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Gloves

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low 40's is colder than normal
 
As Banjo, I wrenched for years for my bean money. I'm cheap, so the Mechanix gloves are used where I know I'll be around hot/sharp/stickie-outie stuff, otherwise nitril/latex are my choice and a few pairs a day isn't odd. Delicate work like carb rebuilds, fine small bits, reassembly of clean units I go gloveless. Daring, ain't it?!

As an aside: hand cleaner of choice is GoJo "Original Formula" and a ScotchBrite red scrubbing pad for the really nasty grime times. Don't cringe! They work GREAT in combo with GoJo, just don't go at it like you're tryin' to get rust off a steel part... Old toothbrush for under/around the nails. Winter is worst for drying out skin, so I use "GrannyGrease" nightly: Vaseline Intensive Care works best for me.
 
I switch between latex and my Mechanix gloves. Have definitely saved my hands from scrapes a few times.

When the Mechanix gloves get dirty, I just toss 'em in the laundry with some of my cycling gear (delicate cycle). After awhle the velcro dies, but they come out reasonably clean. After a year or so, the tips start getting holey and I get a new pair. I'll have to watch for those sales at Advance. I find them very comfortable and wear them for other tasks.

One of our Volvo buddies is a dentist and whenever he comes over to play car-mechanic with us he brings a fresh box of latex gloves - most appreciated. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I've a different scheme in place here: anyone comes over to goof with their cars, *I* furnish the gloves (latex), *they* bring the BEER! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
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*I* furnish the gloves (latex), *they* bring the BEER!


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THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING WRONG!
 
Pleased to be able to show you the error of your ways, Tony! Hope this helps ya straighten out the budget for th' GRM car.

....Oops, I guess if there were an accounting for th' beer, *I'd* be disqualified before I started, huh? I'd have no money left for the parts! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thirsty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

Or would it be considered a "donation" under th' rules....
 
So, I'm going out to the garage to drink all the Heineken in the fridge...I'll bring all the OSH inside for later!

Then I'll go buy another box of latex gloves....
 
I think someone should build a GRM car, by offering free beer for the parts, the car, the help buiding it, etc... And only keep close records of the beer tab. Lets see. Average 12 pack (of anything someone would drink) is about $6.50. So, you'll be limited to how much help, parts, and car you can get with 308.5 12-packs of beer (approx equivellant to $2006). I wonder if the build quality goes down with the quality of beer, or vise versa. I bet there would be a good balancing act there.
 
Heck with the 12 packs. Get a keg and paint it red. Tell the better half it’s the new air compressor. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
And you get back the deposit on the keg if you bring it back - Money for 3 more 12 packs - good idea.
 
...I'm workin on it... keg in a fridge painted Snap-On red, with a tap onna outside....
 
plumb it straigt into a continuous homebrew setup, and you'll have something!

Give a man a beer and he'll drink. Teach him how to make his own beer, and you'll never see him again! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
Hmmm...<drums digits onna desk>...

This has Merit...
 
So what's the news on that homebrew setup? Should be about a week away from tapping that good beer by now!
 
I never used gloves of any kind as a kid or when I was in school, stupid I guess. Then later I started getting dermatitis or some such rot on a few of my fingers after a few days of working on the cars and having my hands dirty, and scrubbing up afterwards was ripping my skin to shreds. Being that I work in a lab I have access to all the gloves I could ever want in several types, vinyl, latex, nitrile, you name it. My choice is nitrile, I usually have a few boxes of them stashed in the garage at any one time. I hardly ever go without them the last several years.

My buddy picked me up a set of the mechanics gloves last year for christmas. I must admit at first I was a bit doubtful, but I found that my dexterity in them was really not bad at all. They're good for the really heavy, messy jobs that would typically tear up latex or nitrile gloves. Eventually the gloves will soak up enough grease and oil and it'll work it's way through the fabric and get to your skin, so you do need to wash them regularly. Only problem is the wife gets a bit PO'd when I throw them in the washer and they coat the inside of the tub with a nice oily residue. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
I've used fillet gloves before to protect my palms n digits when working around sharp stuff... and those heavy blue dishwashing gloves when using harsh chemicals... But usually I go gloveless - just after cutting my hand on something I'll think "shoulda been wearing..."
 
Well, my mechanix gloves paid for themselves last night. I was torquing on a well siezed bolt and the wrench slipped, slamming my hand thumb-first into the chassis. Tweaked my thumb nail a bit and it still hurts, but I know if I hadn't been wearing the gloves it would have been MUCH worse. Instead, I was able to swear a bunch, jump around for a bit, then continue working... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
A British classic car newspaper that I get had a short discussion on this topic & they included a couple of good ideas for latex & similar gloves.

1) You can mash a pair of these into a 35mm film canister & keep it in the glove compartment, trunk, or toolbox for roadside repairs and the like. (I suspect most of us would have to hunt a while to find a 35mm can these days.)

2) If you rip a glove, cut a finger off (the glove, I presume, not your hand) and use it over the end of your grease gun, sort of like a - um, never mind - you get the idea. It'll help keep things clean. You may need a rubber band or twisty-tie to keep it in place.
 
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I suspect most of us would have to hunt a while to find a 35mm can these days.

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Doc, guess what '63 MGB engine parts I have stored in a bunch of 35mm film cannisters....
 
Lifters would probably fit nicely.
 
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