mnidoone Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 I've recently come across some hopeful scrap steel that COULD be good quality. But I've encountered an issue. Its all CARC coated. Everything I've found about it just says danger don't clean, don't cut, don't weld. Does anyone have any ideas for how to remove this stuff safely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 This is NOT my area of expertise, so please take everything that follows with a HUGE grain of salt. From what I can tell, CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) presents two hazards: the chemicals (isocyanyte, toluene, etc) present in the paint before it is mixed, applied, and cured, and the pigments (e.g., cobalt chromite and chromium oxide to make OD) that remain after the aforementioned chemicals have reacted/evaporated to create the inert plastic layer. The former aren't going to be a problem when removing cured paint, but the latter can pose an environmental risk, either as fumes created by welding or torch cutting, or as airborne dust from grinding or sanding. A little Googling led me to an interesting military vehicle forum called "Steel Soldiers", which has a number of threads about CARC removal (for example, this one and this one). This might be a good place to find others with more experience and better knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnidoone Posted April 5 Author Share Posted April 5 Thanks for the advice. Reading through it makes me a little apprehensive now because its so inconsistent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Clarksville is about half an hour from Fort Campbell, right? Maybe there's someone in their maintenance department who can help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I would not even bother with something that questionable. I would move on and find clean material. This topic makes me wonder about who first wondered if galvanized steel was safe to cut or weld on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 That's a good point, and it highlights the need to do a good cost/benefit analysis. I have a lot of salvaged steel that used to be part of various industrial fixtures and carts, and almost all of it ends up in fabrication projects where I only need to clean off the areas to be welded. Forged projects made from steel of the same dimensions always start with new, clean stock from which I don't have to spend a ton of time and energy removing the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Dad's older Brother, my Uncle Frank was a welder before WWII broke out and he talked about the crew having the "blue flu" or "the Monday morning blues" every Monday till Wednesday. It was called Blue because zinc oxide smoke is a pale blueish white. For some reason everybody felt better till the next Monday. Uncle Frank said the zinc would get flushed out of your system over the weekend and it'd give you the blue headache again Monday and Tuesday till your zinc levels built back up. Was it true? I don't know but I've experienced the blue flu till I smartened up and made the state buy proper filter mask. It isn't "heavy metal" poisoning by a long shot but it really isn't good for you stay out of it. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnidoone Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 Gonna have to "scrap" it up as a scrap idea lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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