Disposable latex gloves are great for protecting your hands when painting or staining. After you’ve finished the job, cut off any of the fingers on the gloves that are clean and save them. Slip the glove finger on when spreading glue or smoothing caulk to keep your finger clean.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

I’ve gotten into the habit lately of wearing latex gloves whenever I’m painting or applying wood stain or anything like that where your hands get really dirty. But there are some jobs where you don’t protection of your entire hand. And I had saved these old gloves – it was from a wood staining job – and I noticed that you don’t ordinarily get all the fingers dirty. Like in this case, these two fingers aren’t too bad, they have a little bit of stain on them.

I thought maybe I could save them and reuse them, these are actually pretty durable. I got in the habit of taking a pair of scissors and snipping off the clean fingers, either the finger tips or the entire finger, and then you can use it. They’re actually pretty durable, the latex is durable so you can reuse them.

You just slip them on your finger and they stick pretty well, so you don’t have to worry about them coming off. Then for a job like spreading glue, you know like wood glue, just use your finger tip to spread out the glue. Otherwise, it’ll just squeeze out, and you want to get a nice even coat.

When you’re done you just pull this off, and everything is all nice and clean. Now besides spreading glue, what I really like this tip for is applying caulk in a kitchen or bathroom. You can slip this on and get that nice perfect smooth bead, and no caulk on your fingernail.


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avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

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