How do I get this stuff off my skin!?!?

I'm about to go nuts.

Yesterday I was replacing a window in the house and used "Great Stuff" (this yellow spray-foam insulation) to seal the gaps. However, it was very messy, and in the process, I got it on my hands. I didn't think much about it because I figured it'd just wipe off, break off, or in the worst case, it'd come off with a bit of cleaner.

Well, sadly, I found out that in fact, what happens is that the yellow goo forms into an impermeable plastic barrier around your hand that resists every trick in the book.

So far I have tried:

Gasoline - It melts styrofoam, right? why not this stuff!?!?

Acetone nail polish remover - It removes super glue, but not this stuff?

Goof off/Goo-be-Gone/etc... - Multiple cleaners. All they did was start to give me chemical burn after a while.

Sand paper - The coating is too smooth for the sand-paper to make any purchase on, tried 60 grain and 400 grain.

Prayer - Hey, you never know, right? Didn't work though.

Near boiling hot water - Hurt like hell. Did it work? No!

Heating hands in oven - 450 didn't work, but I'm pretty sure my arms are cooked.

Picking at it - is only now starting to get off a tiny fragment at a time. Probably because I killed all the upper layers of the epidermis with my previous attempts.


I've still got hands looking like they're covered in yellow poo, not only is it embarrassing, it's also rather painful and makes it really hard to type.

Anyone know how I can get this stuff off? I saw someone mention WD40. I can't imagine that would work if gasoline, acetone, and the various hardcore cleaners didn't work, but I'm willing to try almost anything.

Originally posted by thelibra
Well, sadly, I found out that in fact, what happens is that the yellow goo forms into an impermeable plastic barrier around your hand that resists every trick in the book.

Sounds akin to having a superpower. I say run with it.

Peace

Good luck! I've had that stuff on my hands for over two days -- hoping it would wear off! The good news is that, eventually, it does sort of come off.

How can I remove foam from skin?
If the foam has not cured (it is still moist), it may be removed by wiping off with a dry cloth, or by using Touch 'n Foam cleaner, acetone or nail polish remover containing acetone. Do not use soap and water as moisture helps to cure foam. If the foam has already cured (it’s firm and dry), is difficult to remove but is not harmful to health and will wear off in time. Do not use solvents. A pumice stone with warm, soapy water may be used to scrape dried foam from skin. You may also apply petroleum jelly to area and cover with a plastic glove, wait about an hour then wash area with soap and water.

[url= www.touch-n-foam.com...[/url]

It looks like you already tried all of the basics. The one tip -- about using petroleum jelly -- is the only one that I've never tried and it's one that you didn't mention so......... maybe it's worth a try. Good luck.


[edit on 11/5/2007 by benevolent tyrant]

[edit on 11/5/2007 by benevolent tyrant]

Apple Cider Vinegar.



Works on everything else...

Cool! Thanks y'all. Will try.

I've got the jelly and latex gloves already, I'll try that first, and if that doesn't work, I'll run to the store and buy some apple cider vinegar (the only kind I -don't- have.... I've got white, yellow, basalmic, and red wine vinegar, but no apple cider vinegar). Only two hours till I can try this out.

reply to post by thelibra


Have fun.

Smells like feet but it seems to help everything regardless of what it is, in general. hahahaha...

I recently had this exact same problem. In my case I used a drug known as Bicarbonate which we carry on the ambulance. I mixed this with common vinegar and used a 22ga needle to inject it just under the hard plastic coating. It caused a bunch of fizzing and caused enough pressure to create a gap in the side of the foam layer. I was able to rip it off (with minor discomfort).

If you don't have access to the same bicarb we carry you can always use common baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

Just a thought...

[edit on 11/7/2007 by JBurns]

I just realized, I never posted the results of this.

Of all the things I tried (hadn't seen the bicarb/vinegar trick yet but will remember it), the one that seemed most effective was coating my hands very liberally with petroleum jelly and then slipping them into some latex gloves, and leaving it there for a little over half an hour.

It seemed to dissolve a good portion of it, and loosen a lot of it. If I'd been able to, I bet if after leaving them in there for a few hours, it would have been even more effective. In any event, it broke up the stuff pretty well.

Still, the ultimate thing I had to do was let time and dead skin do the work. Next time I'll try that foamy trick and see if it's a little faster.

Well, actually, next time I'll have the sense to use Latex gloves the entire time I'm using that sprayfoam insulation.

i feel your pain man....when we were in the shop, we'd patch holes with fiberglass resin and of course there is no way to keep it off your skin....in the end, we'd clean our hands with gasoline or paint thinner or something but we'd still have crap on our hands for days...

Originally posted by thelibra
the one that seemed most effective was coating my hands very liberally with petroleum jelly and then slipping them into some latex gloves, and leaving it there for a little over half an hour.

It seemed to dissolve a good portion of it, and loosen a lot of it. If I'd been able to, I bet if after leaving them in there for a few hours, it would have been even more effective. In any event, it broke up the stuff pretty well.

Oh the irony.......
two days ago, I was using spray foam insulation on a project and, well......I got the stuff all over my hands! It was just plain stupidity on my part. Naturally, I didn't wear latex gloves or gloves period. I was in a hurry and, of course, I was going to be careful. Right?

Anyway, I got the stuff all over my hands and I've spent the last two days picking away at the residue. The stuff clings like a second skin! Thankfully, thelibra has already given the petroleum jelly test a thumbs up so I'll give that a try. Hopefully, I have the same good results.

Incidentally, this stuff is really pretty special. I imagine that it would make an outstanding, non-lethal weapon. Can you imagine spraying a riotous mob with spray-foam insulation?

a reply to: thelibra

You think they would put a kind suggestion on the can or something. I do massage.WHat was I thinking. And the black trash bag for this GREAT STUFF project, melted into it,making it black all over my hands.I couldn't touch anyone while coated in this Great Crap.
How to get your fingers to sweat?? latex gloves! with just water, not vaseline, because then your hands don't prune, ..you must make your fingers pruny, you know, wrinkle. Soak your hands in warm dishwater,regular amount of dish soap, for about a half hour...And/Or do the water in latex gloves.
Then you got to chip away at the slightly softened stuff. But your skin has become more flexible to get under the Great Stuff.