There Is No On-Size-Fits All Glove

Proper coating & grip is essential in choosing the right polymer-coated glove.

By Tanner Brehmer, Contributor

Familiarizing yourself with the different features and benefits of each polymer helps allow for a more desirable work experience for yourself or your employees.

Our hands are important tools that provide invaluable functions to work through many tasks each day. On construction sites, the job-at-hand can vary immensely from one worker to another. If you were to walk through a construction site and view the hands of workers performing a job, you would notice that there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ glove that is used universally from one person to another. Providing the proper coating and grip is highly important when you are using a polymer-coated glove. There are a wide variety of different polymers utilized on hand protection products; choosing the right one may seem daunting and may raise many questions. Familiarizing yourself with the different features and benefits of each polymer helps allow for a more desirable work experience for yourself or your employees.

When chemical exposure or dealing with a fair amount of liquids is not a concern, it is nice to be able to pick a palm-coated glove for breathability and dexterity benefits. The three common polymers you see on a seamless knit palm-coated glove include Natural Rubber Latex, Nitrile, and Polyurethane. When dealing with chemicals or fair amounts of liquids, you will traditionally choose a fully coated glove made from Natural Rubber Latex, Nitrile, PVC, or Neoprene, leaving Polyurethane out of the equation. The following information will help provide a general overview of different polymer options available for the different tasks being managed.

Different Materials & Their Applications

Natural rubber latex gloves provide an inherently strong grip, especially in dry applications, and are offered in a variety of finishes. Rubber-coated gloves provide great flexibility and puncture resistance due to their highly elastic properties. Rubber also performs well in a wide variety of temperature ranges, which makes it a good choice for low-temperature applications down to -20° Fahrenheit, to higher temperatures around 300° Fahrenheit. Traditionally you will not find a glove coated with rubber in a smooth finish, as it becomes slippery in wet conditions. Commonly you will find embossed or debossed finishes such as diamond, waffle, or fish scale patterns, otherwise you will find rubber in a foam or wrinkle finish. The different finishes create pockets, or channels, for liquids to go into, which allows for a much better grip to be achieved. The main disadvantages of rubber gloves are that they do not always hold up well to petroleum-based organic solvents and they can also cause skin allergies to users.

Nitrile is a synthetic rubber polymer that provides superior strength along with resistance to abrasions, punctures, tears, many chemicals, oils, and fats, which makes it a highly versatile glove coating.  Typically, nitrile coatings are thinner than a rubber coating which allows for increased dexterity and sensitivity which is beneficial while handling small parts, components, fasteners, etc. Nitrile gloves come in many different finish types as well, such as a variety of foam finishes or Mach Finish/sandy finishes.  The multiple finish options provide different levels of wet/oily grip performance with the return of varying abrasion resistance. You could also choose a smooth finish nitrile glove for great abrasion resistance when you do not need wet/oily grip enhancements. A disadvantage of nitrile is that it does not perform well in cold temperatures as it loses its flexibility.

When it comes to chemical resistance, it is always best to consult a glove or chemical expert to ensure you are choosing the proper polymer for the chemical you are dealing with

Polyurethane is a synthetic rubber polymer that provides users with an extremely lightweight and dexterous coating due to the polymer embedding itself into the product’s shell, resulting in a thinner coating with a fair level of abrasion resistance. Users receive a high level of dexterity with this coating, allowing them to manage very small parts, components, fasteners, etc. Polyurethane also offers a cost advantage benefit. The disadvantage to polyurethane is that it does not fare well in wet/oily conditions as it is usually produced in a smooth finish, although it will hold up well to oils, solvents, greases, and gasoline.

The above information passes through from palm-coated gloves to fully-coated gloves made with natural rubber latex and nitrile, however, polyurethane is not usually a good option, nor is it widely available as a fully coated glove. In addition to those two polymers, you will also find PVC and neoprene gloves in fully coated glove options due to their superior chemical and liquid resistance properties.

PVC is an economical synthetic rubber option, due to its low cost, which provides resistance to abrasions, salt solutions, liquids, acids, and petrochemicals. PVC is typically found in a sandpaper finish to provide a good grip in wet/oily conditions. It is common to find these gloves in low-temperature versions due to them retaining great flexibility down to around -10° Fahrenheit for intermittent exposure and -50° Fahrenheit for short-term exposure. PVC does not hold up well in long-term temperatures above 170° Fahrenheit and does not provide the tactile dexterity of rubber or nitrile choices.

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber polymer that provides resistance to a variety of chemicals, petrochemicals, oils, acids, caustics, and UV exposure. Neoprene also holds up well to solvents.  Neoprene was first invented as a replacement for natural rubber latex, it was developed to provide better resistance to water, oils, heat, and solvents. Neoprene can be found in multiple different finishes such as a smooth finish for great dry grip or even embossed and wrinkle finishes to provide better grip in wet/oily conditions. This polymer also can handle well in applications with higher temperatures to around 350° Fahrenheit. Neoprene disadvantages are that the abrasion, puncture, and snag resistance are not as well in contrast to other polymer choices.

The above information provides a general overview of the different polymers and what they have to offer. When it comes to chemical resistance, it is always best to consult a glove or chemical expert to ensure you are choosing the proper polymer for the chemical you are dealing with. CS

Tanner Brehmer is the Contributor Product Development Manager at Global Glove and Safety Manufacturing, Inc. (globalglove.com). GGS offers a full lineup of personal protective equipment ranging from hand and eye protection to safety wear, head protection, ice traction, accessories, and more.