This is good information to know - if you weld at all, and use a cleaning product first to make sure where you are welding is clean (don't we all clean the areas to be welded?). http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm
FYI: Phosgene was one of the chemical weapons used in World War I. I've seen estimates of over 85,000 troops killed by phosgene in WWI.
Wow! I weld allot but never have used carb or brake cleaner, allways laqour thinner for cleaning as it evoparates very fast Good info to know, thanks for posting this Saf. I'm gona send your link to our safty rep aswell as head office.
This is a scary information. I've gotten brake cleaner on my hands and smelled it when spraying. As written, we have used many things to clean parts without thinking what could go wrong. This information should be posted in any garage or welding shop.
Yeah, it should. Why I use laqour thinner, back when I ws a snot nose nothing (only thing different now is I'm older) it was your generation Cat, who trained me to weld etc and they allways demanded L-Thinner for cleaning. I mostly remember the " It drys fast, no left behind residue", if it looks dirty still, it needs more cleaning", "never weld if it still looks wet (Duh!), yet how did we use the product, bare hands with soaked rags.....not exactly good for the liver in the long run! Safty has changed so much over the years, I have gloves for the young'ns that I insist the wear when/while using the L=Th but yet, me kinda stuck in my old way....I still flood the rag with thinner, no gloves, witch isn't good I'll admit. But at least I don't do like my mentors did and have a burning ciggarete in my mouth as I'm splashing the stuff every where!
None of the fab shops I've worked at have ever used liquid cleaner to clean prior to welding. It's always just touch it with a grinder and go. So when I weld at home it's the same way. And when I weld it's always outside, I guess it helps that I don't have a freaking garage to work in. But we don't do things as critical as race frames either. One thing we did learn about was arsenic. We used to always drill and tap to install our polyurethane guide blocks. Then someone had the idea that we could pour the blocks with a steel insert, and just weld them on and save lots of time. Soon someone learned that the smoke caused by burning polyurethane contained arsenic, so we stopped the practice immediately until we came up with a vacuum system to keep the fumes away from the weldor. I usually don't use brake cleaner for cleaning parts. I find that it is about the same as either carb cleaner or even starting fluid, and starting fluid is the cheapest. Besides I need it for my mower anyway. I had a scare one time with carb cleaner. I was rebuilding the carb in my old 86 Celebrity wagon. It was pouring rain and I was working on my porch which is about 4 ft x 6 ft. The fumes were strong so I had the door wide open and was right next to the door. Even with that, I started getting really lightheaded and had to quit. Any other day would have been fine, but all I can figure is with the rain being 100% humidity, the fumes could not evaporate into the air even though I had the door wide open.
