Re: [Paddlewise] Nitrile Gloves

Dave Kruger wrote:
> 
> Somebody was looking for a source for nitrile gloves (in lieu of latex) 
> for use with epoxy.  Here is one source:  http://latex-nitrilegloves.com/
> 
> Not endorsing this brand and do not know if their prices are competitive.

> Could not find out where my lab gets them.  (That's a long story.)
> 

The site that Dave refers to above appears to be a wholesaler,
and may not be willing to service the small-scale buyer.

Other sources for puchasing gloves:
http://www.leonardsafety.com/cgi-bin/leonardsafety.storefront
(search the site for hand protection and disposable gloves)
http://www.gloves.com/index.html  

Using a search engine to search for the term "disposable gloves"
or "latex gloves" should result in many hits to choose from.  
One can expect to pay roughly $8-12 (per box of 100) for latex 
gloves, and from $12-20 for nitrile gloves.

But.....
I'm not sure that nitrile gloves are necessary for epoxy work.  

MSDS sheets for both West Systems and System Three
epoxy resins state that rubber gloves are sufficient for hand/skin 
protection (although the West Systems web site does list nitrile 
gloves as one of their products for sale).  

Nitrile gloves may be better than latex gloves for *prolonged* contact, 
but one generally does not contact epoxy resins for prolonged 
periods, so the issue of the *best* chemical/epoxy resistance may
not be of practical importance.   

I use latex gloves exclusively for all my epoxy work, and find that
latex gloves provide better tactile sensitivity than do nitrile gloves, 
as the latex stretches more (but this may be related to the particular 
brand of nitrile gloves that I have used.)  YMMV   

For more info on nitrile vs. latex, see
 http://www.inform.umd.edu/DES/ls/safeskin.html
for a chart on chemical resistance of nitrile vs. latex gloves.
Nitrile is generally preferred over latex when working with 
hydrocarbons (gasoline and related solvents), but does not 
protect better than latex for *all* chemicals.

Erik Sprenne
(also a chemist)

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