You Need to Wear Detailing Gloves

You might not think much of it but when you are car detailing, you NEED TO WEAR GLOVES. It’s not a matter of keeping your skin smooth but rather a matter of overall health.

The fact is that if you have stuff on your hands your body will absorb it in much the same way that your hands absorb moisturizer. The stuff will then make it to your bloodstream. While you might not feel it, your body then needs to filter all that crap out – through your liver, kidneys or whatever. I’m not a doctor but you get the point. This is not good for you.

Right, a couple of times here and there won’t be too bad. But keep in mind you are a car enthusiast. You detail your car often – sometimes weekly, sometimes daily. Chemicals on your hands is a big no-no as the damage will build up over time and can be very bad for you.

For this reason alone you should always wear gloves while handling car detailing products. You can call them detailing gloves if you’d like. Regardless, forget about the need to keep your skin soft. That’s not the whole point of the issue. Your skin is the least of your worries.

To give you a good example, let’s look at the surfing industry and the guys who build surfboards. Many surfboards are glassed using polyester resin. Acetone is used to break down polyester resin. Back in the day surfboard shapers used to glass boards using their bare hands and then clean their hands using acetone. Many of those early shapers ended up with liver problems due to this practice.

Here’s a quote from an article on an Australian surfboard blank website that talks about this…

“Bare hand glassing followed by an acetone wash is an absolute no no. Acetone passes straight through the skin into the blood stream and through the vital organs.” – SOURCE

The strength of car detailing chemicals might not be as much as that of acetone, but the fact still remains that they are chemicals that can be harmful to your body. So why risk it?

Before I detail a car, I put gloves on. I’m not talking about simply the polishing or waxing part of things. I put on gloves before an actual car wash. I wear them all throughout the detailing process until I’m done, out of the garage and eating sandwich. I oftentimes have to swap gloves mid-project if they become too soiled or torn. They’re cheap and my health is more important.

There is really no such thing as detailing gloves per se – They are just nitrile gloves. I stock up on boxes of Harbor Freight Nitrile Gloves. You can use that link to find and order them. I’m not allergic to latex but I still find nitrile gloves to be superior. Additionally, they don’t stink and they tend to be more resistant to different chemicals. The link above is for the 5 Mil variety. I like that they are thin and stretchy which makes them more comfortable. I don’t even feel them anymore. I even use these for wrenching. If you look around they also have a thicker 7 Mil version. I have never tried those but I suppose they’re better for wrenching.

Be sure to buy a couple of boxes. You don’t want to be stingy with them. It’s best to have too many than have too little. Also, I would order one size larger. I’m generally a medium for most sizes, but these gloves run a bit small so I order large.