http://radio.weblogs.com/0120691/