Best gloves for working on cars

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Aug 12, 2015
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Location
Central NY
are there any gloves that are better for working on cars? Ones that will protect your hands/fingers but also have enough flex so you can still work with smaller bolts/screws?

Did a oil change today and the wrench slipped once the bolt broke loose. Crushed my finger. Did a brake job a few weeks ago where I cut my wrist on the dust shield after, again, the bolt broke loose. I'm contemplating on give up working on cars and getting a new hobby that doesn't require dealing with over torqued bolts.
 
I have vinyl, nitrile and mechanics gloves. I use as necessary--vinyl for greasy work that will only take a minute or two, nitrile for longer work, and thicker gloves when it's not too greasy but I want the protection from cuts.

Working on cars can be annoying. Sometimes you just have to decide if it's worth the effort--or not. I gave in and farmed out the last big job I had.
 
Cutproof gloves are a thing and can be very useful in tight places for keeping your skin intact. They won't protect your hand from being crushed, though. I try to keep an open palm on the wrench handle if I'm breaking stuff loose. I find that slapping concrete/steel is less painful than punching it. That said, a 3/8" impact wrench is a wonderful thing to have. I would strongly recommend one if you plan on doing anything other than oil and filter changes regularly. Finish the job faster and with less blood.
 
For me it depends on what I am doing. Either the nitrile gloves from Costco, or the Mechanix Wear M-Pact. Anything where I will be using an impact for a while or taking tires on an off get the Mechanix ones. Anything with fluids or where I need to really need to grip and feel I wear the nitrile ones.
 
I have the mechanix gloves, they are good for stuff that's not super small and fiddley, down to brake size hardware I guess. Also after hacking myself up on stiff hardware letting loose I'm starting to get smarter on looking at what's going to happen if the bolt lets go suddenly. Also using the longest wrench/ratchet handle you can helps alot. For suspension stuff I have a 1/2" ratcheting breaker bar that seems to fit alot of places and the leverage makes it easier/safer to use, and I'll put a pipe on that instead of pulling my arms off. A short pipe on the 3/8 ratchet, and the interlocking wrench trick is nice too. Pulling with a straight arm using your shoulder lets you pull hard while limiting how far your hand goes when things let loose.
 
I have found it best to match the PPE to the conditions of the job so I recommend having several available
 
I like these nitrile dipped knit gloves for about 95% of what I do. Around $1 a pair. Thin, breathable back so you don't get sweaty hands, good grip, doesn't tear like a plain latex/nitrile glove, keeps your hands mostly clean, and thin enough to do all but really tiny stuff.

[Linked Image]


I live in a cold climate and have tried the insulted/cold
weather version and generally hate them. They're not warm at all, and they don't dry easily. If they get damp inside they stay that way for about a week.

[Linked Image]
 
I'm a full-time mechanic, and the only time I wear gloves is when I'm doing anything with bearing grease. Otherwise, I can't stand them. Rubber gloves won't protect you from a cut, and you have to switch them out every 5 minutes when you're busy like I am.

I've found that the easiest way to avoid injury is to survey the fastener and the area around it FIRST, and use the best angles to keep fingers and limbs as far away from sharp objects. Does it always work? Of course not. But it helps.

I've got enough cuts and marks on me to fill a scrapbook. It's just the nature of the job, sometimes. But I appreciate your story! A bolt breaking loose and instantly feeling pain is the worst. You almost know it's going to happen.
 
I use nitrile gloves for most car work. If I smash open dry skin in the winter, it bleeds, but the blood doesn't mix with the grease. I often don't even know about it until I deglove.

If you're new to the hobby, experience will with time get you smashing fewer digits or lessening the force with which you bang things.
 
I'll wear nitrile gloves for messy chemical type activities (and yes change them often, there's a reason they come in boxes of 100+), but for wrenching I like to wear "framers" gloves, which leave the tips of your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers free so it's easy to work tools, handle small things, etc. Your palms, back of your hand, wrist, ring, pinkie and most of those other three are protected though.

jeff
 
If it's something dirty/messy/chemicals, which it is more often than not, then I'll wear 9mil nitrile gloves, otherwise nothing.

I don't change them often at all, will even wash and reuse them if washing only requires degreaser or detergent, and there are only tiny tears, unless some grease/oil/chemical handling is involved then will only reuse with no tears.

The only time I'll wear thicker than that is if working in cold enough winter weather that I'm losing feeling in my fingers.
 
You wear gloves to protect from physical injury or chemical exposure, sometimes both. I've found ATG Maxiflex gloves good for general wrenching, thin with good grip and some protection from grease/liquids. For oil changes decent nitrile gloves protect and can be used several times. If I can't get a fastener loose with a reasonable first effort I'll try to find a way to give the wrench some taps with a brass hammer to break it loose without breaking any skin loose.

Lots of styles of these gloves and not expensive.
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usually use nitrile gloves ...usually get them from an auto parts store of from harbor freight ...harbor has the best pricing and they hold up well... get at least the 7 mil thickness seems like anything under 7 really tears easy
 
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I use nitrile gloves for cleaning the vehicles and working on them. I go through several boxes a year. What goes on your skin goes through your blood stream and is filtered by your liver.
 
Originally Posted by Amkeer
I use nitrile gloves for cleaning the vehicles and working on them. I go through several boxes a year. What goes on your skin goes through your blood stream and is filtered by your liver.


Yep. That's a major reason career mechanics not using gloves have health problems down the road.
Your skin absorbs everything.
 
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