-Major Screwup!

[Bob S.]

I was using muratic acid to clean up some outside masonry work. I had about a pint of undiluted acid in an open container when my wife called me to supper. I set the container on the floor just inside the shop door, planning to come back in 30 minutes and finish the job. Other things came up and I didn't get back to the shop until the next morning. Every metal tool in the shop had a coat of rust on it from the acid fumes! I've spent the last 3 days cleaning my tablesaw, drill press, planer, hand tools, etc. etc. What a mess just because I didn't take the time to put a lid on it.

Bob

[Tom]

D'oh!..... What, you can't blame your wife? Sorry, man, but thanks for reminding me. I've got a brush soaking in alcohol. Tom >Subject: -Major Screwup!

Someday, it'll all be over....

[Bay Area Dave]

think of it as a "chemical peel". women get those all the time, and pay big bucks!

dave

Bob S. wrote:

[nospambob]

[Bob S.]

This is a different Bob S. - not me.

Bob S. in Syracuse

[Jay Pique]

Having fun in the snow, Bob?

JP just outside Syracuse

[Larry Jaques]

On 17 Dec 2003 20:27:41 -0800, [e-mail] (Bob S.) brought forth from the murky depths:

For your own safety, NEVER leave a caustic (acid or base) open. You, children, or pets could accidentally get into it and cause a whole world of hurt. It's good that the teensy bit of rust (a mere 3 days worth?) got your attention. That's a much lower price to pay than an eye, lung, or life.

-- Remember: Every silver lining has a cloud. ----

Comprehensive Website Development

[Bob S.]

Oh yeah.... It's not white-out conditions like it was the other day but I think its building up pretty good right now.

Here's the advisory,

A LAKE EFFECT SNOW BAND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. SNOW SHOWERS MAY BE LOCALLY HEAVY AT TIMES WITH OCCASIONAL WHITEOUT CONDITIONS WITHIN THE BAND. ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 7 INCHES ARE LIKELY BEFORE THE SNOW SHOWERS DECREASE IN INTENSITY LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON....

[Mark & Juanita]

Gonna be sunny and around 70 here in Tucson today. ... and me with time to go work in the shop, yippeee.

(beep beep)

[Scott Cramer]

On 18 Dec 2003, Bay Area Dave spake unto rec.woodworking:

Dave,

Put a lid on it.

[Bay Area Dave]

Scott, are you trying to make a funny?

dave

Scott Cramer wrote:

[Phisherman]

That's the problem with muratic acid--very caustic fumes. I stored my bottle of acid (with the lid secured) in an enclosed drywall box I made just for it. The drywall helps neutralize the fumes. Acid dissolves most metals.

[Scott Cramer]

On 18 Dec 2003, Bay Area Dave spake unto rec.woodworking:

If you can't tell, Dave, then start a new thread and ask someone to explain it to you.

[Bay Area Dave]

Can't recognize a rhetorical question?

dave

Scott Cramer wrote:

[Frank Ketchum]

Yeah, but a Christmas without snow is just not right. Some years we don't have any on the ground by Christmas time, but it doesn't seem to be a problem this year.

Now for the 4 months after Christmas, I could do without it.

Frank

[Charles Spitzer]

no problem. all the snow you want in the desert.

$150/ton delivered.

[Alan McClure]

Just a quick nit pick here guys, the word "caustic" refers to bases not to acids, that is liquids that have a pH greater than 7.

Since metal oxides are anhydrous bases most if not all anti-corrosion chemicals used are buffered bases. Check your anti-freeze label.

I know for a fact that the primary (reactor) coolant in nuclear power plants have a pH up around 10 to 12, VERY caustic for this very reason.

ARM

[dave]

You need to check more than surfaces, sorry. The problem wasn't caused by a spill but by fumes. They went EVERYWHERE, not just on flat surfaces, you may have unseen damage on contact points and windings. Don't want to make your day, but this could be much worse than you think. %-( Use a fan and exchange the air in places that the fumes may have collected and still may be doing damage. Dave in Fairfax

[Kelly E Jones]

Just a nit on your nit, but "caustic" refers to anything which has the capability of corroding or eating away, and thus could be an acid OR a base (or neither). As described here, HCl is most definitely caustic to metals.

Kelly

[Alan McClure]

*1+0&dict=AI stand corrected, I had only seen it used in reference to bases. e.g. caustic soda

ARM