How to Clean up Epoxy Resin
December 03, 2021Epoxy, unlike other paints and coating products, is a heavy-duty adhesive you can use for many projects, including fixing your patching cracked floors and coating furniture.
Depending on your project, the adhesive can be sticky and tough on surfaces, making it complex to remove and clean if you accidentaly have a spill or come in contact with clothing.
As a professional epoxy manufacturer here are some different ways we have found to easily clean up epoxy resin.
Using Vinegar To Clean Up Epoxy Resin From Your Skin
Regardless of whether you wear gloves or not, the extent of epoxy contacting your skin can lead to scarring and irritation problems. Wear gloves or other protecting gear to prevent extensive contamination and stickiness. Also, remove and clean the adhesive by soaking vinegar on a cleaning cloth or towel.
Gently rub the contaminated part until the adhesive peels or softens.
Vinegar is one of the best options for cleaning up resin from your skin. When contaminated on the deeper layers of your skin, vinegar dissolves resin and moves it to the upper layers to easily wash it off with soap and water.
Sometimes vinegar may fail to clean resin thoroughly. When this happens, we can use Isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol has the similar features as vinegar. Still, it works by surpassing other cleaning solvents by containing solid chemical bonds that easily break elements in contact, including your skin and resin.
Good news is you can use hot or cold water to scrub and clean off resin particles after cleaning up with Isopropyl alcohol. At the same time, another option you can look to is citrus-based cleaning solvents, especially hand cleaners.
We prefer soaps that have a grit added, similar to Fast Orange or Gojo brands.
These citrus-based cleaning solvents are great to have when using epoxy resin. The reason you'll use these solvents is that they come with dissolving solid abilities, easily peeling and softening the adhesive.
Using Rubbing or Isopropyl Alcohols To Clean Up Epoxy From Plastic and Glass Surfaces
Besides affecting your skin, the resin also negatively affects surfaces such as plastic and glass. When this happens, your utensils or upholstery become fragile and break unpredictably, thus the need to immediately clean off the resin. Get a paper towel and soak it with either Isopropyl Alcohol or vinegar and gently rub the surface until the adhesive peels and softens off.
When resin sticks and hardly rubs off from these solvents, try and use another strong cleaning solvent called denature alcohol. Denature is better considering it is more potent and has strong chemical bonds that break the connection between resin and contaminated surfaces.
*** Always test small areas before use on large areas.
Removing Epoxy Resin from Clothing is not ideal, but not the end of the world.
In the case you did and need a way to try and remove it, try the following.
- Get just the resin on your clothes?
Before using a solvent based Acetone or lacquer thinner to remove the resin, remember this may permantly stain or dye your clothes. They can also be flammable. Never use solvent directly on your skin. Remove clothing first before treating a spot of resin with solvent. Thoroughly wipe the spot with a paper towel dampened with solvent, then wash with hot, soapy water. Be advised, solvents can permanently change the color of some fabrics and melt others.
- Just get the hardener on your clothes?
Hardener is the more hazardous of the two components when on clothing but may be easier to remove. Epoxy hardener by itself is best cleaned off with hot, soapy water. Solvents are not effective on these spots. Stick to soap and water.
- Getting mixed epoxy off of fabric
Believe me, if you allow mixed epoxy to cure, it will. The spot will eventually crack and then could have a hole in your clothing when trying to remove it. First, place a piece of scrap wood behind the area, dab waterless hand santizer on the spot, and scrape it off with a straight edge. Repeat four or five times. Then scrub with dish soap. If there is still residue in the fabric repeat until the spot disappears, then rinse thoroughly with water. Be careful, the more your repeat the more likley a wear spot will appear.
The easiest way to clean epoxy resin from clothes and or fabric is to spend more time prepping your work area and preventing the accidental spill on your clothes or fabric.
Hope this was helpful.
Let us know what you would like to create below in the comments.
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We created a handy comparison guide to help understand the different properties of our epoxy resin. Just follow this link here https://www.theepoxyresinstore.com/blogs/news/what-epoxy-resin-is-best-for-my-project
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