Which Reusable Rubber Gloves For Reloading?

Otto said:

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As a farm boy I know what thems for............

I tried rubber gloves for all of a minute or two. Maybe less.

I do use nitrile gloves when reloading, as much to keep stuff off me as to keep my fingerprints off stuff. I have seen fingerprints in brass like others here.

Cotton gloves might work, if they fit snug and provide enough grip. I'm thinking of the ones museum curator's might wear.

chris

peels said:

I use Costco disposable nitrile gloves when reloading. I do try to reuse them if they are not torn or too soiled. I would imagine thicker reusable rubber gloves would be too cumbersome for picking up and placing components...but admittedly I have not tried.

As for using gloves...necessary? Perhaps not. But it's my preference...I'm sure we all have our own preferences for the many aspects in this great hobby.

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Well, a few things that probably don't occur to most folks - static cling/electricity, lead/metals/chemical sensitivity (it can cause skin lesions and eczema) and acid etching. For them it's probably a lot more necessary than optional. Some folks just naturally have a lot of problems with static cling and when you're working with flake powders in a dry climate or cold-and-dry air conditioned spaces, that can be a real problem. Other folks get skin problems, mostly eczema (atopic dermatitis) after handling lead or brass for a while. Brass polish can cause problems for people sensitive to lanolin and other chemicals used to polish metals. Cracking, bleeding skin is not "just" uncomfortable so gloves are a real good idea. As for the latter, acid etching, a few people have already posted they get that and it is "unsightly." I haven't met as many people with such highly acidic skin oils as with metals sensitivity but it isn't all that rare, either. In college I had a lab partner in electrical who had acidic sweat and tended to etch metals. I had high static discharge because of dry skin problems. Put together and circuits class was a real trip. I'd alter the charges on caps and diodes and he'd short-kill circuits.

For me, since I work in health care, I get all the nitrite gloves I want for "free" (to me) and use them when I have static cling problems or when handling a lot of exposed lead. Otherwise, I go bare handed.

I too am in the "no gloves camp". The last 25 years of my working life I worked on heavy construction equipment as an Auto Electrician and did some regular mechanic work. That was 11 years ago and my hands finally look clean, and scars and callouses are gone. I prefer to feel what I'm working with (I can now pick up a small pistol primer fairly easily, but I still fumble 22 cal air gun pellets). For me it's a safety measure too; many reloading and casting operations need a good tactile connection between me and the tool. None of the chemicals or metals I use will kill me quickly, or even make me sick with normal use, I don't chew on a freshly cast bullet when I'm casting and I don't soak my hands in acetone. My first stop when I go in the house is the sink where I wash my hands with dawn...

Medical supply stores will have the nitrile gloves in various sizes.
Most of the time Home Depot etc, only have large.
Getting the right size is important if you are dealing with small items.

I go with whatever Nitrile glove I can find: Costco, Harbor Freight, Amazon.com Prefer the Costco gloves. Find that I can hold onto small pieces more securely than without them.

Acetone is the outlier, butyl rubber recommended in the SDS... Yes, I've handled many nasty things bare handed over the years too - back when I was young and bulletproof. Now I wear the PPE... Have learned a few things over the years and trying to minimize the toxicity load on what's left.

If you use gloves get the single use mechanics gloves at an auto parts store. Way thicker than the cheap blue ones.

bluetopper said:

I grew up drinking out of the water hose too.

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That explains a lot

Seriously, last Summer, my good-for-nothing teens were in their usual lounge position by pool and I pulled the hose that was filling the pool and took a long drink. They actually moved. And spoke. To me. And were seemingly alarmed.

DocRock said:

That explains a lot

Seriously, last Summer, my good-for-nothing teens were in their usual lounge position by pool and I pulled the hose that was filling the pool and took a long drink. They actually moved. And spoke. To me. And were seemingly alarmed.

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Well, back in the day, those hoses were US made of top grade rubber as your standard everyday hose. Now, the current batch of Chinese ones are made with who-knows-what types of plastics and chemicals.....................

As to gloves, I do not use them reloading - I DO use them when cleaning my guns to prevent the solvent from getting on my hands (raise your hand if you ever used gas or ZEP to clean your hands though). I started that procedure when I was still using contacts as I did not want to chance those chemicals getting in my eyes or on my lenses and possibly causing injury or blindness

reloading - none

smelting lead or casting bullets - heavy welding gloves

powder coating ( shake n bake ) bullets - nirtile gloves

cleaning guns - nirtile gloves

.

memtb said:

Being completely honest, and having worked with some fairly toxic materials most of my adult life......I’ve never worn gloves nor have even thought about it when reloading.

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I once worked for a company where everybody had a bottle of MEK on their tool box to use to clean parts after machining. We washed our hands in it if they were covered in cutting oils. Nobody wore gloves as gloves are a bad thing in a machine shop. We were all sort of surprised that OSHA declared MEK toxic and the company took it all away. 30 years later my liver stills works as it is supposed to, and if it does fail it will be because of alcohol and not MEK.

My paternal grandfather was drafted at 30 years of age in 1918, and went to France where he caught a piece of shrapnel in his butt in the Argonne Forest. He survived the Spanish Flu Pandemic while in hospital. He came home where he was a Steam Fitter until he retired at 65 working with tons of asbestos and molten lead. He smoked Chesterfields, drank like a fish and lived to 92. I'm not going to worry about it.

Sometimes I wear those Latex gloves while cleaning rifles, sometimes I don't.....

eb in oregon said:

I once worked for a company where everybody had a bottle of MEK on their tool box to use to clean parts after machining. We washed our hands in it if they were covered in cutting oils. Nobody wore gloves as gloves are a bad thing in a machine shop. We were all sort of surprised that OSHA declared MEK toxic and the company took it all away. 30 years later my liver stills works as it is supposed to, and if it does fail it will be because of alcohol and not MEK.

My paternal grandfather was drafted at 30 years of age in 1918, and went to France where he caught a piece of shrapnel in his butt in the Argonne Forest. He survived the Spanish Flu Pandemic while in hospital. He came home where he was a Steam Fitter until he retired at 65 working with tons of asbestos and molten lead. He smoked Chesterfields, drank like a fish and lived to 92. I'm not going to worry about it.

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Me too. MEK, carbon-tet and acetone were the only cleaning products around in the shops I worked. Then again, I have had two tumors removed, my liver's shot - more from booze than MEK but, who's counting? - and I had to quit smoking after a couple of heart attacks and four stents. Life's already too short to also be boring.

George P said:

Well, back in the day, those hoses were US made of top grade rubber as your standard everyday hose. Now, the current batch of Chinese ones are made with who-knows-what types of plastics and chemicals.....................

As to gloves, I do not use them reloading - I DO use them when cleaning my guns to prevent the solvent from getting on my hands (raise your hand if you ever used gas or ZEP to clean your hands though). I started that procedure when I was still using contacts as I did not want to chance those chemicals getting in my eyes or on my lenses and possibly causing injury or blindness

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Back in the day I used brake parts cleaner to clean my hands after working on the car.
Now, I wear nitrile gloves most times when working on the car and cleanup is a breeze.
I also wear nitrile when loading and processing brass. Nitrile works great for gripping cases when trimming and deburring cases and I find them sensitive enough for working with components. These are nitrile medical gloves, 3.5 mil. I get several uses before I puncture them or rip them while taking them off. Hard to argue with.

I still use Hoppe's #9 for cologne, though.

PS -- Size is hard to gauge. L in one brand is more M in the next brand. My current brand (MedPride) L, the fingers are too long, but, otherwise, the size is fine. McKesson's L is too tight on my hand. Go figure.

I tried both Latex & Nitrile gloves, that I had on-hand for other purposes, long ago and determined that they would not work for me in my reloading.

Before I start a session I wash my hands thoroughly with "soap" to remove excess oils from my skin.

After the reloading session I thoroughly wash my hands with GOJO (pumice & orange oil do a WONDERFUL cleaning job) and follow-up with a regular "soap" wash.

None. I just wash my hands. I also keep a lead split shot or two in my cheek when trout fishing with no ill effects. I wonder when gloves will be the new mandate for scratching and wiping your butt. If so I'll keep all the used ones and send them in for recycling to the politicians who know best.

No gloves here, either.

Soap and water afterwards.

I wear a dust mask when separating brass from walnut media.
Nitrile gloves when dumping the black tank of my travel trailer.

Now that you got a million replies about your exact question, have you considered thin cotton gloves. They keep your fingers from turning black and keep your finger prints off the case. I hate rubber gloves making my hands sweat.

splattergun said:

I wear a dust mask when separating brass from walnut media.

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Yep I use the mask then too....there has to be some nasty stuff in that walnut media.

Scooter22 said:

None. I just wash my hands. I also keep a lead split shot or two in my cheek when trout fishing with no ill effects. I wonder when gloves will be the new mandate for scratching and wiping your butt. If so I'll keep all the used ones and send them in for recycling to the politicians who know best.

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I saw the split shot thing, and then I knew the rest of your post was going to be just as foolish.

Why? Reload and wash hands.
This society is afraid of its own shadow.
All that latex going to landfill.
Get yellow dish washing gloves.
Sheesh

You can swallow lead and mercury just fine. You can have lead shot or bullet in body with no ill effects from lead.
Do you wear latex gloves shooting? That is where you get exposed to dangerous forms of lead in the air.
Yet, there is no lead poisoning, no body Ill after thousands of rounds fired per week
Wash hands
Don't smoke at bench
Don't eat at bench
Don't drink at bench
Don't pick nose at bench
Don't rub eyes at bench
After shooting, wash hands and face and blow your nose.
You won't generally get I'll if you don't, but it is still best
Also, young children are the ones who should worry about lead exposure, not adults.
Just think, are antigunners claiming shooters are dying of lead poisoning so we need to ban guns? Were soldiers dying of lead poisoning from battles and lousy hygiene? Were people dying of lead poisoning from handling round lead balls, back when most washed once a week and bathed maybe once a year?
IPhone won't let me type ill and converts it to I'll. Even if I make it accept ill it will convert if I hit space. Stupid programmers.