After a weekend at the lease, I made it home this afternoon around 5:45, got the mud washed off my vehicles, unloaded, and just about to come inside when I did one of the stupidist things I've ever done. An hour later, all is back to normal except one Columbia "Big-Bang Theory" t-shirt. It may never be the same.
This is the back of the shirt I was wearing (not much evidence here) http://discussions.texasbowhunter.co...5&d=1216613431
I keep all of my aerosol paint cans on one shelf (full and empty). Not a great system but when I need to paint something, I lift the can and if it's heavy, I take the can. On July 4th, I took one of the full cans with me to Mason. I wanted to paint the shutters on my deer blind so it would look the same whether they're open or closed. After a 5 hour trip, feeders were filled, barbed wire was put around the top of the fence panels, and I went to my stand to paint it. The can was full, but it didn't spray. I'd taken this can with me twice before only to find it had lost it's pressure. Unfortunately, we don't have any place in our area to dispose of aerosol paint cans and the county only has a pick-up in our area twice a year. I usually hear about it the week after the pick-up. I decided if I poked a hole in the can, the paint would dry out and I could throw it in the trash can.
I know what you're thinking but if you were going to poke a hole in an aerosol paint can that had lost its charge, what would you use? Of course on the slim chance that there was a little bit of pressure in the can, a hammer and nail was out of the question. I decided on the perfect tool, I'd be at arms length from the can and shouldn't have any trouble poking the hole in it. I picked up my trusty axe and always thinking about safety, I went to the center of the yard lest there be collateral damage to Sandy's car.
I can tell you most asuredly that it doesn't take much of a swing to "poke" a hole in a fully pressurized can of black Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel paint. I gently swung the axe and as soon as it touched the can, I heard a pop about as loud as a fire cracker. On instinct, I closed my eyes and this turned out to be the only smart thing about this whole process. I felt it hit my face and after about a second, I headed to the house to wash up (I knew once the paint dried I would be in trouble so I didn't take any time to assess the damage. I had obviously hit the can at the perfect angle. The spray hit me starting at the inside of my elbows and got heavier as it went up. by the shoulders, it was fairly thick and the full effect was seen in my face, mustache, eyebrows, and hair. After about a 1/4 bottle of fingernail polish remover, you could see a little bit of white on my face. After pictures (Sandy's idea), she headed to WalMart to get a couple more bottles for what looked like it was going to be a long night. Fingernail polish burns a bit and it wasn't doing a great job removing the paint so I started thinking about other options. I have some T-gel shampoo and since it's petroleum based, I thouoght it might do the trick so I moved from the sink to the shower and gave it a try. I could still feel the paint thick in my hair and decided my thoughts were not correct. Sandy had already mentioned the possible need to shave my mustache and I knew if it had to go, so did the hair on my head; I hadn't thought about my eyelashes yet. Since I was already in the shower, I grabbed a bottle of Aveno and found it did a little better but I still had a long way to go. I switched to Head & shoulders and started to feel positive results. Have you ever tried to wash your eyelids? I mean really wash your eyelids? Head & Shoulders burns your eyeballs but probably not as bad as paint would have. After several trips to the mirror to look for dark spots (ears, nose, chin, shoulders, etc.) I think I got it all. I checked the clothes I had been wearing and didn't get any on my pants or shoes. The t-shirt however will be stained for life. I'm just not sure it'll make it back to the drawer after Sandy takes it out of the dryer but she is washing it with Head & Shoulders.
Here's the front of the shirt:
This is the back of the shirt I was wearing (not much evidence here) http://discussions.texasbowhunter.co...5&d=1216613431
I keep all of my aerosol paint cans on one shelf (full and empty). Not a great system but when I need to paint something, I lift the can and if it's heavy, I take the can. On July 4th, I took one of the full cans with me to Mason. I wanted to paint the shutters on my deer blind so it would look the same whether they're open or closed. After a 5 hour trip, feeders were filled, barbed wire was put around the top of the fence panels, and I went to my stand to paint it. The can was full, but it didn't spray. I'd taken this can with me twice before only to find it had lost it's pressure. Unfortunately, we don't have any place in our area to dispose of aerosol paint cans and the county only has a pick-up in our area twice a year. I usually hear about it the week after the pick-up. I decided if I poked a hole in the can, the paint would dry out and I could throw it in the trash can.
I know what you're thinking but if you were going to poke a hole in an aerosol paint can that had lost its charge, what would you use? Of course on the slim chance that there was a little bit of pressure in the can, a hammer and nail was out of the question. I decided on the perfect tool, I'd be at arms length from the can and shouldn't have any trouble poking the hole in it. I picked up my trusty axe and always thinking about safety, I went to the center of the yard lest there be collateral damage to Sandy's car.
I can tell you most asuredly that it doesn't take much of a swing to "poke" a hole in a fully pressurized can of black Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel paint. I gently swung the axe and as soon as it touched the can, I heard a pop about as loud as a fire cracker. On instinct, I closed my eyes and this turned out to be the only smart thing about this whole process. I felt it hit my face and after about a second, I headed to the house to wash up (I knew once the paint dried I would be in trouble so I didn't take any time to assess the damage. I had obviously hit the can at the perfect angle. The spray hit me starting at the inside of my elbows and got heavier as it went up. by the shoulders, it was fairly thick and the full effect was seen in my face, mustache, eyebrows, and hair. After about a 1/4 bottle of fingernail polish remover, you could see a little bit of white on my face. After pictures (Sandy's idea), she headed to WalMart to get a couple more bottles for what looked like it was going to be a long night. Fingernail polish burns a bit and it wasn't doing a great job removing the paint so I started thinking about other options. I have some T-gel shampoo and since it's petroleum based, I thouoght it might do the trick so I moved from the sink to the shower and gave it a try. I could still feel the paint thick in my hair and decided my thoughts were not correct. Sandy had already mentioned the possible need to shave my mustache and I knew if it had to go, so did the hair on my head; I hadn't thought about my eyelashes yet. Since I was already in the shower, I grabbed a bottle of Aveno and found it did a little better but I still had a long way to go. I switched to Head & shoulders and started to feel positive results. Have you ever tried to wash your eyelids? I mean really wash your eyelids? Head & Shoulders burns your eyeballs but probably not as bad as paint would have. After several trips to the mirror to look for dark spots (ears, nose, chin, shoulders, etc.) I think I got it all. I checked the clothes I had been wearing and didn't get any on my pants or shoes. The t-shirt however will be stained for life. I'm just not sure it'll make it back to the drawer after Sandy takes it out of the dryer but she is washing it with Head & Shoulders.
Here's the front of the shirt:
Comment