Caution: Meguiars Hot Rims Chrome

[Jiblet]

Just making this topic as today I discovered that a product I was about to buy could be dangerous.

I would advise people not to buy or use this product as I feel the warnings on the label are not sufficient. Being a chemist and working with Hydroflouric Acid (HF) I know of the dangers of the substance. We use concentrated HF (48%) but it is strictly controlled with Fumehood, face shield, rubber gloves, leather apron, running water, calcium gluconate gel, safety showers and an onsite medic with calcium tablets/solution to inject into the affected site.

This product contains chemicals that mix and produce HF (even if in small quantities). This product has the potential to produce 0.2% HF (2,000 ppm) and, with a boiling point of 19 degC, potential for all of that to become a gas.

HF is fatally toxic to people as it attacks calcium (found in bones and bone marrow).
Personally, i'd stay the frack away from it, and definately not risk using it on my car (be it with bare hands or even rubber gloves).

Here is a link to the MSDS (quite long, but first few pages are notable): http://www.meguiars.com.au/msds/G14024.pdf

Here is an extract from Wikipedia about concentrated HF:

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is a solution of hydrogen fluoride in water. Hydrogen fluoride gas is a severe poison that may immediately and permanently damage lungs and the corneas of the eyes. Water solutions (hydrofluoric acid) are a contact-poison with the potential for deep, initially painless burns, with later tissue death. By interfering with body calcium metabolism, the concentrated acid may also cause systemic toxicity and eventual cardiac arrest and fatality, after contact with as little as 160 cm2 (24.8 square inches) of skin.

http://www.fluoridealert.org/Mednets-HF.htm
Description: Colorless gas or fuming liquid; weak solutions have the appearance of water.
Warning properties: Disagreeable, pungent odor at <1 ppm; irritation of eyes and throat at 3 ppm
OSHA PEL (permissible exposure limit) = 3 ppm (averaged over an 8-hour workshift)
OSHA STEL (short term exposure limit) = 6 ppm ( 15-minute sample)
NIOSH IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) = 30 ppm ERPG-2 (emergency response planning guideline) = 20 ppm
Often, patients exposed to HF (<20%) initially are asymptomatic; effects can be delayed 12 to 24 hours.

[regi]

so chrome kills?

[Mad_Aussie]

Yeah if you've got straight hydrofluoric acid, a single drop will easily enter your bloodstream and kill you in a matter of hours.
I haven't heard of anyone getting sick from the Meguiars stuff, but it's a valid point to make.

[mattyb89]

my dad got hydrofluoric acid in his eye was 1.5mm from going blind and then he had it slash on his arm. still didnt kill the pingpingpingping stuff must not be that great

[Jiblet]

it was only this product, all the other Meguiars stuff didn't have the HF warning.

[[Jacek]]

Use the pink bottle hot wheels cleaner instead - i love that stuff. Not sure if you can use it on chrome though?

[Brockas]

Maybe it's Meguiars natural selection?

Killing off muppets with Vault Krystals.

[heller44]

Looks about as bad for you as Alibrite..

[Chompy]

Used this on my wheels, yes chrome wheels.......
Stopped using it after it turned the wheels to crap, this plus a combination of chinese chrome, got one sniff of it and it hit the head real quick, horrible stuff to breathe in

[colt75]

the product is fucking shit anyway..

barely works

[HANS YOLO]

i saw on mythbusters once that a ball of aluminium foil and coke cleans chrome like nothing else...have tried, does work

[ovaxitd]

have used this product for a few years- no gloves needed... all still good and alive.... very strong smell... but i dont do it to sniff the shit.... spray it on and wash off... no real need to touch it...

[protecon]

lol Tristan - they use hydrofluoric acid offshore when breaking up coring samples on exploratory wells.
I'm sure you would have sat through a presentation on the fucking insane lengths they go to, to ensure there's no loss of containment.

[ovaxitd]

yer but work>home at home i dont really care... shit gets the job done... spray on wash off... the environment can take it...