Rubber Gloves Necessary when Cleaning?

[carnaby]

I've been using nitrile gloves for cleaning because I don't think all those chemicals are good to come into contact with. Is this reasonable, or should I bathe in Hoppes and Shooter's Choice before bed on a regular basis?

 

[Chawbaccer]

You are being smart. I was once cavalier about it but I have known too many men who worked with solvents and they developed cancer. I always wear the nitrile gloves myself now.

 

[rcmodel]

I never worried about it for most of my 65 years, and I still don't.

I am of the opinion that folks my age are much more likely to die of cancer caused by the Strontium-90 in their milk (from above-ground nuclear tests in the 50's) then from Hoppes #9!

rc

 

[matrem]

I don't think all those chemicals are good to come into contact with.

Not sure that they're all "gonna do you in",but my bet is..none of them will help you either!
Gloves are cheap.

 

[INSULATION TIM]

I've become a blue nitile throw away glove guy myself.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Well it wouldn't hurt to wear gloves after all most gun solvents and oils cause cancer in California.

 

[Jim K]

According to Sen Feinstein, just being around a gun causes cancer, so she is only for banning a health risk.

Seriously, I don't worry about ordinary cleaning solvents and oils, but I do wear gloves when handling lead bullets and bluing compounds.

Jim

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

They can't hurt, nor can safety glasses, nor a respirator mask if you cannot ventilate your work area adequately. Harsh chemicals can be quite unpleasant to get on your skin or in your eyes. Gunscrubber is especially fun.

 

[wep45]

dont inhale or touch the chemicals

 

[Nugilum]

uh oh...

Uhh, sniffing Hoppe's #9 is bad for you?

 

[Devilfrog]

Someone once told me, "Hang a poster of an ugly girl on the wall above your work bench, when she starts looking good its time to get away from the Hoppes"

 

[CZguy]

Someone once told me, "Hang a poster of an ugly girl on the wall above your work bench, when she starts looking good its time to get away from the Hoppes"

Sadly, for some of us it's too late. It must be the life time of Hoppes that I've soaked up, but I thought that girl was good looking to start with.

 

[wyocarp]

Are you a professional cleaner? How much cleaning do you do? For the average guy just cleaning or wiping down a gun every once in a while, why bother? Do you know of anyone that has gotten out of this life alive? Lately?

 

[Myles]

I wear gloves to protect my firearms, not to protect my hands.

I am picky about leaving skin oils on the internals of a disassembled weapon.

 

[jcwit]

In my 65 years of cleaning firearms, cleaning and fixing engines, being around household chemicals and lawn & garden chemicals, I'm MUCH more worried about the idiot I meet on the road going to the range.

Wearing gloves won't hurt neither will a full hazmet suit.

 

[Howard Roark]

MSDS sheets are our friends.

 

[beatcop]

Some folks smoke their whole lives, while others develop cancer or end up dragging an o2 bottle around.

Why tempt fate, if it makes you happy go for it.

Have you read the ingredients on nail polish remover? Toluene, etc. Woman may have a higher risk than we do!

 

[carnaby]

Toluene is evil stuff.

As a kid I remember cleaning my uncle's dirt bike carburator in gasoline, and then later that day after a couple hours of riding my fingers swelled up like sausages. Very painful. AFIK, those chemical go right through your skin. Gloves are very cheap, go on in two seconds, and then my hands don't reek like gun cleaner when I go to man-handle the woman. She appreciates that too (the lack of gun solvents, not the man-handling... well...

 

[CZguy]

She appreciates that too (the lack of gun solvents, not the man-handling... well...

For me the key to a happy marriage was finding a woman who liked the smell of Hoppes.

 

[czrami9]

I will put it this way. I am a chemist who uses toluene, hexanes, acetone (boy I LOVE THAT SMELL), and all the other solvents every single day. I wear safety glasses, gloves, and work in a fume hood. I'd suggest gloves and not directly inhaling at a minimum. Make sure your gloves are the good stuff, though, toluene and hexane eat right through latex.

 

[yourotherleft]

I really do recommend chemical-resistant throw away gloves. I think I got them at Walmart. They're pretty thin. It will affect your finger dexterity somewhat, but I get use to it now. I use Shooter's quick degreaser that seems to peel skin the very next day.

 

[krs]

Looking back over the years and the people I've known it seems to me that it's been the ones who worry most about their health are the ones who have gotten sick and died.

One of my uncles was a mechanic. He smoked, and he drank himself to blackouts most of his 93 years.

He'd cut down on his drinking the last ten years or so and pretty much confined himself to walking into town avery few weeks to get drunk. He'd stay in town a few days on a bender but would always walk home within a week.

He was on his way home from a bender in town when he got hit by a truck in the middle of the night and it killed him. My aunt said she'd always thought he had bad genes.

 

[sohcgt2]

I doubt if the amount of chemical you would contact in the course of normal cleaning would be harmfull. I think I'll qualify that, the reason I own guns that need to be cleaned is I believe its better to be safe than sorry, I also wear nitrile gloves while cleaning.

 

[proplinker]

Call up Bore -Tech they have "safe" cleaners. ask for Bob or Jessey # 215-997-9689