Anyone that has experience HF or etching tubs for resurfacing

[john3162]

I would like to know how much I can dilute it when used to prepare porcelain. It is purchased at 48% in 500 ml container.

[JimCo]

ain. It is purchased at 48% in 500 ml container.

I assume that by HF you mean hydrofluoric acid? I am a professional chemist= with a PhD in same. I am a retired chemistry professor, having taught at a= major midwest university for 34 years. (I'm not trying to impress you, jus= t to show you that I have those credentials.) Therefore, I can safely say t= hat HF is EXTREMELY corrosive and dangerous to use. I myself tried to avoid= employing it in any way in my research or teaching unless absolutely neces= sary. As you know, it even attacks glass, and in the old days, before polye= thylene bottles were invented, it had to be stored in either wax or rubber = containers. Absolutely avoid even the slightest contact with skin. With the= other strong mineral acids, such as HCl, nitric, and sulfuric, one can tol= erate brief contact of a small amount with the skin if the acid is washed o= ff reasonably soon. Not so with HF. It immediatley premeates through the sk= in and gets to the bone, where it literally fluoridates the bone matter. Th= e bone has to be scraped to get it off, and the pain is said to be terrible= and longlasting. Therefore, in all good faith and with all good intentions= , I strongly advise you against using this stuff, unless, of course, you ar= e a trained professional. Even then BE CAREFUL! (Btw, diluting it, or any o= ther strong acid, is an exothermic process that produces quite a bit of hea= t.) All the best to you. ;-) JimCo

[NotMe]

I assume that by HF you mean hydrofluoric acid? I am a professional chemist with a PhD in same. I am a retired chemistry professor, having taught at a major midwest university for 34 years. (I'm not trying to impress you, just to show you that I have those credentials.) Therefore, I can safely say that HF is EXTREMELY corrosive and dangerous to use. I myself tried to avoid employing it in any way in my research or teaching unless absolutely necessary. As you know, it even attacks glass, and in the old days, before polyethylene bottles were invented, it had to be stored in either wax or rubber containers. Absolutely avoid even the slightest contact with skin. With the other strong mineral acids, such as HCl, nitric, and sulfuric, one can tolerate brief contact of a small amount with the skin if the acid is washed off reasonably soon. Not so with HF. It immediatley premeates through the skin and gets to the bone, where it literally fluoridates the bone matter. The bone has to be scraped to get it off, and the pain is said to be terrible and longlasting. Therefore, in all good faith and with all good intentions, I strongly advise you against using this stuff, unless, of course, you are a trained professional. Even then BE CAREFUL! (Btw, diluting it, or any other strong acid, is an exothermic process that produces quite a bit of heat.) All the best to you. ;-) JimCo

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I have a question unrelated to this tread.

We have had problems with a store brand powered dishwasher soap. (other brands have not been a problem) etching the glasses and everyday silverware (mostly stainless) as well as plastic cooking tools.

Spoke to the HQ of the store and the CS representative told my wife, very empatically, that the problem the problem *was* due to having both stainless (8-18) and aluminum in the same wash batch. FWIW there was no aluminum in the mix at the time the problem occurred but that point did not seem to matter to the CS troop.

I'm a retired engineer (EE) and have not had classes or been in a lab for near 40 years but none of this makes any sense to me.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.