Do you wear latex/rubber gloves when working on the car?

[Hunter]

Anyone else here wear rubber/latex gloves when working on the car? I do for a couple of reasons (and no I am not michael jackson):

1) Keeps your hands clean so you don't spend 2 hours cleaning grease off with stinky hand cleaner.

2) Protects you from the dodgy chemicals that are used in most automotive applications.

How many of you use gloves when handling things like lithium grease?

Some might think I'm a bit of a girly man but I do suggest reading some of the MSDS that accompany some of the chemicals we use on cars.

[Nostalgia]

IM SPEECHLESS.

[ebxr8240]

No.... Real men dont...

[Dvs06]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

No.... Real men dont...

that was might thoughts too until I lost 3 nails on my right hand was cleaning some centreline rims with hydrofuric acid (didnt know) and several hours later was lookin to bite my own fingers off left it for 24 hours went to hospital only to find out that had I left it any longer I'd lost all three fingers the acid had started eating into my skin and was lucky the pain was that bad I went.rather have me teeth pulled than go through that again so yeah I will wear gloves from now on dependin on wot I'm using. Joe.

[woodsy109]

Originally Posted by J's EB

that was might thoughts too until I lost 3 nails on my right hand was cleaning some centreline rims with hydrofuric acid (didnt know) and several hours later was lookin to bite my own fingers off left it for 24 hours went to hospital only to find out that had I left it any longer I'd lost all three fingers the acid had started eating into my skin and was lucky the pain was that bad I went.rather have me teeth pulled than go through that again so yeah I will wear gloves from now on dependin on wot I'm using. Joe.

For everyones information, HF actually reacts with the calcium in your bones effectively eating away tissue from the inside. J's EB would have had a lucky escape as only a small exposure can be fatal. If you get a hold of some HF then use carefully as it is great for cleaning metals (not glass as it etches it) just make sure you have some calcium gluconate gel handy in case you get some on yourself. When we use it at work we have to wear two sets of gloves, apron and other gear so as not to come into contact with it.

[Hunter]

Heh, I suspected I'd get a bit of a funny reaction .

The thing is, a lot of mechanics and workshop staff I've seen tend to wear them but maybe that's so they can just chuck the gloves off and not dirty the customer's car or office equipment.

[anakha]

Always wear the disposable latex gloves when working on the car. Those things are gold. Hate cleaning grease, oil and other assorted crud from my hands if I don't.

Only hassle is they are a pain to put on unless the hands are completely dry.

[ebxr8240]

Originally Posted by anakha

Always wear the disposable latex gloves when working on the car. Those things are gold. Hate cleaning grease, oil and other assorted crud from my hands if I don't.

Only hassle is they are a pain to put on unless the hands are completely dry.

Haha I remember down at Wakefield..... Rear brakes...Lol....

[Nostalgia]

I am careful when doing brakes but apart from that, dirty hands up to the elbows are a part of the game. Apparently used engine oil causes cancer too but what dosent these days ?

[V3RSAC3]

Originally Posted by EAadam

Apparently used engine oil causes cancer too but what dosent these days ?

latex gloves

[Serial_Fool]

I've seen mechanics wear those protective gloves before (the ones made out of real cotton and only go upto your fingers), but I've never seen rubber gloves...... I might try them out.

[Hunter]

Yeah anakha, I use the disposable latex gloves - thing is I found you really need to get the powderless ones when doing things like packing bearings or handling items that can't get contaminants on them. IT seems the ones that are powdered are certainly much easier to put on however the powder goes through the box and coats not only the inside of the gloves but the outside.

Sometimes the gloves can be a hinderance but I find them very useful when mucking around with particularly dirty parts of the car (e.g. underbody). Although quite a few of the chemicals found on cars also eat latex (especially carby cleaner).

[XA-MONT]

i just bought some el cheapo push bike gloves to wear when doing work on cars. havnt actually used them yet. i never used latex gloves though as i thought they would just break too much. tried them for painting once too, but the paint doesn't really agree with the latex.

[Wokkas]

There's only one thing latex is good for, and when it comes to cars, it's in the back seat, not the engine bay................

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by Wokkas

There's only one thing latex is good for, and when it comes to cars, it's in the back seat, not the engine bay................

Bwahahahahah Too true !!!!!!

[gthofan]

i never wear gloves working on the car... Memories of working on my old commodore, grease up to my shoulders after replacing an alternator.. magical

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by gthofan

i never wear gloves working on the car... Memories of working on my old commodore, grease up to my shoulders after replacing an alternator.. magical

OOOHH yeah. Memories.

[protd]

Wtf

[tapeworm]

I have some concerns about u people. lol.

[[Tonko]]

Hell no, If im up to my shoulders in grease, I cant go near the missus without getting cleaned up... Its win-win, i look like ive been working hard, and i dont have to put up with her in the shed...

But i have seen blokes use them when they are putting big chome/polished parts on cars so they dont get covered in prints.

[asusdragon]

if i dont get oil and grease all over my hand then have to go wash them in the bathroom what my missus going to do, she got to clean something up after me, lol
jks, bit of oil and grease doesnt bother me, and as for oil causes cancer probably does but so too is look at your computer screen supposedly anyway

[schnoods]

Michael Jackson and English wicketkeepers wear gloves for no apparent reason, Im glad I dont wear gloves for washing the car.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by asus_dragonorb

jks, bit of oil and grease doesnt bother me, and as for oil causes cancer probably does but so too is look at your computer screen supposedly anyway

Nope your typical computer screen is fairly safe if you look at from the front. LCDs have very very low emissions of electromagnetic radiation, CRTs aren't bad so long as you aren't sitting with your head glued to the back of it.

At any rate, its not so much the risk of cancer that would make you want to wear gloves - a lot of the time its the fact that some of the chemicals can be absorbed into your body via your skin. Lithium grease is a pretty nasty one and given enough exposure can make you very sick indeed.

[asusdragon]

Originally Posted by Hunter

Nope your typical computer screen is fairly safe if you look at from the front. LCDs have very very low emissions of electromagnetic radiation, CRTs aren't bad so long as you aren't sitting with your head glued to the back of it.

At any rate, its not so much the risk of cancer that would make you want to wear gloves - a lot of the time its the fact that some of the chemicals can be absorbed into your body via your skin. Lithium grease is a pretty nasty one and given enough exposure can make you very sick indeed.

yeah i was just using it coz i was infront of the computer, it seems everything now adays cause cancer, then few weeks later it doesnt and so on

[DOC]

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

No.... Real men dont...

Exactly.

Where is Chopper when we need him ?

[V3RSAC3]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

Exactly.

Where is Chopper when we need him ?

at neville bartoses house, in a hail, a hail of f@*king bullets!!

[BPXR6T]

No, I don't like the idea of brushing up against hot headers or a hot block with latex gloves on.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by FourBarrel

No, I don't like the idea of brushing up against hot headers or a hot block with latex gloves on.

I don't like the idea of brushing up against hot headers or blocks without gloves on .

I've done it before, once put my hand down on top of a set of nice and blistering hot headers... yeah not gonna do that again, burnt a nice patch on my palm.

Anyway, if you're going to work on hot engine bays, might as well get those heat resistant gloves that supercheap and other places sell.

I use latex or rubber for handling parts that need to kept clean and for parts that are extremely dirty. I use riggers gloves for handling body parts, e.g. panels or suspension components.

My cousin, who doesn't usually wear gloves, gave me a bit of a hand today putting the springs on and well I've converted him towards riggers gloves - he found them quite good.

I've done enough reading over the years to know that most of what we handle when working on cars is not very nice stuff, ranging from just giving you contact dermatitis to full blown systemic illnesses e.g. kidney failure if you're exposed to enough of some chemicals. The problem with latex though is as I said before that a lot of solvents on vehicles will just eat them right up and then start working on your hands :.

BTW after spending 6 hours working on the car today I had to clean some grease and crap off my arms but guess what, using latex gloves kept my hands nice and clean and I didn't spend ages cleaning grit and dirt out from under my nails :

[AC/DC]

What if your mates came around, , and you were standing there in "lubed" up latex gloves ??????????????