Stinky Hands from MIG welding

[PKAero]

Hi Guys
I know this is a weird subject, but when I MIG weld without gloves my hands have a strange odor. Does anybody know what causes this? Its been about ten hours since I welded some rebar and I can smell them as I am typing this.

 

[Brad54]

Cooking flesh?

-Brad

 

[e-tek]

I'm with Brad - that's a lot of radiation per minute of welding!

 

[luvit]

smell like steak or wieners?

.

 

[PKAero]

I normally wear gloves, but this was a small job with only a few seconds at low amperage. No evidence of burned skin or singed hair. I read somewhere that ozone is produced during welding. Could this be ozone odor?

 

[PKAero]

smell like steak or wieners?

.

No I had my pants zipped up.

 

[koditten]

Sulfer? Does it remind you of matches? I believe sulfur is part of the smelting process for making steel.

 

[brianpgriset]

I like the smell honestly. My wife not so much.

 

[PKAero]

Sulfer? Does it remind you of matches? I believe sulfur is part of the smelting process for making steel.

Yea it does have a sulfur type odor. Washing does not remove the odor.

 

[Steevo]

I love that smell.
Almost as sweet as napalm.

 

[StumpXJ]

I weld for a living. My wife totally digs it.

That smell is testosterone. You sir, just melted metal. Embrace it.

 

[nosnerd]

lmao

 

[cide1]

When I cut metal with a chop saw, the fumes make my stomach upset. Doing it outside seems to resolve the issue.

I've never migged without at least a pair of mechanix gloves.

 

[1967marti]

It's from the melting of the metal during welding... It will happen every time you weld without covering-up. Now imagine all that **** that is making your skin stink is getting in your lungs unless you wear a mask!!

 

[NissanTechWill]

I like the smell honestly. My wife not so much.

Haha I thought I was the only one!

 

[PKAero]

It's from the melting of the metal during welding... It will happen every time you weld without covering-up. Now imagine all that **** that is making your skin stink is getting in your lungs unless you wear a mask!!

What is it about melting metal that makes you stink? I dont have the smell when I torch cut. Do workers in steel mills smell this way?

 

[steel 35]

Now your hitting on stink! how about the plazma cutter I don't have one at home because of it.

 

[PKAero]

Now your hitting on stink! how about the plazma cutter I don't have one at home because of it.

Never used a plasma cutter, do they make you stink?

 

[steel 35]

Like no other!

 

[PKAero]

Found this. Could be ozone.



https://boc.com.au/boc_sp/au/safety/welding_safety/welding_and_cutting_hazards/ozone.asp?nav=6

 

[bad_idea]

It's super fun when spatter sticks to the wedding ring. Gold is such a good conductor of heat.

 

[Steevo]

It's super fun when spatter sticks to the wedding ring. Gold is such a good conductor of heat.

My wedding band has about a half-dozen foreign metal splatter bumps on it.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I like the smell honestly. My wife not so much.

Why don't you like the smell of your wife?

 

[koditten]

It's super fun when spatter sticks to the wedding ring. Gold is such a good conductor of heat.

Holy ****, did I make that mistake! Slag stuck to the ring, attempted to rip the ring off to stop the pain, took 1/2 " square of hide with it. Boy did that take forever to heal.

KO

 

[bad_idea]

Damn koditten! I was lucky, it was a couple small bb's that stuck to my ring. Just enough to irritate me into sending it into the jeweler to be fixed.

 

[CAOS]

I must be doing it wrong. Ive never smelt this and I work in a metal fab shop. Haha.

The **** that I blow out of my nose is another story...

 

[bad_idea]

Don't snort **** and you won't have a problem.

 

[koditten]

Here is my wedding ring experience, just tacking don't need no stinking gloves, wrong!!

That is exactly what my finger looked like. I now have a ridge that keeps the ring in place. Damb, that brings back some memories. Not good ones either.

KO

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

What is it about melting metal that makes you stink? I dont have the smell when I torch cut. Do workers in steel mills smell this way?

Off gas!! Great stuff. Steel stinks, moly turns your skin gray, copper gives you a nice greenish tinge, arsenic makes your smokes taste like menthols mixed with sugar........

Working in the smelter taught me all sorts about molten metal!!

 

[cide1]

The plasma cutter has a distinctive smell, but I don't think it stinks. My wife doesn't like it, but it doesn't bother me.

 

[jdcompman]

I always just thought it was burnt skin smell from the UV exposure. Very similar to when women go tanning in a tanning bed.

 

[trbomax]

In regard to all the "ring" posts,you shouldnt be wearing any kind of jewelry when you are fabricateing.A lot of fingers get snatched off that way.I saw a guy loose a finger because of a ring when I was around 18 yrs old.Ever since there have been no watches,rings or anything else on my hands,and after 55 yrs of doing it, I still have all my fingers.They do stink after mig welding though.After a day of welding,cutting, grinding,everything stinks like burned metal. I love it!

 

[Test Tech]

When I cut metal with a chop saw, the fumes make my stomach upset. Doing it outside seems to resolve the issue.

I've never migged without at least a pair of mechanix gloves.

I've noticed the chop saw upset stomach thing too. Vaguely like heartburn.

 

[bad_idea]

I would think it is better to weld bare handed than with mechanic's gloves on. All of the mechanic's gloves I have used have nylon on them or plastic or whatever the hell that is. That stuff melts and sticks to you!

 

[jsaw]

I notice a bad smell after TIG welding. I figured that it had something to do with the shielding gas combined with the arc. It doesn't smell good to me at all.

 

[03protege]

Are you flux core mig welding? Flux has some nasty stuff in it.

 

[PKAero]

Are you flux core mig welding? Flux has some nasty stuff in it.

No, I only use shielding gas, 75/25 for MIG and 100% argon for TIG. Dont TIG much these days but seems like the smell is there when I do.

 

[PKAero]

I found this article about ozone and its reaction on skin:


http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2009/August/18080901.asp


The newly identified compounds are likely to be produced when the ozone reacts with squalene, an organic compound, and unsaturated fatty acids, both of which are found on the human skin. The study suggested that a single human can remove up to a quarter of all ozone in a similar-sized office via this reaction.
However, the study may also have implications for methods of outdoor air-pollution analysis. Squalene and fatty acids are also found on various outdoor surfaces, including plants, buildings and the sea surface, and so have the potential to react with ozone here too. 'To a large extent, the resultant products are likely to have been overlooked in surveys of outdoor pollutants for the same reasons that they have been overlooked in indoor pollutants - analytical methods have been used that were not suited to the detection of easily oxidised or highly functionalised compounds,' the researchers note.

 

[PKAero]

Collectively these studies benefited from earlier work by Fruekilde et al. (12), which demonstrated that ozone reacted with human skin lipids to produce acetone, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (6-MHO), geranyl acetone and 4-oxo-pentanal (4-OPA) and that squalene was the major precursor for these oxidation products



Sounds stinky to me.

 

[tomshep]

In regard to all the "ring" posts,you shouldnt be wearing any kind of jewelry when you are fabricateing.A lot of fingers get snatched off that way.I saw a guy loose a finger because of a ring when I was around 18 yrs old.Ever since there have been no watches,rings or anything else on my hands,and after 55 yrs of doing it, I still have all my fingers.They do stink after mig welding though.After a day of welding,cutting, grinding,everything stinks like burned metal. I love it!

+1.

You guys are crazy for working with ANY jewelry, watch, etc. on.

Tom