I Think I’m Trying to Kill Myself
Originally uploaded by Tymcode
I have made so many mistakes with so many mysterious chemicals today that I’m just walking around the kitchen in this painter’s respirator.
I keep doing things like heating up copper without removing the plastic backing. That iron there? Just ruined it. Tried to do an acetone/heat transfer off of coated stock, and the back of the paper had an invisible plastic coating on it that fused to the iron. I got it off as best I could but this iron will now smell terrible for eternity.
And then there’s the etchant — 2 parts muriatic acid (pool acid) to one part hydrogen peroxide. I tried to be nice and neutralize it afterwards with a bunch of baking soda but that caused it to bubble and sizzle and emit a suspicious gas.
Finally there’s the patination solution, this wicked Griffith stuff — who knows what’s happening when that gets warm.
Sheesh.
Note the open window. Can I just say that it’s damned cold outside today?
5 Users Responded In This Post
If you really, really want toxic, swirl resin into expanding foam and then try to remove the foam with a gallon of acetone. When my instructor figured out what I was doing he cleared the studio floor. Apparently somewhat toxic.
You so need an OUTSIDE work area. Is the kitchen counter ok?? I can’t believe you are doing this in the kitchen. Did you burn anything off? Do you feel dizzy?? LOL
No permanent damage to anything but the iron and the mini-mister that I loaded with the caustic solvent.
Note the big old double-layer tile that I’m ironing on in the picture. If I’d known how awesome those would be I would have gotten more at Scrap-SF. I think NASA must have made it or something. It’s our firing brick, our Thanksgiving turkey-trivet, our whatever. I stuck some felt feet on it, and now we use it all the time. I can hit one spot with a MAPP torch for like a minute and still be able to touch the tile a few inches away. And it doesn’t even carbonize.
Dude… dooooode…. dude!
Let’s just say that I’m using you as my cautionary tale and learning experience and before I bust out the Jane Wynn art supplies to start a project I’ll do a little more research…
I’m glad you’re ok, but be careful!
LOL – well, thank heavens you’re wearing the respirator – though I think I understand where the tentacles come from now . . . Things like this happen to me when I’m in a hurry . . . like I am this week trying to get ready for Crafty Wonderland (don’t even get me started on the holiday gift-making!!) . . . so was this just a fun day in the Toxic Kitchen, or was there a deadline involved?
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