When did mechanics start using rubber gloves?

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I put on a pair for most anything done on the car except maybe interior work. When I got my first car in the late 70's there was no such thing as mechanics rubber gloves. There was just soap for cleaning up after like Lava or GoJo. When and who got the idea to use medical gloves for auto repair?
 
Don't know but I sure wish I had them back in the early 70's! My body soaked up a lot of nasty chemicals back then...

To me the benefit is not to stay clean, but to keep our bodies from soaking up the chemicals.
 
OSHA requires personal protective equipment. Most small shops are never inspected unless someone is hurt or worse. But as stated many of the chemicals and used motor oil is carcinogenic. You do not need them on your skin, brake cleaner will dissolve the fat out of your skin, also nasty. No it will not work around your middle.

It is just smart practice.

Rod
 
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How about my love handles? Will it work there.


Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
OSHA requires personal protective equipment. Most small shops are never inspected unless someone is hurt or worse. But as stated many of the chemicals and used motor oil is carcinogenic. You do not need them on your skin, brake cleaner will dissolve the fat out of your skin, also nasty. No it will not work around your middle.

It is just smart practice.

Rod
 
Gasket remover will take your fingerprints off. Not bad for B&E's but generally not good for you and also your Iphone Touch ID will be out of order for a few months.
laugh.gif
 
It scares me to think of all the stuff I've exposed my carcass to while mechanicing. No varsol? Wash in gasoline. Need to clean out a oil cooler or evaporator? Use Freon 11.
Carb cleaner, both aerosol and bath, brake cleaner, super strength soap cleaners, brake fluid, paint thinner, mineral spirits, every kind of lubricant available in a big maintenance shop along with the aforementioned I've worked with without PPE. Darn right suicidal! But back in the day personal safety wasn't stressed. Example: during a safety inspection the varsol bath was written up for not having a fire extinguisher within 10 feet. No mention of gloves for it.....

My "wake up" moment came when a good friend got a brain tumor. Living in Texas his home shop was air tight so the A/C would work good. Nothing got out and he was doing it all - mechanic and body work. A biopsy of the tumor removed showed it be directly related to the shop. It killed him, took about a year to do it, nothing would stop the reoccurrence of the cancer.

So do I use PPE now? Darn tooting!
 
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I started using them when Harbor Freight's started popping up and selling them in the early 1990's iirc.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
I started using them when Harbor Freight's started popping up and selling them in the early 1990's iirc.


Yes, over the early to mid 90s state health and safety agencies were promoting the use of gloves in automotive repair to prevent
skin from absorbing poisonous chemicals in oil, gas, and other fluids. I do remember some tech, very few wearing cloth black grip style gloves that were commonly sold by the tool trucks back in the mid-late 80s. They seemed to disappear in the early 90s and limited techs started wearing the nitrile gloves
in limited numbers but they became common by the early 2000s. I'd say it was standard to wear them by the mid 2000s.
 
Originally Posted by vavavroom
They SHOULD have been wearing gloves.

[Linked Image from i.etsystatic.com]


In a Vin Diesel voice: "those shoes would kill you after a full day" (or similar).
 
Originally Posted by vavavroom
[Linked Image from i.etsystatic.com]


Pretty sure I saw that pic in a 1920's "Snap-on" swimsuit calendar.

Also, wasn't that hairstyle common for males in the 90s?
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Originally Posted by vavavroom
[Linked Image from i.etsystatic.com]


Pretty sure I saw that pic in a 1920's "Snap-on" swimsuit calendar.

Also, wasn't that hairstyle common for males in the 90s?


Maybe 1890's. They must be sisters.
 
From what i remember the Mechanix gloves became a thing in NASCAR and seemed like it was a popular thing to do then the disposable gloves became popular right after that..

I have seen old mechanics clean their hands in the parts washer and many clean their hands with brake cleaner and carb cleaner also gasoline. No idea if they are still alive.
 
I learned in the early 2000's from my first 2nd engineer, who happened to be the ship's lube-oil engineer, that rubber gloves should be worn ALWAYS when working with lubes and chemicals. He was made fun of by the 3rds and first; the same guys who didn't make sure they had ear protection on BEFORE entering engineering spaces and shunned other PPE requirements. Reason: I guess it just wasn't manly to have clean hands.

I RARELY work on anything without the proper PPE, especially when it comes to hearing protection, gloves and eye protection.
 
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