I have a question

newpennypincher

Hi, I'm new to moneysaving, so I'm sorry if I've posted this question in the wrong place.

Does anyone know if white spirit is a skin irritant?

I've been lurking on these boards for months and have picked up loads of great ideas from the OS threads. I've just bought a new house (after divorce) and couldn't afford a new kitchen so I decided to give the old one a facelift.

I've painted the units with Farrow & Ball pale powder eggshell paint and they look absolutely lovely, but after painting the inside of the winerack, my arms were covered in paint, so I soaked some kitchen roll in white spirit and used that to clean the paint off my arms.

A stupid thing to do I think, cos now my arms are covered in itchy red spots!

So, my first attempt at OS hasn't been exactly plain sailing, but every cloud has a silver lining. I may have spotty, itchy arms, but I also have a lovely kitchen

Vibrant

White spirit is an irritant, it doesn't seem to have much effect on hands, but the skin on your arms is more delicate. I presume you have thoroughly washed your arms with warm soapy water, so the spots should fade over the next few days, if not visit the chemist.

In future apply hand cream before painting, which helps when you clean up. I always use washing up liquid and hot water, which works well on water based paints and not so well on oil based paints. Vegetable oil is supposed to be good for removing oil based paint, but I have never got messy enough to try it.

newpennypincher

Thanks for replying and for the good advice, I'll definitely try that next time. I've still got loads of painting to do. Everything's a learning curve at the moment.

Definitely not having a good day today. I had a woodburner put in last week (which is why I can't afford a new kitchen!). I did everything they tell you to do, got 3 quotes, all on paper. The ones that did the job have done brilliant work, but now want more money, saying it was a bigger job than they thought. They quoted me for a day and a half's labour and that's exactly how long it took. Can they do that? I thought once you had a quote on paper, they had to stick to it, or at least tell you if something crops up that entails more work.

squeaky

Hiya

Best place for questions such as this - and a great deal more, is our "In my Home (and DIY)" board, so I'll move your question across there for you.

Good luck

Forum_Team wrote:

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL='forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com']forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

squeaky

newpennypincher wrote: »

Definitely not having a good day today. I had a woodburner put in last week (which is why I can't afford a new kitchen!). I did everything they tell you to do, got 3 quotes, all on paper. The ones that did the job have done brilliant work, but now want more money, saying it was a bigger job than they thought. They quoted me for a day and a half's labour and that's exactly how long it took. Can they do that? I thought once you had a quote on paper, they had to stick to it, or at least tell you if something crops up that entails more work.

Hi again

THIS part of your query would best be raised as a new topic on this board:- Consumer Rights

newpennypincher

Thank you! Sorry to post in the wrong place.

nickj_2

for next time try a water based paint such as dulux diamond satinwood/eggshell
to get rid of solvent based paints you could use baby oil or just soak it off in the bath

newpennypincher

Thank you for that. The next stage is emulsion so hopefully I won't get in such a mess with that

DianneB

Somebody who knows more will be along in a mo but I just wanted to say don't pay more!! how could the job involve more work if it took exactly the time they quoted? I think they may be looking at you as a vulnerable female and trying to rip you off. Good luck with the rest of the house hope it turns out lovely.

ormus

all solvents can cause problems to peeps skin.
but some peeps are much more senstitive than others. ie petrol and diesel.
hence your reaction to the white spirit.

next time use clothes that cover the body and use gloves.

Avocado

What price were you quoted? What price are they now demanding? Do they give any more specific reasoning than "bigger job than we thought"? Have you paid anything? Have they got your card/bank details or anything?