How to get spray on urethane insulation off of your hands!

Mon, Dec 22, 2008

How to get spray on urethane insulation off of your hands!

So you have been trying to insulate your house against the onslaught of cold weather this season? You went to Home Depot and you bought a can of “Great Stuff” insulating foam sealant to fill those little cracks around the house. It works great at insulating, but it’s not very people friendly as you likely found out if you are reading this!

I needed to fill some cracks in my foundation and since it is too cold to fish, but not cold enough to ice fish yet, I figured I should get some work done around the house. I started filling in the cracks in my crawlspace (which is dark), and was wiping the excess off the tip with my bare finger expecting to take it off with some solvent later… BIG MISTAKE! This is the most stubborn chemical I have ever encountered.

Once I got into the light I saw that they had written in large letters “Always wear gloves and eye protection”… OOPS. Since the damage was done I consulted the can for removal instructions. Apparently acetone will remove non-cured sealant, but only mechanical removal of cured urethane will work. Well I don’t have 5 days to kill with nasty hands, so here is what has and has not worked for me.

Acetone – worked so so on the portions that were not fully cured, but still required some hard scrubbing.

Mineral Spirits – do not try this, it just makes the spray on insulation turn black on your hands.

WD40 - AGAIN like mineral spirits do not try this, it will only turn the urethane black.

Gasoline – worked a little with some scrubbing, but left my hands smelling terrible, and also dried them out.

Soap and hot water - does nothing.

100 grit sandpaper – finally something that works! Strong enough to remove the insulation, fine enough to keep your skin!

Here are some other solutions that I have seen on the internet in my research which I didn’t try, but figured it might be nice to have everything in one place.

Wear latex gloves until your hands get really sweaty and then wash with hot water and an abrasive soap.

Carburetor fluid

GooGone – Most people say it doesn’t work on this.

Low pressure sand blaster – who has a sand blaster?

Gojo Pumice orange hand cleaner- some say it works a little.

Paint thinner – most say it doesn’t work.

Razor blade – not suggested!

Motsenbockers Foam Sealant Remover – Only read a little about this but someone said it can be found at home depot, if you try this leave me a comment and let me know how it works. Here is a link for the stuff too – http://liftoffinc.com/product-sealant-remover.php.

My first suggestion wear gloves BEFORE using this stuff, but if you do get spray insulation on your hands, I hope something above works!