Gargamel
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Getting rid of Nitration mix stains on my hands
During my last nitration experiment I had a runaway. I had my drowning vessel ready, but the mixture was bubbling over very quickly and I was not
expecting this to happen.
The temperature trend was already downwards, so I thought the reaction was finished and left it alone for really only a very short time. Big mistake.
I had to grip the beaker out of the cooling vessel to drown it in the drowning bucket, thereby stick my hand through the bubbling foam.
No time to get the gloves.
The yellow skin has been replaced by now, but my nails still look like I'm a heavy smoker.
Any Idea how to get rid of the yellow colour?
[Edited on 8-8-2015 by Gargamel]
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kecskesajt
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You can't decolour your nails IIRC.It will grow and replace.A few months and its gone.
Or colour you nails.
#NoHomo
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softbeard
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Quote: Originally posted by Gargamel  | During my last nitration experiment I had a runaway. I had my drowning vessel ready, but the mixture was bubbling over very quickly and I was not
expecting this to happen.
The temperature trend was already downwards, so I thought the reaction was finished and left it alone for really only a very short time. Big mistake.
I had to grip the beaker out of the cooling vessel to drown it in the drowning bucket, thereby stick my hand through the bubbling foam.
No time to get the gloves.
The yellow skin has been replaced by now, but my nails still look like I'm a heavy smoker.
Any Idea how to get rid of the yellow colour?
[Edited on 8-8-2015 by Gargamel] |
Seriously? You're worried about cosmetic damage to your fingernails?
You say your mixture was bubbling over very quickly and you were not expecting this to happen?
Huh?
I suppose if you didn't bother to wear gloves you didn't bother to wear safety glasses either. You're lucky you got away with some nitrated skin and
nails instead of nitrated eyeballs.
There's nothing you can do to remove this color from your nails; the keratin in them has been nitrated. But, lucky for you, the depth of the
nitration is very shallow. You can wait for the thin nitrated layer to abrade naturally, or you can take a fingernail file and remove the discolored
layer.
Seriously, though. Take some care in your experiments and wear proper safety equipment. Always be prepared for the worst case scenario.
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chemrox
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This used to happen to me in qualitative analysis. BTW- most of us didn't wear goggles; they steamed up. (I now have prescription safety glasses.) I
didn't mind spilling a little acid here and there. My girlfriend sowed patches on my jeans. The yellow staining is denatured protein. Not a stain that
could be removed without skinning yourself. Let wear and wear it as a badge of 1) sloppy carelessness; or 2) intrepid experimenter. I prefer the
latter.
"When you let the dumbasses vote you end up with populism followed by autocracy and getting back is a bitch." Plato (sort of)
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szuko03
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| Quote: Originally posted by chemrox | | Let wear and wear it as a badge of 1) sloppy carelessness; or 2) intrepid experimenter. I prefer the latter. |
LOL had to quote that one just for the truth in the words. Also be happy yellow is kind of almost a skin color so its not like you turned yourself
green or something.
Chemistry is a natural drive, not an interest.
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nitro-genes
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Use a nail file, usually the staining is very superficial, fine sanding paper also works wonders 
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Gargamel
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Thanks for the tips.
600 grit sandpaper did a fine job.
I had safety goggles but no gloves. As I had an emergency bucket nearby I was not very afraid of acid on my hands. And frankly I'm not afraid now.
Wash it of immediately and that's it. I hate gloves. If something is really toxic, OK, but apart from that I prefer the better feeling of my un-gloved
hands.
I shouldn't have left the scene, that was careless, I admit that.
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