The Best Finishing Gloves Money Can Buy

The topic of gloves in the work shop has been beaten into the ground. The one area “most” seem not opposed to their use, and reasonably so, is in the matter of finishing.

A little stain or dye goes a long ways. Sometimes, about a week of scrubbing. Obviously, having gloves to protect your hands from stains, dyes, finishes and even glue makes the task much more tolerable – after the fact.

Matters of appearance aside, having sticky hands is, generally, a problem. Of course, there is the matter of having to wash your hands down with paint thinner, lacquer thinner or whatever. Finally, many of us don’t like fighting putting on and taking off gloves used for finishing. Often, you have to use something to get enough traction to pull them off, or there is the matter of throwing them away, after each use.

I, frequently, find myself moving from project to project. For example, I might apply stain to one project and set it to dry. Then I might go turn something, then grab some “lathe juice.” Another project might call for a coat or two of hardening oil, then it, too will have to be abandoned to “dry” (okay, harden). Again with time, I might take up a picture frame, then apply a coat of poly, shellac or some other finish that requires me to glove up or get my hands messy.

Needless to say, you can go through a lot of disposable gloves in a day. Often, you can, carefully peel them off, but, just as with good fitting, more expensive gloves, that can be a nuisance.

I thought there had to be a better way, so I dug through my glove box (yep, I have one) and found several pairs of reusable gloves. I chose one and cut it back to about my wrist. Just far enough back to protect my hands from stains and finishes without coming off. Today I test drove them and they worked great.

By trimming them back, they’re quick to put on and easy to get off, so I’m more inclined to use them for quick touch ups and such.

Gloves I have been ignoring for years are now the best gloves my money can buy [until I go out in the cold, then it’s the other ones].