Why are Nitrile gloves so important? Won’t other gloves work?

The answer lies in knowing what you are trying to accomplish. If your only goal is to keep the glass clean, (to avoid contamination from your hands) then any hand covering could work.

Some have posted their own solutions -- latex gloves or cotton work gloves to handle or set the glass. Each would work for the purpose of keeping the glass clean. Heck: you could even cover your hands in Saran Wrap, and that would keep your bare skin from transferring the oils, sweat, and any other “stuff” that working hands accumulate on them. But nitrile does more.

The bigger picture of glass replacement includes not just what comes off you hands, but what gets ON them; about the absorption of chemicals through the skin!

We work in an industry where every chemical, every primer, every cleaner; has a health warning. Repeated daily use increases your exposure to materials that list cautions as: liver or kidney damage, birth defects, and nervous disorders, on the MSDS sheet.

So the answer is: There is nothing magic about Nitrile gloves for “protecting” the glass! However, Nitrile gloves can’t be beat when it comes to protecting the most valuable and priceless autoglass replacement tool you own: your own healthy body! So if you’re going to wear a glove to keep the glass clean, PICK THE ONE THAT WILL HELP KEEP YOUR BLOODSTREAM CLEAN AT THE SAME TIME.

My nitrile experience dates back to the late 80’s at Speedy Auto Glass, and our W/S repair program.

We had technicians who experienced severe skin reactions to repair resin, and really enforced the wearing of gloves. Latex gloves. Surprisingly, the reactions did not go away. In fact, some guys reacted even though they wore the gloves from day one.

We enlisted the help of OSHA and an industrial hygienist to help us figure this out: not only for the repair resin, but for all of our shop chemicals. They informed us that the latex gloves were ineffective at best against most of the chemicals in our workplace. (Fill a latex glove with W/S primer or cleaner and watch them melt.)

We went to our glove supplier with a chemical list and asked for a product that would protect our technicians. They came back with nitrile. At the time they were almost unheard of and in short supply-- naturally more expensive too! They were the right thing to do, so we started supplying them to our techs. Further, we shared the results of our search with the NGA and this information quickly worked its way into the industry. So while the FACT of nitrile is well known today, the WHY seems to have been lost along the way.

I don’t claim Speedy was truly first with Nitrile, I am just not aware of anyone who preceded us.

Nitrile is another example where the participation of the bigger companies on NGA committees often brings knowledge to market faster, and is a GOOD thing.  Glen Moses

Another concern, allergic reaction to the latex gloves. Latex is commonly sited as a reaction vector among health care workers who are in constant contact with the material. Nitrile gloves are far and away a better choice for the protection of the glass to adhesive contact area and the protection of the technicians health.  Andrew

Nitrile is superior to vinyl and other types of gloves in preventing absorption of the chemicals through the skin. The only faster way to have chemicals enter your system would be to DRINK them. This is most critical with regard to preps and primers. Long time auto glass veterans can tell you about kdney and liver disorders from chemical absorption. USE YOUR HEADS.  CK