latex gloves

rebs

New member
Are latex gloves good for protecting your hands while handling gun cleaning chemicals such as Hoppe's ? Or do you need nitrile gloves ?
 
Latex doesn't do well with petroleum solvents.

I prefer nitrile---Just checked the current box, 6 mil Black Mamba.
 
+1 for Nitrile

I use 9 mil thickness Nitrile gloves, I get them on sale at Harbor Freight, I wear them when reloading, casting or cleaning fired weapons.
 
~Rise from your grave~

Harbor Freight has 3,5,9ml gloves.
Do you find the 9ml are really necessary? how is the fine touch?
I would think 3ml would be sufficient for the task and have better flexibility.. no?

I need to start using gloves for gun work but I hate loosing fine touch.
 
This last year I had some serious health problems and im not taking any chances with chemicals anymore, Can't say what caused my problems (As in doc's can't say) but im not risking it anymore.
Im also tossing most of my plastic dishes and switching to glass/ceramic.

I eat a lot of rice which naturally has arsenic in it, I now pre-wash that and eat it less..

Im not taking any chances from here on out.


Not all of us use hoppes 9 and frankly I'd use gloves with that too.
 
The statistics are that in the last 10 years the cancer rate and allergy rate has increased by 20 % !!! That is almost all attributed to the ever increasing number and types of chemicals in our environment ! :eek:
As someone with chemical sensitivities it's obvious to me. There was a time when small molecules such as many common chemicals could not cause allergic reactions .Doctors even refused to test these chemicals as they didn't fit the definitions. They were shocked when I said they would have to change definitions !! Which they did 2 years later !:p
All these chemicals do beat up the immune systems .
 
Hands

I'm a sales rep in the dental business, hands and hand hygiene are very important for me.

About the best deal around is Costco for Nitrile gloves. Don't bother with Latex, the Nitrile gloves are a lot tougher, and much better resistance to chemicals.

I can't stand thick gloves. They impact my dexterity, and not in a good way. I just use exam gloves and change them fairly often. You can double glove if necessary.

A jug of baby powder right next to your box of gloves is handy. Really makes putting them on much easier, esp. if you have sweaty hands.
 
I wear nitril gloves when working on guns and handload. 5mil thick is what I use. Do the right thing for yourself and the one who cares about you. Pay no attention to the mockers. They don't know and don't care about you.

-TL

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
 
I should have added that while the gloves are a good thing you will ingest the fumes too ."use in well ventilated area ! "
 
@Mete that's a good point.
Eventually I wanna put in exhaust fans in the garage to for electronics and gun work.
Right now it's a real mess we just have a bunch of crap stored in it. I can't even remember the last time there was a car the garage lol

@Ricklin
So ya Maybe I necro'ed the wrong thread the gloves I was looking at harborfreight are nitrile, they have 3,5,9ml thickness.

What do you think would be the best choice? do you think 3ml would be sufficient? or should I go for 5? 9 sounds awful thick, I suppose I could buy all 3 they're only like 7 bucks a box.. but I'd rather not buy gloves that just sit and never get used.

Seems like the 9 would be a good choice for durability for working on cars but at the cost of fine touch, but is the thinner 3ml good enough to keep the chemicals off you?

Maybe 5 is the best middle ground?
Im just thinking about delicate work on guns like when you have to deal with a tiny roll pin.. I'd want as much dexterity as possible.

Thoughts?
 
You're right that 5 mil gloves are the best for most jobs. And, you're also right that 9 mil gloves are great for doing any messy work on cars. 3 mil gloves are also fine for most work.

I'll second what Ricklin said about Costco - they have the best price in town. You can get 400 of them for about the same price as 200 at other places. Their thickness is around 3.5 mils.
 
Definitely a 3 mil glove. Trying to pick up small screws would be on the hard side with anything much thicker, but why use gloves at all when gun smithing if you're not working with chemicals.

Be sure you get the right size for your hands. Having loose and wrinkled gloves makes fine work even harder.

Amazon has a huge selection to choose from at very reasonable prices.
 
I just meant that as a catch all.
But for example If im working on a gun and I strip it down I there's usually grease and oil's on the inside, I don't bother cleaning this off unless it's a part im working on.

example on a pistol the guide rod, spring probably have something on them, I just sit them aside.. I still have to deal with them since Im breaking it down but not necessarily cleaning the gun or working on those parts.

Same thing with the frame, I use slide glide which is a grease, If im changing a spring or something similar the frame and slide will have some grease on it but I don't clean this off unless in the course of my work it gets fuzz or something contaminating it..

So I'd wanna avoid indirect contact with those even though Im not specifically working with them.

Thanks, I think I'll pick up some 3ml's and see how it goes.
I'll shop around but HF has them for like 7 bucks a box and Monday they have 25% off so probably hard to beat at that price for 100pcs
 
Approx. 3 mil

The gloves at Costco are about 3 mils thick. I don't like anything thicker.

The thicker the gloves, the worse your dexterity will be. For me, I just double glove if I need more "protection"

The baby powder (Talcum) is a godsend for putting the darn things on.

It's also important to buy the right size....gloves that are too large will be easier to put on. The gloves should literally fit like a second skin.

Dentist's are generally a thrifty bunch, Costco has the best prices on good quality exam gloves.

Nitrile gloves also have a much better shelf life vs. Latex. Latex gloves are only "good" for a few months. If your Latex gloves tear easily when you don them, they are likely old.

Ever seen pics of a glove factory...it's super low tech. Basically a glass hand that is dipped in a vat of liquid. And yes, they make condoms the same way. Those pics are pretty funny.
 
I use standard purple nitrile gloves when handling my guns to keep the chemicals off of me and keep my hand oil off of the guns. I sometimes use these for cleaning too but prefer thicker ones for that because I don't need to be exposed to more stuff than I already am. I really like the non toxic gun cleaners but mostly use CLP. I love the rust properties of eezox but that stuff has to be most toxic stuff on the planet.
 
I buy the bulk pack at Sam's Club. If one starts to go after a bit from solvents, I just put on another one. If you wear contacts, I would consider their use especially critical.
 
I love the rust properties of eezox but that stuff has to be most toxic stuff on the planet.
You aren't kidding.. It's got some nasty stuff in it last time I looked at the MSDS sheet.

Good thing though is I think skin contact risk was minimal IIRC it's the ingestion that was particularly nasty.

Even so you make a good point I actually wonder if it could have made me sick I have been using it for 10 years and it's about the only thing I use besides slide glide.

I do know good or bad it tends to get on your skin and STICK.. I think about all the times I cleaned my guns have my hands covered, wash my hands for 10 mins and still smell it, Im hoping to just avoid that outright with the gloves.


At least it dries though so it's got a leg up on oils in that regard imo.
 
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