A piece of wood furniture was being painted at my shop. it was sprayed with nitro cellulose sealant. The painter then sanded the surface, looked down for some sand paper or to show something to one of his partners and all of a sudden a fireball blasted, almost reaching a 20 feet roof. Luckily, no one was harmed, and apparently, the wood cabinet didn't suffer that much, and it can be restored, but i need to know if such thing is possible and why, because is a very dangerous thing to happen, and i also need to know if this guy was smoking or something.
2006-12-17 12:54:41 · 2 answers · asked by ottowilcken 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Nitro cellulose sealant is commonly used for air craft coatings - obviously, most are known to be flammable, but certainly not spontaneously combustible.
I suspect some sort of spark ignited the fumes.
Electrical devise, possibly, a sander or something similar that might produce sparks internal to the motor? Metal to metal contact or static spark?
2006-12-17 13:27:08 · answer #1 · answered by LeAnne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There might have been a chemical reaction, possibly from another substance being present on the workshop floor or already on the furniture.
2006-12-17 13:00:01 · answer #2 · answered by mackins777 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋