Chemical spill on the Puddington Valley

[Puddington]

.... or, put another way; you know you're having a bad day when....

...you are working on decaling two 50' boxcars, with both laying on the bench, on their side, decals drying; a new passenger car is sitting beside them, paint drying and curing and the Marty Coil custom CPR van you've been waiting for is sitting, trucks and wheel off; beside them as you convert the MT wheel sets to FVM wheel....you've got the normal assortment of paints (all capped) tools, all hung up, and 99% iso-alchol (in a capped bottle) sitting on the bench...... all is going well

"Ring.....ring"...........the phone in the den

You get up to answer the phone, lightly, almost too lightly to notice, bump the bench as you get up...

"wrong number"..... you hang up

"O...M....@$#%@#...G....."

A pair of needle nosed, hung up about 16" above the bench have dropped, they hit the bottle of 99% iso, which was capped, but, as evidence now shows, was not "PROPERLY CAPPED"  and as such has opened and spilled, splashed all over the....

bench...

two newly decalled boxcars....

newly painted passenger car....

Custom Marty Coil caboose, with the ever so well made "Krystal Kleer" windows.

the chair........

the floor...........

The result..........two runied boxcar decal and paint jobs..one passenger car body with a ruined paint job.......A Marty Coil caboose runied, paint peeling, windows look like they've been smashed in and dry transfers looking like sun peeled paint....and a mess to clean up...........

... and an empty bottle of 99% Iso.............

This is not; I repeat not a good day.............the Marty Coil caboose has been stripped and is resting; awaiting my attempt to get it back to looking something like his great work level...., the boxcars thrown in the "later box" and the passenger car is soaking in what's left of the 99% to "start again"..............Is now a good time for the  ?

Why couldn't then bench have been filled with CN cars ? I mean, is that too much to ask.....?

I love this hobby...................

[Bob Bufkin]

Could be worse.  I was once working with some super glue doing some minor fixes.  I had a puddle of super glue on a sheet of paper to dip a toothpick into.  I got up to do something and placed my expensive plastic lense glasses on the table right into the super glue.  Talk about a dumb moment and being pissed at myself. 

[davefoxx]

Puddy,

I really can sympathize with you.  Nothing is worse than spinning your wheels or, in your case, losing progress, when you're trying to complete a project.  Best thing is to walk away.  Come back after you've cooled down and can focus on the repairs.  Take it one project at a time, and, hopefully, you'll have things fixed up in no time.

Dave Foxx

[Dave V]

If it's any consolation, I've had more than one similar spill cause significant damage to rare or expensive equipment.  You are not alone!

[Puddington]

Could be worse.  I was once working with some super glue doing some minor fixes.  I had a puddle of super glue on a sheet of paper to dip a toothpick into.  I got up to do something and placed my expensive plastic lense glasses on the table right into the super glue.  Talk about a dumb moment and being pissed at myself.

Being totally depndant on my specs I agree "that's worse".............I don't feel any better but you're right, that would be worse.....

[skytop35]

Mike,

I feel your pain. I think we all have had similair experiences. Take a deep breath. And if it's any consulation, at least the Leafs are winning some hockey games!

[sizemore]

Pud, may I suggest a "tray" system for your projects? I have a 3' wire closet shelf next to my workbench and use small lunch trays lined with a 1/2" of soft foam. That way the tools stay the same, but I can quickly switch to another project while another is setting up and prevents gumming up multiple projects if an accident occurs.

Humbly Submitted,
The S.

[up1950s]

The question now is , are you going to put your tools in a tray and any others things from taking a half gainer from the cliff of danger into your pool of gems ? History being what it is ................

Dang , the S beat me while I was typing .

[Puddington]

The question now is , are you going to put your tools in a tray and any others things from taking a half gainer from the cliff of danger into your pool of gems ? History being what it is ................

Dang , the S beat me while I was typing .

Normally the other cars would have been on the "ready shelf"; a shelf with little baskets beside the bench but I was feeling "cocky" and was multi tasking..... serves me right for trying to do four projects at a time....

I'm still trying to figure out how the needle nose came loose... the bench has been operating without incident for 16 years.... that said; the "risk management" department will be investigating......

[Philip H]

Pud,
One way to avoid that problem is to have the cap left off the 91% iso bottle.  The stuff will volatilize in about two weeks time.  Don't ask me how I know this.

 

[wm3798]

I was going to set a guardrail near a turnout, and had my trusty tube of crazy glue to make the bond between the guardrail and the ties.  I squeezed the tube, but no dice.  So I squeezed a little harder.  Then a little harder.  Then POW.  The nozzle became unplugged, and a massive gob of crazy glue shot into the points, throwbar, and ground throw of the turnout.  I died a little that day, I can tell you.

Lee

[mtntrainman]

If it was a wrong #...and you have the # on caller ID. I would call em back at 3 AM. Doesnt help the situation...but there is that slight satisfactiion factor...LOL 

[nscalemike]

I thought about putting a phone out in the layout room, but now that I know they are prone to causing major disasters I don't think I will!

Sometimes its better to let the machine answer those calls . . . . .

Good luck on the cleanup and restoration projects!

Mike

[Bsklarski]

I have not anwsered the house phone in months. I never do. If its that important, they will leave a message and I will call back later. Cell phone doesnt get picked up either. Man I hate the phone. Maybe its cause it rings at all hours when I bid the spare board.

[DKS]

Pud, imagine the alcohol was instead MEK.

That's the sort of spill I've had to deal with in the not too distant past.

MEK does more than just ruin paint and decals. It pretty much destroys anything that isn't metal, which includes models, tools, and plastic drawers full of styrene parts.

In the grand scheme of things, I think you're in pretty good shape.

Man I hate the phone.

+1