Found out tonight, one of the local hardware guys nearly got blinded by an exploding can of Minwax spray poly! (spray) He had shaken it up for a customer, and when he set it down on the counter, it literally blew up (it was a spray can)! Not a tiny explosion either, a scary, big and dangerous explosion. Jury is still out on how much sight he will regain. It damaged not only the cornea, but the retina in one eye. Other eye wasn’t damaged as much.
I may switch from contacts back to glasses. Sheesh.
(PS: did you get that it was a spray can? ROFL!!!)
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Edited 5/27/2006 8:02 pm by forestgirl
Replies
YIKES!!!! What is that all about? Any other info?
John
"Any other info?" Not yet. I'll be checkin' with him periodically to see if they've heard anything back from the parent company. Could be quite awhile, I suspect. He shook it up, set it down on a counter and ka-boom. See my response to mudman.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Something had to set it off, was there a heat source nearby?
Similar story...
Years ago I worked for a furniture store. I did deliveries and worked in the warehouse where the furniture was repaired and touched-up prior to delivery.
The warehouse wasn't heated well, so the repair guys had to find alternative ways to keep the aerosol cans of clearcoat warm enough to spray smoothly.
We also regularly used burn-in sticks to repair small dents and dings in the furniture. Which meant there was a small "oven" at each work station to heat the burn-in tools.
Sometimes the guys would set a can on the "ovens" to just warm them up (stupid practice, I know. No comments needed on that one). Well I guess one guy left one on too long. He picked it up and gave it a quick shake and "BOOM" - the bottom of the can completely blew off. It took off like a rocket out of his hand. It took a divot out of the side of curio cabinet that was right next to the guy about one inch wide, three inches long and a half inch deep. It proceeded to hit the ceiling 25' up and when it landed on the ground it was completely flat from hitting the ceiling so hard.
Luckily, the guy was fine - except for some ringing in his ears and a layer of poly all over his clothes. It was amazing to see the power of air pressure.
Not surprisingly, the manager turned up the heat in the warehouse the next day.
Joe
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
Edited 5/27/2006 10:14 am by JMadson
"Something had to set it off, was there a heat source nearby?" Nope! No heat source in that entire building (the public part of it anyway). Pretty apparent something was wrong with the can. Question is: was it a manufacturing defect? Second question is: was it unique or might there be other ones out there with the same problem?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Could be a manufacturing defect. Could be that the can became compromised somehow (i.e. sitting on a wet shelf, rusting the bottom, some impact damage during shipping, etc.). I'm guessing the the company will not be very forthcoming about prior similar incidents (they've got to be thinking they'll likely be sued). I suspect it's likely that the company will confirm that the explosion was not due to a manufacturing/design defect and may (or may not) offer an alternate explanation.Matt
"I'm guessing the the company will not be very forthcoming about prior similar incidents (they've got to be thinking they'll likely be sued). " That reinforces JohnD's suggestion to file such incidents with the Consumer Products Safety Commission, eh?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
When you say "shake" do you mean in the shakin' machine? That seems like it could be problematic.
Mike
Nope, just a hand-shake, like you would do with a can of spray paint.
“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” – Albert Einstein
Nope, not in a machine, just shaking the can by hand. He's a big guy, so he has some muscle, but not as much as a shaker-machine, LOL. He's no neophyte either -- an actual knowledgeable working-type guy, I've known him casually for a couple years.
They sent the can off to the parent company of Minwax. Wish there was a way to know if this has happened anywhere else.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
that is pretty scary. There must be a good reason for this to have happened.
Mike
They sent the can off to the parent company of Minwax
That's too bad. I'm no fan of frivilous lawsuits, but I think I would have been better to contact a product liability attorney instead, and let them handle having it examined by a third-party testing laboratory.
From what I understand, anything involving eyesight gets the attention of lawyers real fast, so he should be able to get someone to represent him.
In an ideal world, the government would vigorously prosecute manufacturers of defective products. In the U.S., for most products it's left up to the civil lawsuit process to ensure that manufacturers sell reasonably safe products. If this thing blew up due to a design or manufacturing defect, Miniwax should be brought to task, so that this doesn't happen to someone else.
That's too bad. I'm no fan of frivilous lawsuits, but I think I would have been better to contact a product liability attorney instead, and let them handle having it examined by a third-party testing laboratory.
Amen.
It's not a bad idea to notify the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission), if your actual goal is to ensure that the accident is noticed and tracked.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
I hate Minwhacks brand anyway. :) I hate the smell of their oil stains and they take forever to dry. I don't much like their poly, either. Having said that, I DO have an old pressurized can of something they make. I think I'll call the bomb squad for safe disposal.
I've had this happen before with Laquer. Usually happens when the can is sealed cold and then the weather and temp warms. If you seal up a half full can when it's hot or warm and then watch it when it gets cold, it'll suck the sides of the can in. The guy's lucky the lid didn't get him. I'm surprised this happened with a full can, not enough room for vapors.Furniture...the Art of a FurnitureMaker
This is a spray can, not a "regular" can.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 5/27/2006 6:02 pm by forestgirl
Sorry, thought it was a gal can. Don't know why, just assumed.I hope he recovers fully. Something definitely was wrong with that aerosol can. Furniture...the Art of a FurnitureMaker
If I remember right polyurethane is not to be shaken but stirred.
Edited 5/27/2006 7:46 pm by gb93433
Is anybody reading carefully out there?? Sorry, I'm just frustrated. So, to clarify my obviously muddy initial post:
It was a spray can.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I knew that. :)
lol
1. Why was the compressor hooked up to a sprayer's can in the store?
2. Wouldn't it have been better if the customer had waited till she got home to fill the can?
FG,
So, why was this guy trying to stir a spray can??!!!
HahahaHAHHHHH
Sorry, I go away now,
Ray
This makes one wonder about the other spray products out there. And one in particular comes to mind, The caustic bit & blade cleaners. Same as Oven cleaner." Personally I never use it'. Now that would put a few pages in your health record.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
"Now that would put a few pages in your health record." No kidding!
I don't use caustic blade/bit cleaners either. Why go to that trouble when Simple Green works so well?!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I once had thirty out fifty or so cans of carb cleaner burst on me . A child ran a cart into a floor stack. I caught the stack and as I was trying to get it upright, cans started to burst. I was ok except for a little skin irritation and some unwanted intoxication. The company had started sending recall notices that morning, some of their cans had bad welds. I was lucky, I hope the fellow with the eye injury has a good recovery.
We can only hope that Sherwin-Williams acts as quickly (if indeed this is more than a "one can" episode; but then how do we know?). Glad you were OK -- that's a scary image!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
F.G.: You didn't happen to get the batch #'s off that can? If there is a recall those numbers will I.D. the cans involved but might be faster if the suspect can #'s were spead by word of mouth/Knots. Duke
Kenneth Duke Masters
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Apart from it having been set down on a heat source maybe a cigarette, I think this must have been a freak accident. Even faulty cans don't just let go . Keep us posted Jamie. Hope the guy can recover.
"...a heat source maybe a cigarette." We can rule that out -- no smoking in public buildings in our sweet state. Brings an ugly picture to mind, though, doesn't it?!
I wonder if (a) the can might have been over-pressurized or (b) if something got into the mix that created heat when it was shaken or (c) there was just too much propellant in it [is that the same as "a"?]. (b) would have affected way more than one can though. Don't know enough (anything, really) about the physics involved. The fact that the explosion was so "vigorous" is what really gets me.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 5/28/2006 11:52 am by forestgirl
I dunno. Was this something that supposedly happened to a "friend of a friend"? This kind of story has a way of getting around, and I'm sure spray cans do fail, but given the vast number of bogus exploding spray can stories on the web and elsewhere, I'm a bit dubious.
Pete
No, this was not a rumor. I know the guy, we talked outside the store the day I wrote the OP. He was wearing an eye patch, and the "what happened?" story followed.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FWIW, i believe you completely. Plastic container, you say...
"Plastic container, you say..." Huh?
BTW, that movie clip was hilarious!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Perhaps the problem was the left-handed shaking. I think you can only get away with that in the southern hemisphere.
Ah yes, the old left handed exploding can Coriolus effect.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
I worked in a steel mill. We once had an inspector inspecting steel slabs for "Scabs" and other flaws. He saw what looked slag stuck to a slab. He had in his hand a can of spray paint used for marking flaws. He gently tapped what he thought was a piece of slag adherring to the slab with the bottom of the spray paint can. The bottom blew off and struck him in the chest. Apparently it hit flat. Knocked the wind out of him and left him with one large bruise from collar bone to navel. We had many accidents with spray paint cans, particularly discarded empty can.
Billy B.
We use 2 puffs of spray paint ,compressed, as the propellant in a spud gun .When ignited it puts a 4oz potato over a 5 story building 100 feet away.Thats an indication of the explosive power of paint cans!
Hasn't ever happened to me, however I made a grilled cheese sammich last night and saw the image of the Virgin Mary on the bread.
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