[Jewelry making - Article 00623] - Re: [Orchid] Dip n' Etch

[Silverspotstudio]

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    Sherry, this is highly disconcerting...I find myself rather angry
    that this product is being sold without labeling that more
    emphatically states the dangers of working with it, and I was also
    led to believe that it was relatively safe to work with, which makes
    me feel kind of stupid (maybe bamboozled is the word) and therefore
    even more angry. 

    I used to work as a lab temp and have handled nasty stuff ranging
    from concentrated hydrochloric acid to capsicum oleoresin to
    listeria cultures, and I take a little pride in being a "safety
    geek."   My safety glasses hardly ever leave my face when I'm in the
    shop.   So when I worked with the Dip n' Etch, I took what I thought
    were the appropriate precautions - but your post has made me feel
    like I might as well have been in my skivvies. 

    Is it not illegal to sell a product without labeling that informs
    the consumer about its potential dangers?   Maybe I missed
    something, but I don't remember such labeling on the Dip 'n Etch
    bottle.   I tried without much success to locate an MSDS online
    (there were a few pages masquerading as MSDSs, but they lacked
    important information).   I tried the link you posted, but it led to
    a 404 message.   I did find this link that others may find helpful: 

    http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6631269 

    Apparently, both HF and ABF have been used for many years in the
    carwash industry to remove dirt from wheels and wheel wells, with
    issues similar to the ones we're discussing. 

    I wonder if the concentration of the Dip n' Etch is high enough to
    be dangerous - acetic acid is very dangerous in its near-pure form,
    but if you dilute it, you can put it on your salad and eat it.  
    Likewise, sodium hydroxide can be an extremely nasty chemical, but
    it is used in, among other things, body lotion.   However, one site
    gives the percentage of ammonium bifluoride in the Dip n' Etch
    solution as 20%, which sounds pretty darn high. 

    (On a side note, since the beginning of the discussion about HF,
    I've been reminded of a wrenching episode of "Chicago Hope" or "ER"
    - this was quite a few years ago - in which a worker at a glass
    factory or something similar spilled HF on his arm and then
    proceeded to die in agony over the course of the show. Anybody else
    recall that one?   Scared the bejeezus out of me...) 

    Anyway, please let us know when your article in Lapidary Journal
    will be published.   I think many of us will be very keen to read
    it. 

Many thanks,
Jessee Smith
www.silverspotstudio.com

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