Disposable gloves  

RE: Disposable gloves

It depends on what you are using them for.  Protection against COVID or chemical and they should be replaced after each use.  

RE: Disposable gloves

Thanks for replying Charles

Well, this is chemical, but it seems to me we can re-use disposable gloves used for handling UV cured resins, provided we cure the resin on the disposable gloves.

Agree?

Is there a good reason why not?

RE: Disposable gloves

In an industrial environment PPE gloves are almost always considered single use.  The intent is to protect your skin from contact with hazardous chemicals or biologicals and resins are usually considered to be hazardous.  I'd check with Prusa or your resin supplier to see if PVC gloves are acceptable for use - nitrile might be a better choice and those are available just about anywhere in the US.  

RE: Disposable gloves

I don't accept the proposition that because everybody else does it that way, that that is the best way to do it. I have worked in corporate environments long enough to know how dysfunctional they are.

A big reason for an industrial environment to specify that PPE gloves shall be single use is for elimination of risk, and I understand that. However, I propose that we engage with risk, not avoid it. We should perform a risk analysis if necessary. So, here I am collecting information. Is there a good reason, not to cure any resin on what would normally be single use gloves, and re-use them?

RE: Disposable gloves

Posted by: @mbarr

[...] Is there a good reason, not to cure any resin on what would normally be single use gloves, and re-use them?

Yes. Liability. Unless you can guarantee that all irritants are prevented from skin contact and that the glove is intact, no manufacturer is going to say it's OK. That's a very good reason not to recommend the practice.

As an individual, you can do whatever you want. Smoke, drive without a seatbelt, tear tags off mattresses. Just don't expect to see a corporation recommending it. Lots of people reuse single use items. If you feel you can do so safely, go for it.

RE: Disposable gloves

@mbarr

Have you worked in an industrial or research environment?  Not many, aside from janitorial folks, need much use of PPE in corporate environments.

I've worked in both industrial and research environments with exposure to biological organisms and hazardous chemicals and have learned that there is often a very good reason for PPE, sometimes the hard way.

The cost of gloves is low enough that it seems silly to try and re-use them, but if you feel differently, no one will try to prevent you from doing whatever you want.  Good luck with it.

RE: Disposable gloves

Great. Thank you for your feedback.

This is what I am looking for 🙂

RE: Disposable gloves

Types of gloves you can refer to protect your hands from harmful chemicals. Nitrile gloves: among the toughest products that resist infectious solutions and toxic chemicals. Neoprene gloves: ideal options for mild corrosive chemicals and materials. They resist the intrusion of oils and solvents. Rubber gloves: effective protective wear that withstands mild corrosive chemicals and materials.

RE:

First of all, I would use nitrile gloves with good rating against isopropanol. I found that pretty good and relatively fairly priced gloves are Semperguard Xpert, which you can also get as a private customer from a few shops (eg. www.hygi.de)

Secondly, I do indeed reuse them but it depends. If any tearing or cracking appears anywhere they go immediately into the bin (after curing of course). When I need to mess around in contaminated isopropanol I discard them afterwards too. If however I don't get them very dirty or have just some small spills of resin, then I cure them and reuse them. (be very careful when curing resins while you are still wearing the gloves, resin can get very hot when being cured, you can burn yourself even through the glove). If you reuse them however, the tricky part is to remove them and put them on correctly. That is, without touching the outside, beyond the seam, with your bare hands. If that is too much of a hassle or too tricky, I would just use them as the single-use gloves they are intended to be. 

Another strategy is to have an extra set of gloves which are only used when touching anything that is inside the working area but without risk of significant resin exposure (operating touch screen, handling dirty but dry stuff etc) and then use gloves for the messy stuff which you dispose every time after use. That also cuts down on glove consumption while still using them as intended when it matters. 

PS: Another important rule is, don't touch anything in your workig area without gloves and don't touch anything outside of your working area with contaminated gloves. 

PPS: While we are at it. Wear proper certified UV protection glasses when working with any sort of UV light. Not the Chinese trash, proper ones. A pair of UVEX UV-protection glasses (or equavilent respected brand with certification)  don't break the bank.

RE: Disposable gloves

Isopropyl alcohol in hobby use is not harmful, but it might cause rashes.  It would take hours of topical exposure to have a significant effect outside of a rash.  

Posted by: @thejiral

First of all, I would use nitrile gloves with good rating against isopropanol. I found that pretty good and relatively fairly priced gloves are Semperguard Xpert, which you can also get as a private customer from a few shops (eg. www.hygi.de)

Secondly, I do indeed reuse them but it depends. If any tearing or cracking appears anywhere they go immediately into the bin (after curing of course). When I need to mess around in contaminated isopropanol I discard them afterwards too. If however I don't get them very dirty or have just some small spills of resin, then I cure them and reuse them. (be very careful when curing resins while you are still wearing the gloves, resin can get very hot when being cured, you can burn yourself even through the glove). If you reuse them however, the tricky part is to remove them and put them on correctly. That is, without touching the outside, beyond the seam, with your bare hands. If that is too much of a hassle or too tricky, I would just use them as the single-use gloves they are intended to be. 

Another strategy is to have an extra set of gloves which are only used when touching anything that is inside the working area but without risk of significant resin exposure (operating touch screen, handling dirty but dry stuff etc) and then use gloves for the messy stuff which you dispose every time after use. That also cuts down on glove consumption while still using them as intended when it matters. 

PS: Another important rule is, don't touch anything in your workig area without gloves and don't touch anything outside of your working area with contaminated gloves. 

PPS: While we are at it. Wear proper certified UV protection glasses when working with any sort of UV light. Not the Chinese trash, proper ones. A pair of UVEX UV-protection glasses (or equavilent respected brand with certification)  don't break the bank.

RE:

I am not worried about the IPA itself, the issue is, like with any organic solvent, that it can not only penetrate a lot of materials, given enough time, but also can carry other substances with it, which are soluble in organic solvents. It is the latter which are an issue. That is why IPA and resin combined are a bigger issue than the sum of their individual risks.

Nothing to be terribly worried about though as long as one takes the necessary precautions. Get good gloves, use them properly and IPA (and everything it carries with it) will take longer to get through than it takes to work in the working area.