Duralac source

[nimbusgb]

Chandlers £11 to £20 for a tube

Lotus garage ( Used on the Elise floorpan ) £6.95 for a 250ml tin

Where else can I try to save a few bob?

 

[charles_reed]

Nearly any tool merchants.

Cost for a tube (you don't need much on a boat, unlike a Lotus floorpan) of 100ml about €3.50.

It's obtainable in most European countries.

 

[srp]

Airworld UK here 6
£6.75 for a tube which (I think) contains 185ml. You don't need much, and a tube will last you years.
They also sell zinc chromate etch primer which is very difficult to get hold of, but invaluable for refurbishing old aluminium bits and pieces which have lost their anodising.

 

[Bodach na mara]

There is a bit in the September PBO about repairing a mast that has some corrosion under a fitting and chromate primer is mentioned as being no longer available. This would be down to Elfin Safety as it is a carcinogen. Obviously it may still be available, but better be quick.

Chromates really are carcinogenic, but it is the relatively insoluble ones that are a significant hazard. My chemistry is not up to saying if zinc chromate is one of the dangerous ones or not, but I handle Duralac with extreme care, using disposable latex gloves and taking them of inside a plastic bag for disposal. I leave the bag open in a safe place to allow the stuff to dry (it is a sort of oil-based paint) then seal the bag with tape.

 

[rogerthebodger]

Last time I was in the UK I went directly to the manufacturer and got a 500ml tin (this wil last several life times) much cheaper that the tube from anywhere else

Give then a call

look here

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
Chromates really are carcinogenic, but it is the relatively insoluble ones that are a significant hazard. My chemistry is not up to saying if zinc chromate is one of the dangerous ones or not

[/ QUOTE ] This is the HSE document on Zinc chromate and other chromate pigments in paints.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/eis32.pdf
but it is all based on the compounds themselves not the paints containing them.

For some reason it does not seem to cover barium chromate, the chromate used in Duralac.

Barium chromate seems to be excluded from H&S stuff that covers other chromates. I may be wrong but I am coming to the conclusion that may be because it is much less soluble although it is the insoluble compounds that are suspected of causing lung cancer presumably by inhalation of dust.

 

[Bodach na mara]

Regarding the carcinogenicity of chromates, my knowledge is limited to a conversation I had with a chemistry lecturer (and former industrial chemist and safety officer) who explained that chromates that disolve sparingly in water tend to collect in localised pockets in the body, where they break down to chromic acid. This acidic irritant is the stimulant to initiate growth of cancerous cells. The cancers can take a very long time to develop and the cause is often difficult to determine.

Chromates like potassium chromate are readily soluble and are thus eliminated from the body. Barium salts are often totally insoluble, which is just as well as the soluble ones are toxic. I suppose barium chromate is insoluble. (Even barium sulphate is insoluble and is the material used in the infamous barium meal. If there is anything worse than a barium meal it must be a barium enema.)