Is greenstuff not good to get on your hands?

[Pancakeonions]

For years, I've always just grabbed a bunch of the stuff, mooshed it up with my fingers (without even wetting them) and used my ungloved hands to manipulate the stuff.  I'm reading more and more about wetting your hands to keep it from sticking to you, and now that you should wash your hands when you're done.  I don't think I've *ever* done that.

What is green stuff?  Is it bad for you?  Should I be more careful from here on out? 

[haldir]

While not just for green stuff, this is pretty much general info for all epoxy putties:

 

Both epoxy resin and hardener can cause acute contact dermatitis. Discomfort can be severe but usually disappears after stopping contact with the irritant. Repeated skin contact with resins and hardeners may also cause chronic contact dermatitis, which is usually milder but longer lasting.

 

Contact dermatitis is a red, itchy rash caused by direct contact with a substance or an allergic reaction to it. The rash isn't contagious or life-threatening, but it can be very uncomfortable.

[Mad Jack]

 

 Washing your hands after hobbying is just a good idea in general...

Some folks (like myself) have been using greenstuff and the other epoxy products for decades without any reactions to it, but other folks find they can't handle it at all without gloves on because they react to it so much. Is it bad for you? I wouldn't recommend eating it, but unless you have a reaction to it just touching the stuff isn't going to cause you to burst into flames or anything.

 

 Most of the professional sculptors use either water or petroleum jelly to lubricate their tools so that the greenstuff doesn't stick to them. (Some folks use saliva or even skin oils as lubrication.) Personally, if I'm going to doing any real detail work with greenstuff I keep a tiny bit of vaseline on the back of my right hand (I'm left-handed so I usually hold the mini with my right while working on it) for when I need to lubricate my tools. 

Good lubrication on your sculpting tools is one of the keys to blending your edges well.

 

 

[Chaoswolf]

1 hour ago, Mad Jack said:

Washing your hands after hobbying is just a good idea in general...

This.

 

I'm not a chemist, so I don't know what's in Green Stuff or what it'll do to you, but I wouldn't sweat it too much. If you've been doing it for years with no adverse effects up 'till this point, then the best advice is to just start being more careful moving forward.

[SotF]

Another reason for the gloves is that there's less chance of ending up with finger prints in your work at the end.

[WhiteWulfe]

On 12/10/2021 at 2:53 PM, Mad Jack said:

Washing your hands after hobbying is just a good idea in general...

This is something I do myself, doubly so after doing any oil painting or sanding.  That stuff can get everywhere if you aren't careful, and the last thing one needs is to let their focus drop and you get some of it into your eyes. 

 

9 hours ago, SotF said:

Another reason for the gloves is that there's less chance of ending up with finger prints in your work at the end.

Ohhh, I've had this happen more than a few times.  You think you've smoothed everything down, and find out the next day once it's all cured there's a nice big fingerprint on the back >.<

 

..as for the initial question, I use GSW's Sculpter's Vaseline because it helps keep the putty where I want it, and let's me work on it without tools and/or fingers sticking to everything. 

[SotF]

6 hours ago, WhiteWulfe said:

..as for the initial question, I use GSW's Sculpter's Vaseline because it helps keep the putty where I want it, and let's me work on it without tools and/or fingers sticking to everything. 

GSW's stuff, while looking cool, has a lot of other issues with the way they've tried to wreck a lot of other companies after stealing what they make.

 

Their color shift mess being one of the more recent things there