I’m doing maintenance for my scale modeling.
Think of taking inventory, resupply and repair stuff if it’s broken or needs maintenance that kind of stuff.
My gloves are all used up, I want to know which gloves I need to purchase.
I have had a number of gloves during my airbrushing career with model making.
And most of them were not very pleasing to me.
Since there were examples of gloves probably broken by the Tamiya airbrush cleaner I’ve been using.
I now have other airbrush cleaner as shown in a previous post I posted today.
But I still think it is a good idea to wear good gloves.
If only to keep my hands clean.
And I never know when I also need to protect my hands from other chemicals that might not be that good for my skin.
So I’m wondering, which gloves to get.
Do you also have tips so I can do with gloves for a longer period of time?
Nitrile gloves offer the best overall chemical resistance, useful for protecting against paints and most solvents, except Acetone, which will degrade both Nitrile and Vinyl quickly. Vinyl gloves may be cheaper, but nitrile gloves perform better and last longer due to superior strength and chemical resistance.
It’s going to be durability VS tactile sense.
To me minimal texture is good to prevent the gloves from becoming slippery yet not knobby like off-road tires.
Also, you want a snug fit without being so tight as to cause discomfort or fatigue.
This guy tests all sorts of stuff. Maybe it will help you decide?
Nitrile! Mine are blue and come in a pack with 100. I usually wear only one, on my left hand that I use for holding things. Avoiding paint on my skin and avoiding grease/oils from my skin on the model, a double-win!
Also, when taking the glove off, I wring back the fingers of it inside it (it turns inside out when pulling it off) and inflate it like a balloon temporarily to let it get back into it’s original shape so I can actually re-use it a few times, double-win again for wallet and environment
I get contact dermatitis from any err rubber-like gloves, & plain latex are the worst, so I put a square of tissue down the back of my hand to protect it from the blue nitrile gloves I use, & go one size bigger, I prefer a little looseness.
I also use nitrile gloves for airbrush and sculpting work. A given glove may tear immediately or last through a dozen sessions. I prefer somewhat over sized gloves because they slide on and off more easily and tear less often. The sculpting work I do is very fine and loss of tactile feeling is not an issue.
Latex gloves have a lot of inherent grip which makes putting them and manipulating parts more difficult.
I use Costco nitrile gloves…400 count per box…cheap enough. Two 200 count boxes per package.
They were rare finds during the pandemic, but now they have been restocked in most Costco stores and online.
Most guys go for the medium or large sizes.
The Costco gloves are thick enough to prevent dirt, paint, and grime (and superglue!) and yet thin enough for delicate craft work. For years, I always wear gloves when I paint and build models because I don’t want to superglue my fingers together. When they tear, just get another one.
Best of all, they are light gray so one can see the dirt on them unlike black. Too dirty…just throw them away.
I would not recommend them for weeding as they’re too thin and rip easily…one has to wear 3-4 layers to pull weeds…or buy thicker gloves.
Amazon and eBay sell them for a higher (for profit) price from third-party sellers if you don’t have a Costco membership card.
