Odor and killing brain cells

[Toecutter]

Hi all

I am a noob. I am making a helmet for my son for a Halloween costume. The process is going very smoothly thanks to the stickies. I do have a question, I glassed the inside and out of the helmet and it smells of fiber glass bad. I am afraid the smell is going affect him, i.e. getting him lightheaded etc. Anyone every deal with this situation before? Any help or ideas is appreciated.

Thanks
Toecutter

 

[tmccarty23]

How long has it been since you finished glassing it?

 

[Varsity]

leave it outside for a week it'll air out

 

[Liq]

It will be fine as long as it is completely dry. I personally shoot a coat of black primer inside my helmets anyways. It seems to kill the resin smell, and the primer stink goes away after a day or two.

 

[tmccarty23]

I agree, my helmet had been resined and rondoed for about a month and it smelled like resin until I sprayed a coat of primer on it. So, there will be an odor until you seal it somehow. No worries, you little one will be fine.

 

[PhantomSG13]

also if you use the smoothcast or any other kind of liquid plastic to coat the inside. Really, Air dry outside will be fine. A coat or two of paint inside too then air dry and it'll be fine. The smell goes away pretty quick, don't fret it.

 

[torsoboy]

Any kind of resin will continue to "de-gas" for up to several weeks before it's all completely aired out. Fiberglass is a middle-of-the-road resin among the lengthy de-gassing period resins, so expect at least a week or two for the odor to dissipate. Keep it outside, and also wash it thoroughly with a degreasing dish soap. That helps get rid of some of the surface residues that have harsh odors as well.

Another thing to do (once it's fully cured and trimmed up) is to prime it inside and out, and let the primer de-gas for a period as well. I'll usually rush things and prime my trimmed castings only a day or two after they've been pulled out of the mold, but the primer does seal it up nicely as far as odors go. Not the best way, but it does work. I use Krylon primer. All the brands have odors, but I've found that Krylon's is the least harsh odor, and it goes away fairly quickly. Rustoleum's odor is pretty strong and lingers for quite a while, by comparison.

Then, if you're still concerned, put a clear coat on the inside (Krylon), and then after it's thoroughly dried, hit it with some odor neutralizing spray.

 

[strangebrownie]

I took a household fan and had it blowing into the inside for a few days. LEAVE IT ON MEDIUM!!! I put it on high and it blew it away from the fan and didn't do any good till I check on it a few days later, whoops!

That helped and leaving it in an open area helps too. The fan was just used to speed it up.

Spraying some paint in it covers it a bit as well.
I'm trying to get mine to air out after gluing the pads in.