Do you wear gloves when you clean your guns?

I wear the blue nitrile gloves when I remember, but I often forget.

~1/3 of the times that I do remember, a finger tip will rips and I get solvent and oil on my hands anyways.
 
Yes, for three reasons...

1. The chemicals are really bad for you and are absorbed in your skin
2. Oil on my hands/hand prints are not left on the gun
3. Clean up takes a simple hand wash rather than washing them 50x because you have crud in your nails and such.
 
he best guess is to how he contracted it is exposure to solvents while working as a mechanic 25 years ag
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Wearing gloves while working with solvents is a good idea without question. But I wouldn't worry about ALS...liver cancer, lung cancer, maybe. ALS is inherited in about 5-10% of cases but most cases are random, with NO known risk factors. Besides, its about 3/100000 in causes of death....pretty rare even though we hear about it alot.
 
YES!
I am a big sissy and I do wear nitrile gloves whenever I use a solvent of any kind.

Almost any solvent will dry out my skin and cause large cracks and fissures in my fingers.:( I don't like the pain associated with cracked and bleeding fingers, and I don't like to constantly apply hand lotion to counteract those effects.:o

Nitrile gloves are cheap, effective, available, and give the user reasonable feeling. I see no reason not to use them.
 
you should
the mechanic industry was slow to require protective gear for workers, many have paid the price with their health later in life after absorbing lead, chemicals and solvents through their skin.
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I started to last year. I have put boxes of Nitrile gloves in the gun room, and in the garage. I try to use them all the time I am using anything solvent, lacquer, etc.
 
I only shoot lead free as I don't want to expose myself or family to lead. I also use FrogLube, so no gloves needed. I can safely clean my pistols at the kitchen table.
 
If you can drink Frog Lube then don't wear them; but if you can't, then whatever is in there is absorbed into the skin.
 
TheGunGeek said:
I only shoot lead free as I don't want to expose myself or family to lead. I also use FrogLube, so no gloves needed. I can safely clean my pistols at the kitchen table.
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The lead is not in the bullet, but the priming compound residual. Cleaning guns on a kitchen table? You have more guts than I ever have, with gloves on or not.

-TL
 
TheGunGeek said:
I'm careful to use completely lead-free rounds, including the primer. I also go to a lead free range. Vaporized lead from the primer or bullet are both bad. It costs more but to me, it's worth it.
http://www.luckygunner.com/9mm-100-gr-frangible-fiocchi-50-rounds
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Interesting. It says the projectiles are lead-free, but doesn't say anything about the primers. So I suppose you hand load with lead-free primers? Who makes those? I'm not aware lead-free primers other than the lousy ones from Russia.

What's a lead-free range? I know most indoor ranges don't allow cast bullets. But I haven't seen one that bans leaded primers.

I don't go to indoor ranges at all. I never eat or drink on range. I wear dedicated hat and boots on range, and wash hands and face when done. When I get home I strip in the garage and go straight to the shower. And of course I wear gloves when cleaning or working on firearms.

-TL
 
I updated the prior post with an article which references the lead free primer for this round and others, as well as the risk. Yes that fully lead free range was really hard to find. In fact it's an hour and a half drive from my house. I'm surprised there aren't more around, due to the probable lower operating costs/risks.
 
I don't, maybe I should.

That said, I sometimes use Eezox which contains trichloreethelene. One thing I read from OSHA papers was that using the most common types of latex and nitrile gloves would not prevent the TCE from passing through the rubber and the glove would then hold the chemical against your skin. You exposure was less going bare handed because the TCE would evaporate faster.

Although I don't know how long it takes for TCE to penetrate the gloves so possibly using gloves for a short duration is safer than going bare handed?
 
I really wish this had been a poll, but I think the "no" votes would far outnumber the folks who wear gloves.

Yes, I wear disposable nitrile gloves when doing absolutely any cleaning and quite a few steps of reloading. They keep my hands clean, give me a good grip on things I need to hold onto, and keep my skin safe.

I think sometimes people do not like wearing gloves when the gloves are too lose on their hands. I feel that way too, and for that reason, I wear a size that causes the glove to be skin tight. About the only function I lose is the use of my fingernails so I use brushes and picks instead.
 
After years of not, now do religiously. If you are cleaning firearms on any type of regular basis, you would be well advised to.
 
I'm surprised there aren't more around, due to the probable lower operating costs/risks.
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I've run across one lead-free range in this general area, however it was operated by a training organization and was not open to the public.
 
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