For harsh chemicals and hot work, like polishing stainless parts or welding. The polishing is a loaded statement though. you need to really pick your spots when gloved and polishing on a buffing wheel. The wheel can grab the glove, and as nice as I am to my personal tools they still have no fuckin remorse or conscience! It's a common sense thing, just stop and look at what you're doing. Worked with a guy that thought he was a surgeon. Wouldn't do anything without rubber gloves. Might explain why he couldn't feel the flaws in his finishing?
I don't at home, do at work (it is a Blast Furnace afterall) but I think I am ready to try some at home. After cuts, scraps, and stains destroying my hands for the past month, it can't hurt to try. Besides my hands are cracked and chapped from so much scrubbing. For those that are against gloves try Corn Huskers Lotion. A good coat of this stuff before you start really helps the clean up/ bleeding hands!
I havent heard of cancer of the hands,but I just lost a lifelong friend last month to Leukemia(sp?).He was a long time mechanic,machinist and car guy like us.The Doctor at the cancer center said there is a definate link to solvent and chemical exposure and Leukemia.No matter how tough or traditional you are,you still absorb these things through your skin.Yes as I stated earlier,I do wear gloves whenever possible. By the way my friend passed away less than 3 weeks after he was diagnosed.
The Jalopy Journal
