Expanding foam
Bad stuff.

I used some to fill a gap in a wall once. Being a man, I obviously ignored all the entreaties on the can to wear gloves, safety goggles, etc. How much harm can it possibly do?

Well, if you put too much in, and it expands too far and falls out of the wall, and you catch it in your bare hands, a lot.

The stuff doesn't wash off. At all. Ever.

Soap won't shift it. Scrubbing won't shift it. Hot water won't shift it. And, worse of all, washing your hands just means you're spreading it over more of your skin.

I had to let it dry (took about 15 minutes for my hands to stop being sticky), and then just leave it until it flaked off along with the underlying skin.

Unfortunately, once it had dried, it went quite hard. This mean that my hands looked all rough and leathery and about 50 years older than the rest of me. Also, it cracked when the skin stretched. And, yes, the skin cracked with it, so I ended up looking like a pensioner with dermatitis.

Always wear safety gear. Better yet, don't use expanding foam.

Length? About a week to get rid of it.
( le brian, Thu 3 Apr 2008, 18:00, 8 replies)

Expanding foam has its uses
I've heard of saboteurs putting expanding foam to ingenious uses, perhaps most amusingly with GATSO cameras.

If done properly, expanding foam gets everywhere inside the camera box and the damage is difficult to spot until plod come round to change the film.
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Thu 3 Apr 2008, 18:20, closed)

If you use too much
It bursts the camera casing from the inside out.
( Cawl, Thu 3 Apr 2008, 18:22, closed)

^ ^
....and do you know this from experience? hehe
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Fri 4 Apr 2008, 0:30, closed)

^ I'm not at liberty to discuss that
Until after the court case.
( Cawl, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 12:04, closed)

Foam
You literally took my story out of my mouth.
(you probably wrote it better).
Two quick points - the foam contains cyanide compounds so it is a great idea to wear gloves (20:20 hindsight), and second, acetone (or nail varnish remover) takes the foam off without removing the skin.

>CLICK<
(smells-like-victory-v's, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 12:08, closed)

I point you to
This www.b3ta.com/questions/diy/post137148
( Cawl, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 12:45, closed)

..the first...
...time i ever used it was to fill a crack in a consevatory door frame.. Once i had it all over my hands(this will always happen), I 'cleaned' the stickyness by putting my hands in dry soil and giving them a good rub, so i could work on and wash up later. I had hardened mud paws for a good week after that... :(
(Phlash, Fri 4 Apr 2008, 16:38, closed)

ah foam
I too have spent a week looking like I'm incapable of washing my hands.

Moisturising every 5 minutes helps a lot for the dried cracked skin effect.
( catness, Tue 8 Apr 2008, 11:57, closed)