Thread: What kinda gloves do you wear that still allow you to feel?

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Looking down at my stained and ugly hands, sticking out the bottom of my dress shirt (I have one of those jobs) I wonder what you guys do in the shop to keep your hands from being filthy (changing power steering hoses on my 84 Coachment motorhome on E350 chassis). I think of all the fluids old power steering is my least favorite.

Anyways, I have some nice shop gloves my brother got me, have leather on the working surfaces and nylon or something on the back to be more flexible. But I always end up taking them off because I don't have enough sensitivity in my finger tips with them on.

I considered nitrile, but don't know how they hold up, at least they're cheap though. Anybody have any tips?

Thanks.

Red

There's also the "invisible" shields....DuPont makes one. They work pretty well IF you dont get your hands wet (the film is water soluble)......also, it's like birth control, you have to remember to put it on before you start messin' around.

I use Go-JO with the grit it dose better than any other soap I've found

I think that lacquer thnner disolves some of the disposable gloves....

Look at your auto supply for the invisible glove stuff......works really good for grease and paint.

For hand cleaners, the stuff that Snap On sells is great....but it is after the fact. And it costs a tad....but it's Snap On!

Hey Dago Red,
I have one of those "Clean jobs" too where my hands are the first thing people see at work.

I use the "oil change" gloves that Advance Auto parts sells. They have a stretchy cloth back with a rubber palm that works great for me. I hated wearing gloves too, but I have gotten use to it.

Regular surgeon rubber gloves are great and give you a little sensitivity, but tear too easily for my tastes. These gloves I use cling to your hand more tightly and after a while I forget I'm wearing them.
Don Jr.

I wear these at work. I do preventive maintenance on tire curing presses at a Bridgestone Firestone plant.
http://ansellpro.com/hyflex/11-800.asp
I can pick up a 3/8 flat washer off the floor with these on and even when working on a leaky hyd. cylinders your tools don't slip out of your hands.

Now that my skin has gotten more sensitive to grease and grime I wear latex gloves under the hyflex gloves. Yes it's hot but it's better than hands that are all dry and cracked open.

We use Kimberly-Clark purple nitrile gloves where I work. They work fairly well and they will last a day.

I use disposable latex most of the time, and nitrile if I need gloves that are a bit more robust. Neither type will hold up well to paint thinner and other strong solvents, but the nitriles are better in that respect. Aggressive hand cleaners like Lava soap are too hard on my hands, and the gloves have worked very well for me. I would prefer to go thru multiple pairs of disposable gloves than end up with chapped, and dried out, sore hands.

i use "Mechanic" style leather one like you mentioned for heavy work
i use latex ones (forget the name) from AutoZone for anything wet... tuff.
if i need more of a fine touch i will wash my hands real good and then coat them in skin cream (moisturizer) ... hands clean up real good after!

i use cotton picking cotton picking gloves ..the brown cloth ones ..

I haven't found anything yet that lasts very long. I have some "good" brand name nitrile, some latex and even Mechanic's gloves. They all work to some extent, but this afternoon I was trying to thread a bolt in the back side of the right head of my AVATAR car - and gloves would have just gotten in the way for good feel. Of course, now my hands look like ground beef from the sharp cable tie ends in that area

I just go with dirty hands.

I never found any glove that didn't diminish feel significantly, and I have worn them all my life. It does depend a lot on whether your hands are "pristine", and not beat up and burned and scarred and scabby, though. As I got older, and my hands got more beat up from constantly taking my gloves off so I could feel more, - ---- well, it is a never ending downward spiral. Nitrile or latex will give reasonable "feel", and if you're not sensitive to the material or the sweat that collects inside, they work OK to some degree or another. The thicker the glove, though, the less feel you'll have.

Most of the time, when I am working on a mechanical or woodcraft project, I just go without gloves, and wash up. I use a good bar or powdered soap with pumice in it, and a hand and nail brush, and hot water, and scrub until clean. Once in a while, I'll get a cut that I can't get the dirt out of, but most of the time, my hands look like I just push paper for a living. Using a good hand cream or lotion is essential, too. Once my hands are nice and shiny, I use "Miracle Foot Repair" cream, and do a double application; it does wash off after a while, so one needs to keep a tube handy - always have one in my tool box, and one in the bathroom, and in the car/truck, etc. That's what works for me; of course the old saw applies: "different strokes", and all that. As to the barrier creams that are around the industrial business, I never had any decent luck with them; it was just easier to just scrub up after work.

Originally Posted by IC2

Of course, now my hands look like ground beef from the sharp cable tie ends in that area

Just remember - oil & water may not mix, but oil & blood do just fine...

thanks guys, I appreciate all the great suggestions! My skin is very light which probably makes it more obvious when my hands are not nice and clean.

A couple times a year my hands will get so dry for a few weeks that the skin will actually split along the fingerprint lines. I've learned to watch for when they get dry like that and use something I think the name is norweigan hand cream. small tube, works fantastic. Little more than a pea will moisturize my entire hands. I hate the greasy feel of lotions though so only do before bed. works great though.

I'm going to try the purple nitrile gloves and am also going to look for the invisible glove stuff. Is it only water that makes it come off or any liquid?

I have tried the brown cotton gloves, I use them a lot when working with metal or just doing shop stuff, but anything oily/greasy etc. ruins them in a hurry.

Red