Does anyone use white gloves to handle records?

Not me. Playing and maintaining records is already enough of a hassle. Wearing and maintaining clean white gloves would just add to the hassle. But I'm not a proper audiophile, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.....

I used a laundered pair of brown cotton gloves for handling my LPs! Detective Monk would have approved! I'll have to get another pair (lost the first pair)!

Only when playing thriller or off the wall.

But seriously, I simply wash my hands before cleaning records and act like a medical worker, as in, keep my hands away from all but the work in front of me.

The only way I would go to that amount of trouble would be if I were one of those people whose body chemistry is such they degrade and wear away the covering on their steering wheel. (That does happen, I have seen it more than once.) Washing your hands and handling by the edges seems reasonable enough precautions to me. Plus, white gloves reduce your dexterity and increase the likelihood of fumbling and dropping your record. 

Thanks all

The bigger concern with wearing gloves to handle LPs is the increased risk of you dropping the disc. Holding and turning over an LP is actually a relatively complex hand movement requiring grip from both the thumb and fingertips, most gloves do not provide the grip or tactile response needed. I would strongly recommend against it. 

I'm on the edge. somebody stop me.....

Been handling lps for 50 years no gloves never had a problem.

No gloves. I've owned some of my records for 40 years & it apparently hasn't harmed them. I'm with folkfreak on this as I'd also be concerned about dropping one. 

@slaw - Back away, very slowly. And for God's sake, don't look down.........

I had to check the date: nup, not April 1st :-)

If you really think your fingers are going to seep oils onto the vinyl, white gloves is not the answer.
surgical sterile dental gloves would be the correct choice and give you a better change of actually " feeling " the record and not dropping it.

me, I will stick with maintaining clean hands and picking up at the edge and centre hole.

My wife thinks I'm a little eccentric as it is. Last thing I need is her to pop down and see me wearing white gloves.

I save the white gloves for other occasions.........

I am not sure there's a right or wrong here. 
I wear white gloves because it  allows me to place a more secure grip on the record by being able to touch more then just the very edge of the record.  This is especially handy when using one hand to hold the record while placing it into a sleeve.

My experience is just the opposite of those above seeing it clumsy to handle a record with gloves.  I have on a couple of occasions dropped a record because of trying to handle it by the edges alone or edge and center hole with bare hands.

Word of caution, once I place the record on the turntable, I immediately remove the gloves prior to doing any cleaning of the record or stylus, so not to take a chance of snagging the stylus/cantilever with a glove.
  I think its a given that the gloves must be clean; wouldn't make a lot of sense to handle a record with soiled hands or soiled gloves.

As far as leaving glove debris or material on the record, I would think it would be removed by the carbon fiber brush or other means you employ to remove dust prior to play.

Handling records with or without gloves both work; I like cotton gloves for the above reasons.






 

Hardly ever.
This is one of the most incredible threads of all time.

I read a long time ago that there were a small few that used gloves. I thought briefly about ya or nay but I think I will just keep my hands clean from reading the opinions here. Now if I'm holding up and displaying a super rare record at a Southbys auction well I will have a tuxedo and white gloves on. Thanks for all the responses. 

I only wear them for afternoon tea, so unless playing records during tea time, I don't wear white gloves for handling records.

@bradf 

I have on a couple of occasions dropped a record because of trying to handle it by the edges alone 

Just don’t. You should never grasp the surface of a record. Edges and label only. 

good grief 
just enjoy the music.
been listening to, and handling records, over 50 years. never once thought about wearing gloves. 

@ sleepwalker

Wearing gloves allows me to get a better grip on the record by grasping beyond  the edge a little. Not sure how this contact is any more degrading to the record than the contact of the brush on a record during a wet wash
or the vacuum of a wand as the suction holds it in place creating a bit of friction on the record surface while the record rotates.
When you say you should never grasp a record by the surface, you make it sound like I am handling a piece of bread. This is not the case.  The contact I make is probably not much more then what the average listener makes when pinching a record to start its removal from the sleeve.
 

Never after Labor Day.

Anybody who has handled vinyl for a while gets the technique of touching only the edges and label...all others should learn that or be banned from the things. I was always horrified by hip-hop DJs but have learned to accept that part...otherwise be careful...it's important to not rub your nose on the grooves either...ski mask maybe?

Records being handled at pressing plant(s)

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=dEm%2fMvwR&id=EB8EE6FC1D51ECD211E749C18EB1161D...

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mGyCjesT&id=C6A2A5F431D327D0923A9502B803EA6BDE...

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=p%2fhnYPDy&id=1ED5BFACADF0501FAE19C7E29E0DD9CE...

www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=JeB47L9B&id=CD753DA7F096EF375A3539C19FC177E4A7...

I don't handle vinyl with gloves, although you can purchase thin rubber/latex gloved by the dozens in boxed sets. I focus on getting the hole to line up with the spindle with great concentration, the drops of sweat flow on to the playing surface. I think I'll need to invest in a sweat band.

Thanks Brad for the plant tour. I'm sure more interesting than a CD plant.

http://www.vinyllpcare.com/handling-care


Info outlined below is from the above referenced web site.
Another approach to handling the record while removing or placing in sleeve.


Never touch the vinyl surface with any part of your finger or hand
There are oils on your hand and fingers which will leech into the vinyl and degrade replay. In addition to that, finger prints can only be removed safely from vinyl LPs through professional cleaning as described elsewhere on this site. A good idea and one which we have utilized over 40 years is to cut a small square of clean, soft and non-abrasive white paper. Use this square of paper between your fingers on both edges of the disc when removing and replacing the disc in its inner sleeve or bag. In our experience this has caused no issues whatsoever in over 45 years of collecting, playing and caring for vinyl records.

" A good idea and one which we have utilized over 40 years is to cut a small square of clean, soft and non-abrasive white paper. Use this square of paper between your fingers on both edges of the disc when removing and replacing the disc in its inner sleeve or bag"

I'm thinking that article should be renamed... Perhaps "How to make vinyl a bigger PITA than it already is" 

I have really big hands, so I can actually hold the records on opposite sides without touching any of the inside parts.


Not true! Would be something though. Had a friend in college that could grab pretty much any watermelon like palming a basketball with just one hand. This WAS true!

Cool pics of a record pressing plant. They’re wearing gloves in a clean manufacturing situation. Of course, it’s to prevent oils from the hands being transferred to the record’s surface. Also hairs, lint, etc.
The difference between that situation and at home is they are handling high numbers of product in an assembly line type setup. A
perfect situation for mistakes. Some of the records may be warm to the touch as well.
Many manufacturers in various industries require workers to wear gloves.

Anybody who has handled vinyl for a while gets the technique of touching only the edges and label..

I think it was Fremer who said that it only takes a few times using your thumb and fingers to hold a record and you will never drop it or ruin the surface.

I just use the big rubber yellow gloves for dish washing.....

There’s nothing wrong with wearing gloves to handle records if that works for you.
As @wolfgarcia  and Fremer alluded to, most people dont need them.

@bradf , interesting stuff. I'm going to use the Swiss microfiber gloves on my next burglary.
  I’m going to share your link for the proper use of Milty gun with the Milty thread.

When promoting a guest's music spot, Jimmy Fallon grabs the vinyl out of the album jacket like an animal...I cringe every damn time. Somebody in his staff should show him how to handle LPs. Also, I do wear white gloves for big balls. Doesn't everybody?

I wear a white cotton glove on my left hand, which allows me to handle my LPs. Reason being that my right hand, I’m right handed, has become badly deformed by arthritis and can no longer handle an LP. It won’t fit inside a glove either. My left hand is also affected by arthritis but not nearly as badly, and though not capable of properly handling a LP, it can at least fit inside a glove so I can avoid getting greasy fingerprints all over my records.

With the right outfit, white gloves will probably be quite stylish.  As you are likely aware, formal attire is quite appropriate for listening to records.  My concern is that gloves will cover my wedding ring and attract lots of women which my wife will not appreciate.  Guess I'll just stick with my top hat and cane like everyone else when I listen to my records.

I wash my hands before I handle my records. Then you handle the LP by the edges and label and you shouldn't have any issues. I been doing this for 40 years and my records play like new.

Of course you should clean yours records periodically. Thats more important than wearing gloves.

@wolf_garcia

 I was always horrified by hip-hop DJs but have learned to accept that part...

Rappers are to blame for destruction of tens of thousands of perfectly good SL-1200mk2 turntables. They don’t need sound quality anyways, just time code which they could use a crappy cheap encoder for. 

So if I wear one brown glove and one white, does it mean....well, you know.

Gloves keep you from having to wash your hands as, really, who the hell has time for that? Also it's good to use other people wearing gloves to handle your vinyl, and it simply means shelling out a slightly larger holiday bonus for the staff, as painful as that can be.

I wear latex gloves. 

I’m too old to raise more vinyl.   

I always wash my hands before handling vinyl.
With regard to tubes, there is a debate over how to handle the glass envelope. I agree with many of the tube vendors that it’s fine to handle tubes with clean bare hands. The printing on most NOS tubes can easily be rubbed off so you should not be handling the bottle in that area with or without gloves.
Some tubes used in WWII have a tacky coating on the glass. It might be possible to remove this substance with the fabric of a glove.
Tubes like octals or power tubes have Bakelite plastic, ceramic, or metal bases where you hold the tube when inserting into a socket. Using cotton gloves might not provide a firm grip on the base.

The best recommendation I’ve read is to grasp a tube as you would hold a light bulb. Gloves aren’t needed to screw in a light bulb. Only halogen lights are affected by bodily oils. 

I only wear gloves when I break into someone's home to listen to their record collection (you know, fingerprints and all) but never in my own home

crazyeddy
LOL,However if you did that at my house you would want to wear a bullet proof vest as well.  

My turntable came with a pair of white gloves. But not for handling records. They recommended using the gloves when handling the turntable plinth. It has a matte black paint job that will stain (shiny spots) if you get finger print oils on it from your skin.

Same with PS Audio components. They come with a pair of white gloves to protect the finish. 

If you need to wear gloves for handling records, maybe you need to learn how to handle records.

Lowrider57: "Gloves aren't needed to screw in a lightbulb"
But how many audiophiles does it take to screw in a lightbulb...?