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Old 05-02-2000, 06:30 PM
val
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Caution! Protective Gloves

A word of caution to those opting to wear latex or nitrile gloves. Please choose your protective equipment very carefully for chemical compatibility. In the long run, it's not dirt that hurts. For example, latex is severely degraded by or transparent to the following:
1. Toluene
2. Xylene
3. Turpentine
4. Gasoline
5. Kerosene
6. Lacquer thinner
7. Diesel fuel
8. Methyl Ethyl Ketone
9. Acetone
10. Carbon Tetrachloride

Basically, there are very few petroleum products or useful solvents that can be safely handled using latex gloves. Check the petroleum products warning on a pack of latex condoms if you need some convincing. Reaching for a can of Berryman's? Not with latex gloves. You might as well be soaking your hands in Xylene. If you want to know about a specific chemical or solvent I can probably provide some direction. The best general material for chemical resistance is butyl.
For carb cleaners use nitrile for short exposure <1-1.5 hrs. and Viton for extended use up to 8 hrs.
Close behind the gloves during solvent use should be appropriate respiratory protection. I can probably give you some guidance there if you need it as well.
There are very few materials that provide substantial protection against everything. The gloves don't have to get eaten away for harm to be done. Some materials are so permeable to certain vapors that you might as well be wearing nothing at all. On your hands, that is.

People die from brief exposures to some very common solvent vapors, so don't imagine that it being sold on the Pep Boys shelf implies any degree of safety or harmlessness.
Now if you are cleaning out the intake manifold and want to get absolutely stoned to the bejesus until Hendrix arrives in person to provide the mental soundtrack while you work, then by all means skip the respirator. Chances are you aren't smart enough to notice the missing brain cells, and nobody else will miss them either since they must already know that you won't be getting into Mensa anytime soon.

val
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