Skin toxicity of finishes

[Wells Jacobson]

Just wondering how careful everyone is regarding skin contact with the various finish products turners use. Do you use gloves when using mineral spirits, BLO, WOP, Danish oil, walnut oil, lacquer base sanding sealer, friction polish etc. Sometimes gloves are certainly helpful but how careful should one be of skin contact. Most directions say to avoid skin contact but do most turners comply in practice and how obsessive is everyone?
Thanks,
Wells

[Bernie Weishapl]

Wells I use gloves to keep the finish off me and it sure does make cleaning up my hands easy. I bought a case of gloves when my wife worked at the retirement home. I use these gloves with any finish from MS to friction polish.

[Roger Chandler]

I use the blue nitrile gloves.

[Doug Herzberg]

I prefer disposable gloves to cleaning up afterward.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Wells, I work in a hospital and my work requires me to wear gloves when I see patients. What I learned early on is that your skin will absorb most anything. Yes, it's a good barrier but ultimately your skin has breaks and sores which you might not even be aware of. So I wear the gloves I buy at Costco and use them like someone else is buying them. They're cheap enough.

[Sid Matheny]

Depends on what I'm doing with finish and if I think I am going to make a big mess. As for MS, thinners, acetone and such, not unless I know I will have it on my hands for a long time. I sometimes use barrier cream but not as much as I should.

Sid

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I never got enough on me to worry about toxicity but I wear gloves just so I don't have to worry about cleaning it off. As I have gotten older, my skin doesn't like hard scrubbing, solvents etc.

[John Keeton]

I use blue nitrile gloves from Harbor Freight (or wherever I can get them cheap!) for most finishes and dyes, with the exception of BLO and shellac. I usually don't fool with the gloves for those. It is more about cleanup than toxicity for me.

[Richard Allen]

My understanding is that the solvents in most finishes are transdermal. I avoid contact with finish. The gloves are cheap enough (donetheglove.com) and I generally get 3 or 4 uses out of each glove. I know a guy who didn't use gloves for years. He had a hardening of his fingertips. There are 4 kinds of gloves and powder or not powdered.

Vinyl, they don't stretch so the gloves are a bit sloppy but they form a good barrier. These gloves tend to be the cheapest at around $5 per box of 100.

Synthetic, these are sorta between latex and nitrile. More stretch than latex so the gloves can conform to your hands better. Cost at around $5.50 per box of 100

Latex, these are the gloves you see in every doctor's office. They are cheap and form an effective barrier. Prolonged use can cause an allergic reaction. This sort of allergy is very unlikely for a woodturner as we wear the gloves for so little time. Cost at around $6.40 per box of 100

Nitrile, these gloves are often seen as blue gloves though black and green colors are also available. They are slightly more expensive than latex. These gloves have the most stretch and are the most puncture resistant. Cost at around $7 per box of 100

I avoid Vinyl gloves. I use the other gloves with no preference. I avoid powdered gloves as I don't want any powder to contaminate the surface I will be working on. The powder makes the gloves slide on easier.

[Larry Pickering]

A lot of the products we use on a daily basis contain chemicals that can enter the blood stream, in seconds. some can cause cancer, in some cases, even brain damage. when in doubt, ask for a MSDS sheet, or look it up on line, as most manufacturers will post them on their web sites. If you look up the cause of bladder cancer it will say that it is caused by exposure to industrial chemicals, ink, dyes and stains.

[charlie knighton]

+3 on blue nitrile gloves

[Prashun Patel]

Some of the newer solvents (like those in waterborne or VOC compliant finishes) don't have a long enough use history to adequately report safety; the absence of restrictions on many chemicals simply means they haven't been thoroughly enough tested to reveal dangers.

I try to use gloves whenever possible. However - just like my dustmask - in practice that's about 75% of the time...

[Jon McElwain]

I spent about 4 years working at boat shop where we used a lot of epoxy, acetone, lacquer thinner, other solvents, primers, and paints. We worked on fiberglass and wood hull boats up to 70' long. I was pretty caviler about chemicals and my hands. I was really good about not breathing fumes, but there was little concern about getting the stuff on skin. The last year or so at the boat shop, I noticed that my hands would get these weird sores for about a week after exposure - gloves seemed to prevent them. Well, 15 years later, my hands still break out when I open a can of acetone. I now wear gloves around most any finish, and I recommend that others do to. I keep a good supply of quality nitrile gloves "on hand."

[Steve Schlumpf]

I wear gloves when applying any finish or using mineral spirits for cleaning. To be honest, I use them more because it makes it easier for me to clean up than for any health concerns.

[Reed Gray]

I use the nitrile gloves. They will stretch to fit my big paws where other gloves will rip in the thumb/index finger crotch the first time I close my fist, even if I have XL size. With the walnut, I like it on my hands. Softens them up.

robo hippy

[Dan Hines]

I use gloves hit and miss. I know I need to use them more. Is tung oil of concern? Are gloves needed for tung oil or blo?

Dan Hines

[Brian Tymchak]

10? years ago, I refinished all the wood trim in my house prior to selling. I had to use a lot of DNA to take paint drips/splatter off and then I wiped on poly to refresh the finish. Even though I used vinyl gloves, they didn't hold up and I ended up with patches of damaged skin (like an eczema of some sort) on my hands and fingers. My hands will crack (very painful) and bleed at the slightest drying condition, such as washing with bacterial soap. Even just handling bare wood over 2-3 hours will dry my hands too much and I have to put some cream on. I use a lot of Working Hands.. (good stuff!). I still have 4 areas that have not properly healed. So, I know everyone is diifferent, but I would suggest to not only wear gloves, but wear a good nitrile glove. It's not worth the risk of finding out too late that you should have.

[Wells Jacobson]

Thoughtful responses all.
Gloves seem the prudent way to go.
Thank you.
Wells