Gloves?

[musiclikscreams]

I'm full of questions today...
So when I build my fingers/hands get dried out and peel horribly leaving em nice and raw and tender. Is there any certain type of glove that's suitable for electronics? Or can I just pick up and box of latex or nitrile gloves?

[chi_boy]

What part of he process irritates your skin that much?  Are you getting fiberglass dust or chemicals on your hands?

[mistahead]

I used to get the odd spot of blistering/peeling when I'd drink beer while soldering.

Occasionally I'd pickup the soldering iron like a pencil...

[pinkjimiphoton]

guilty. 

the worst one for me was after i broke my back... not a lot of feeling in my right foot.

drinking some beers, breaking stuff in my studio about 15 years ago. soldering iron plugged in.

not paying attention, my wife calls me, i stand up and step on the damned thing.

now, since there's no feeling, i didn't realize this. until i smelled something really nasty.

burned in about a half inch into the bottom of my foot. cauterized it. once i SAW it, then it REALLY hurt..

testification.

soldering can be dangerous.

sorry for the hijack... i won't divert this to havana again.

i would avoid any kind of rubber or whatever for gloves... they'll make your hands sweat and break out even more.

what is it that agravates your skin? i seem to remember seeing some kinda stuff you put on like gloves, that just peels off when you're done.... but seriously, if you're having that kind of reaction, you need some kind of glove... just make sure you wash your hands when done, and maybe use some kind of lotion to soothe your skin.

good luck man!!!!

[mistahead]

Yeah my smartarse comment probably doesn't help...

When you say "build" are you referring to sanding, etching, soldering?

I've got this entirely wrong image of a man reaching into an old toaster oven after taking a deep breath and muttering "I hate this part...", only to produce baked enamel enclosures in his blistered hands...

[CodeMonk]

I wear nitrile gloves, but only during the etching process.
If you find yourself cleaning flux off of you hands with alcohol or whatever, use a little hand cream afterwards.
Normally, after soldering a bunch, I just wash with soap and water, to get whatever solder residue may be leftover on my hands.
Which you should ALWAYS do after soldering.

And anytime you use acetone, you should always wear gloves.
Acetone gets absorbed into to skin and can build up over time (keep in mind this would really only be a problem is you are practically bathing in it).
At least so I have heard (I did a lot of work in the electronics industry in Southern Cal. in the 80's).

And if you have dry skin, don't buy the powdered type gloves. They have powder inside them, makes them easier to put on, but as for myself, they dry out my hands.

[alanp]

Nitrile'd probably work. They usually have good grip. Not sure you'd be able to pick up fine objects, but you should be okay mostly, with tweezers for the small componentry like small ceramic caps. I use them from time to time at work, since the cardboard boxes I handle all day dry my hands to cracking and bleeding sometimes. (I also have some Avon hand cream, but hate how my hands feel greasy after I use it.)

[~arph]

vaseline

[deadastronaut]

oven gloves and a balaclava...

[musiclikscreams]

It's after the whole soldering process that they start peeling. I'm a kitchen manager so I'm pretty used to wearing gloves

[deadastronaut]

strange....i have an allergic reaction to belt buckles...my skin breaks and itches like ....i have to wrap gaffa tape around my belt buckles to stop it touching my skin.

maybe you are having a similar reaction to solder....

[davent]

And anytime you use acetone, you should always wear gloves.
Acetone gets absorbed into to skin and can build up over time (keep in mind this would really only be a problem is you are practically bathing in it).
At least so I have heard (I did a lot of work in the electronics industry in Southern Cal. in the 80's).

Isn't acetone the active ingedient in nailpolish remover?

dave

[CodeMonk]

And anytime you use acetone, you should always wear gloves.
Acetone gets absorbed into to skin and can build up over time (keep in mind this would really only be a problem is you are practically bathing in it).
At least so I have heard (I did a lot of work in the electronics industry in Southern Cal. in the 80's).

Isn't acetone the active ingedient in nailpolish remover?

dave

Yup.
But its pretty diluted. Some of it anyway.
Some stuff my mom had was something like 40%.
But the bit about it building up is just something i heard back in the 80's. Never bothered to verify it or not.

Just looked it up a bit:
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone.html

A bit of a nasty chemical anyway.

I've worked around some nasty chemicals and stuff in the past, so I usually take the cautious route when handling chemicals.

[R.G.]

I've been around people working with all phases of electronics including hand soldering since about 1970. This is the first time I've heard something like this. I suspect that you have, as noted, a personal sensitivity to one of the chemicals involved.

The gloves are a good idea unless you can isolate what you're sensitive to. That would be a good idea anyway, as there is always the possibility that you might run into that chemical some other way, and worse maybe in an air-dispersed mist. Bad.

Take your pick with latex or nitrile. I prefer nitrile for it being tougher. Barrier creams are out, as is vaseline, etc. because there are lots of cases where you don't want to get oils, etc. on surfaces.

[musiclikscreams]

i'm really sensitive to metals.  belt buckles give me rashes.  my fingers turn bright red and peel and sometimes blister when i play acoustic.  i think i'll pick up a box of nitrile gloves this week.  i'm building with a friend this weekend so i'll let you know how it turns out

[R.G.]

I don't know if you have a Harbor Freight near where you live. If you do, they regularly sell boxes of non-sterile nitrile gloves at very reasonable prices. Last time I checked, a box of 100 was about $7.00. There are probably other places as well.

[CodeMonk]

Box of 100 nitrile is about $10 at walmart.
Box of 50 around $6.

[musiclikscreams]

I don't know if you have a Harbor Freight near where you live. If you do, they regularly sell boxes of non-sterile nitrile gloves at very reasonable prices. Last time I checked, a box of 100 was about $7.00. There are probably other places as well.

i've got one like 2 miles from my place.  thats where i was planning on goin. thanks!

[pappasmurfsharem]

i'm really sensitive to metals.  belt buckles give me rashes.  my fingers turn bright red and peel and sometimes blister when i play acoustic.  i think i'll pick up a box of nitrile gloves this week.  i'm building with a friend this weekend so i'll let you know how it turns out

That is beyond sensitive, have you tried Elixer acoustic strings? at least you could play without touching the metal until the polyweb coating wore off and by that time you would want new strings anyway.

Elixer Phosphor Bronze are my goto strings really any phosphor bronze.

[pinkjimiphoton]

i get a weird allergic reaction to some brands of strings, seems to depend on the nickel content... makes me get like almost microscopic blisters and then skin peeling. now i use the cheapest strings i can find, and haven't had the problem.

definitely wash and dry your hands, and get some kind of cream or something on there.  first and foremost, we're musicians and we've gotta protect our hands.

chris, you're not allergic to latex, are you? if you try gloves and get itchy or wheezy or anything, get 'em off, wash your hands and take some diphenhydramine (benadryl). then talk to your doctor. seems more and more people have "sensitivities" to latex products.

wondering if it's actually the flux in the solder.... can you use a small computer fan or something to make sure you draw the smoke away as you work? pretty sure the smoke when flux ignites is pretty toxic and acidic. i know flux itself has warnings on it.

wishing you the best bud. rock on!!