(credit: Gougeon Brothers Inc. | Proto INSA Club)

Disposable Gloves

Don’t overlook the importance of this humble piece of PPE.

Kicking off this month, we are delighted to present selected articles from Gougeon Brothers, Inc. excellent in-house publication Epoxyworks. We afford ourselves the luxury of a printed edition, which is cause for celebration every time it lands on our doorstep. See Resources for how you, too, can subscribe which we highly recommend. Heartfelt thanks to Logan Gougeon for her tireless efforts in setting this up.— Ed.

Most epoxy systems can cause skin irritation or allergic skin reactions. Hardeners can be particularly severe skin irritants and sometimes can even be moderately corrosive to skin tissue. Consequently, you should always protect your skin from epoxy with protective clothing and gloves.

Disposable gloves are the most convenient and economical hand protection for use with epoxy, but they do have limitations. One challenge is finding the right disposable glove that will stand up to the chemicals in both the resin (Part-A) and the hardener (Part-B). Both resins and hardeners have components that attack glove materials differently and at different rates.

Your typical 4–6 mil thick disposable nitrile, neoprene, butyl rubber, natural rubber, or latex glove can withstand up to 30 minutes of working with epoxy before it degrades. When the gloves begin to degrade, epoxy chemicals can permeate the membrane and reach your skin. For longer jobs, replace used gloves with a new set before the 30-minute mark. These types of gloves offer the suggested protection for general epoxy use, based on tests and data provided by chemical and glove manufacturers. WEST SYSTEM® offers a neoprene 4-mil disposable glove, part numbers 832–4 and 832–50, that works well for these quick jobs. Other disposable glove materials, such as vinyl and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), degrade faster when exposed to epoxy and allow chemical breakthrough to occur quickly.

In addition to material, breakthrough rates are determined by the thickness of the glove. The thicker the glove, the longer it will take for breakthrough to occur. Keep in mind that breakthrough and degradation can occur with the recommended glove materials, but it will take longer to occur. To date, there is no ‘all-purpose’ disposable glove that will withstand exposure to a wide range of chemicals, be durable enough to last a long time, and still be thin enough to provide the desired dexterity.

By knowing what to look for in proper hand protection, and using these guidelines to wearing gloves effectively, you will be able to work safely with epoxy.

Guidelines

The following can be used to provide the best hand protection while using disposable gloves:

1. Use a protective barrier cream underneath the disposable glove to provide secondary protection in case a glove should tear or puncture. You should not depend on the barrier cream to provide primary hand protection by itself.
2. Double layer your disposable gloves. This will ensure you always have an uncontaminated pair underneath. Periodically (every 20–30 mins.) replace the top glove before it degrades or gets damaged. You can use cotton liners under liquid-proof gloves to absorb sweat and add comfort.
3. Replace gloves carefully. Carelessly removing and re-donning gloves can cause additional, unnecessary epoxy exposure. The most common technique is to peel the gloves off inside out, one at a time, being careful not to contact the wrist area with a contaminated glove.
4. Dexterity & Sensitivity. Disposable gloves are favorable for projects where dexterity and fingertip sensitivity are necessary. Conversely, for longer projects, where gloves may be immersed for an extended period of time, and where dexterity is not as crucial, a thicker glove may be the right choice. This is especially true if you can’t change your gloves frequently.
5. Try Different Materials. It is well known that materials used in manufacturing latex gloves can cause allergic reactions in certain individuals. If this affects you, try using a nitrile, neoprene, butyl rubber, or natural rubber disposable glove instead.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, you can add it to the Responses section below (click the 💬 below) and contact information can also be found in the Resources section that follows.

©2023 Gougeon Brothers Inc.

Resources

• Epoxyworks — The excellent quarterly magazine published by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. of Bay City, Michigan which produces the WEST SYSTEM® and PRO-SET® lines of epoxies. You can sign up for yoru own free subscription with this link.
• Disposable Gloves — This article as it originally appeared in Epoxyworks magazine.
• WEST SYSTEM® and PRO-SET® — While these likely need no introduction to RCSD readers, these are “marine-grade epoxies used around the world in the commercial, marine, aerospace and industrial composite markets.”

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