I went to home depot to buy some rubber gloves for a little epoxy work and I couldn’t find any. They had “latex rubber”, vinyl, and neoprene. I ended up using the vinyl ones and they did not do a great job. What type of gloves should I get? I heard latex is a no no for epoxy.
Get plain old dishwashing gloves, slightly larger than your hands so you can slip them off easily. If you let the epoxy set on them, it will just crack off.
cheers
Hicksy
I looked at those, and all the ones I saw said they were made of “Latex Rubber”. Are those the correct ones?
Hey Dan,
Glove choices can be tough question - If we’re stricly talking epoxy usage and no other chemicals such as acetone or MEKP, then a nitrile or vinyl gloves would probably be best. I usually get the nitrile as they are more readily available in the tight fitting style that I prefer. I’m pretty sure most fiberglass suppliers have nitrile such as www.fiberglasssupply.com
Generally latex gloves are the least favored for any type of chemical work as they are not as impervious as other readily available choices. Epoxy is considered a skin senitizer so that why you’ll hear folks not recommending them. Latex gloves themselves also have a higher ratio of allergic reactions (folks that reactions to the gloves themselves). The appeal of latex is the tight fit (dexterity) and their better grip (more rubbery).
Best,
Herb
Good advice HerbB.
The workshop I was managing had a strange outbreak of bad hands and we all wore latex gloves, using epoxy. We had a few months where work had to be done, and our hands suffered.
We were all checked out and it was not sensitization, so I was surprised recently getting it again from prolonged wearing of dishwashing gloves, using epoxy. I want to keep working so I’ll be looking for nitrile gloves soon.
The condition mainly affects the top my fingers, tiny little cold-sore type blisters, more sensitive in heat.
I admit it was after prolonged use of the gloves and thankfully it’s gone again now,
Has anyone else had similar irritated fingers?
get some wells lamonts-cowboy tuff -
Disposable surgical gloves with lots of barrier cream.
Barrier cream is always a good idea, if you get messed up it’s a lot easier to clean yourself
I did some research on what gloves to wear when using epoxy resin, and most people I’ve asked said nitril gloves are the best.
Latex is permeable to a lot of chemicals that are not good for you.
Yes, Latex works. I’ve used them with epoxy for 25 years. Double them up if needed.
I use the black neoprene ones. I also have an orange tree. Whenever I’m using epoxy, I pick an orange, cut it in half, and set it on my workbench. When I’m done glassing, I take each half of the orange and rub the juice on my gloves, squeegee, scissors, and any other tools I’ve made sticky. Then rinse with water. Presto, perfectly clean. I get 10 or more uses out of every $3 pair of gloves.
Thanks everybody for all the help! I like epoxy but am a little paranoid about using it and getting sensitized. I’m glad that there are choices besides dish gloves. My hands always get to hot and sweaty in them. I used vinyl gloves this time and they seemed to work pretty good, but I think that I’ll pick up a box of nitrile gloves and some barrier cream.