Resin advice.....

[Peej]

I have recently acquired a kit with some resin extras. I intend to use them as I have them but I normally build out of the box. I know the dust off resin is a bit nasty. I would like some advice on how to cut/trim/ sand resin without spending on stuff I will probably not use again. Thanks in advance.

[yak face]

Hi paul , its simply a case of being careful not to create or inhale any dust . Im sure youve got a face mask ( havent we all ?! :sad-face::sick so just wear that and if possible keep the resin wet while sawing or sanding , the slurry is easy to clean up and keeps the dust safely trapped . Its not as scary as its sometimes made out , after all we spray paints with some dodgy ingredients all the time and thats no problem as long as you use a bit of common sense and dont breathe them in , its basically the same mindset .

[Tim Marlow]

Paul has that nailed. The only tip I would add is to work over newspaper so it catches the dust and you can easily clean your workspace.

[Peej]

Thank you both for that. Do I need anything special to cut resin with?

[Tim Marlow]

I’ve just used standard modelling tools, razor saw, scalpel, wet and dry paper (used wet). I basically treat it the same as plastic. Tony may be able to add to this list.

[adt70hk]

Thank you both for that. Do I need anything special to cut resin with?

As Tim has said not anything particularly special. Depending on the resin used, I've found it can range from pretty soft to surprisingly hard.

[Guest]

If the parts are attached to the pouring blocks by a thin (up to a few millimetres) section, then you can cut through this with a knife and avoid the need to saw. Make multiple shallow passes rather than trying to cut in one go, though. If you have a panel line scriber or similar (one of those tools with a hooked blade), that works even better than a knife.

To avoid sanding, you can scrape the remains of the resin back with a modelling knife, which produces slivers but not dust you’re likely to breathe in. If you must sand, always do so wet.

[yak face]

As jakko says , a panel line scriber such as the olfa p cutter or trumpeter scriber ( any one with the hooked type blade ) will cut things from the pouring block , as will a fine razor saw

[Peej]

Thanks everyone. Feel a bit more confident in dealing with it now.

[rtfoe]

I know this is unconventional...I just use my nippers and cut away in bits and the final is shaved with a sharp cutter. Any sanding is done with a straight file wet.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

I know this is unconventional...I just use my nippers and cut away in bits and the final is shaved with a sharp cutter. Any sanding is done with a straight file wet.

Cheers,
Richard

Agreed Richard less dust flying about the place. Problem read some where is that the dust is so light it goes up & floats down slowly.
Good idea to spray a light water mist. Afterwards before removing mask.

I use a wet & dry paper with lashings of water. Also to wear plastic gloves.

Laurie

Laurie

[Tim Marlow]

Funny how resin (with its associated health issues) is still allowed to be used, but that lead was removed from white metal decades ago....if the resin manufacturers had to clean up their act in the same way, this issue could be completely eradicated!

[stona]

According to 'elf and safety, exposure to the dust may cause severe eye irritation, and skin may experience redness, swelling and blistering if exposed to the dust for an extended period. Polyurethane resin dust also poses danger when inhaled, and can irritate the respiratory tract or contribute to rhinitis and asthma.

Which sounds really bad, except that even building a resin kit your exposure is minimal, and you can follow the advice already given to reduce it even further.

As regards inhalation of the dust, the horror stories are based on experiments with rats, carried out in the 1970s. The poor old rats were exposed to particles of polyurethane resin via intratracheal intubation. That means that the dust was effectively blown into their lungs. Unsurprisingly this had various adverse effects. Again, it is easy to mitigate any chance of inhaling the dust by following the advice already given in other answers. The biggest problem I have with the dust is that it clogs my files!

You should not let the supposed and often exaggerated hazards of working with polyurethane resins put you off. I find it easy enough to work with safely and there is no reason why anyone else should not be able to do the same.

[Mr Bowcat]

Just to add to the other guys excellent advice, when sawing off blocks I tend to put a puddle of water on my cutting mat, place the part in the puddle and saw away. The puddle will catch any dust on each saw stroke and the slurry can be wiped up afterwards with kitchen paper.