Help! Paint smell in new MJ sets.

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Greetings,

I have three plastic sets here which have a strong smell of paint on
them - (so strong it quickly gives me headaches!). I have tried to
wash one of the sets with water and a little soap but the smell
remained. Is there any trick to remove it - or will the smell
eventually go away with usage? Anyone experienced a similar thing?

Cheers,
Filipe

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.mahjong (More info?)

Filipe Silva wrote

> I have three plastic sets here which have a strong smell of paint on
> them - (so strong it quickly gives me headaches!). I have tried to
> wash one of the sets with water and a little soap but the smell
> remained. Is there any trick to remove it - or will the smell
> eventually go away with usage? Anyone experienced a similar thing?

Hello Filipe,

The smell don't come actually from the paint, but the plastic itself.

A lubrificant is added into plastic materials as part of the normal
molding process. It's needed to make the plastic malleable. Depending
on the quality of this additive, the parts will smell nothing, a
little bit like a new car, or very awfull.

You can't washed it completely because it's well impregnated into the
tiles. Washing only removes what's on the surface of the tiles. With
time some this substance will evaporate, but, never completely. Also,
at the same time, the tiles will become brittle.

The only thing you can do is soak the tile in soapy water overnight
once awhile and store them in a well aerated place.

 

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From: Filipe Silva <laSPAMfey@netMENOTcabo.pt>
>
>I have three plastic sets here which have a strong smell of paint on
>them - (so strong it quickly gives me headaches!). I have tried to
>wash one of the sets with water and a little soap but the smell
>remained. Is there any trick to remove it - or will the smell
>eventually go away with usage? Anyone experienced a similar thing?

I don't think the smell comes from the paint. I think it comes from the
plastic itself. I imagine you probably have some of those big Hong Kong
tiles? And maybe they have a little feel of dust on them?

See FAQ 7o - the post I wrote on 08 Jun 2003.

Tom

 

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On 7 May 2004 09:22:26 -0700, mahjongmontreal@hotmail.com (Nath
Krismaratala) wrote:

>Hello Filipe,
>
>The smell don't come actually from the paint, but the plastic itself.
>
>A lubrificant is added into plastic materials as part of the normal
>molding process.

Your answer actually puts me to shame since I'm studying to be a
Material's Enginneer. I slap my forehead.

Tom wrote:
>I imagine you probably have some of those big Hong Kong
>tiles?

A Weico (Germany) brand set (medium size tiles); A HK made medium
size set; A Taiwan made big size set.

>And maybe they have a little feel of dust on them?

Correct - I identified this as the lubricant (?) but failed to
associate the smell with it.

Cheers,
Filipe

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.mahjong (More info?)

Filipe Silva wrote:

> I'm studying to be a Material's Enginneer.

Then in that case, I should have written : " The bad odour comes from
the plasticizer incorporated into the tiles (to lower the glass
transition temperature of cheap PE) ". (^_^)

If you have access to a Plasticizer Database (
http://www.chemtec.org/cd/ct_25.html ) at school, maybe you could
identify it for us. (^o^) <only joking>