Rich Hampel wrote:
In most teak cleaners
Part A is usually a caustic such as TSP (TriSodiumPhosphate)
Part B is usually oxalic acid
You can buy these in a hardware or paint store at a FRACTION of the
cost from a 'boat store'.

Most caustics will dissolve the oil from you skin. Oxalic will rapidly
absorb through your skin, then accumulate and do great cumulative harm
to you kidneys ... so wear gloves when working with part B
[...]

Where does this come from? I have constantly seen references to rapid
skin absorption of oxalic acid. Yet as a professional in the chemical
engineering field, I have never seen any literature referring to that
property (and here I am not talking to the "chemicals are evil" scare
literature, cf. http://www.dhmo.org for a parody). At worst, oxalic
acid is listed as a skin irritant. I grant you that it is a powerful
systemic poison - when ingested.


bob