Mechanix Gloves - Are They Durable?

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Building a rock retaining wall one can go thru a pair of cheap gloves a day, or expensive ones in two days. For hot things I sometimes use one of a couple of pairs of good welding gloves that I picked up at a garage sale, but otherwise use cheap leather gloves. I tyr to find ones with thicker leather as some are pretty thin. My favorites as a work glove and for riding motorcycles are the fitted Wells Lamont leather gloves, but they still don't last for abrasive work.

Spray the gloves with heavy silicone oil for marginal waterproofing.
 
I have a pair of these. Well, its the MAC Tools version, and the knuckle and finger area have little plastic pads that further prevent knuckle busting. I DON'T use them at work, because they get oily and dirty and then you can't touch anything without leaving a grease smudge. They're great for things around the house, like carrying boxes, hauling wood (prevents splinters), etc.

At work I use the disposable nitrile gloves. Keeps my hands clean and I'm still able to have full dexterity. Also prevents the grease in the cracks of the hand that takes weeks to go away!

BTW, if your hands have some grease in the cracks that just won't go away after scrubbing, wash a sinkful of dishes. My hands are SPOTLESS after that.
 
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i have tried most every brand of glove. some are really good but the thick ones get caught all the time working in tight spotsand they cost alot. when harbor freight has the blue ones on sale for $4.99, i load up on them. the last plenty long for the $ and if you lose one/get a hole in one, its no big deal. i keep them under lock and key or my employees purloin them. in cold weather like we have been having lately, i wear a pair of the nitrile gloves underneath the HF ones, makes a big difference on how warm the hands are.
 
The only problem with the HF gloves are the fit and dexterity, but for the price they are great. The large HF gloves allow for nitrile glove underneath. My new ones I haven't tried with nitrile but they are snug by design.
 
i have found that soaking the HF gloves in boiling how water loosens them up a bit. also, do not soak them in F21 or armor all. they will be so slick you cannot pick anything up with them.
 
Seriously, if you work on cars often, disposable nitrile gloves are where it's at. Everyone in my shop uses them. Especially great for really dirty jobs like brakes and CV boots.

Tell you what, as a mechanic, I love the flat rate time for brake jobs, but I hate doing them. Breathing all that dust sucks, go home and blow black boogers out of my nose for 2 days after.

Give me about 3 more years, and I'm out of this profession. Working on cars is a great hobby but not a great way to make a living. Most average mechanics by the age of 50 will be deaf, arthritic, bad knees and back, and have liver cancer from soaking in all the chemicals and grease. Fuhhhgetaboutit, time to go get a nice cushy office job.
 
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i've had a pair for about 8 or nine months. I wear them more for when i go out running in cold weather than for working on the car, so they don't get dirty, but do get sweat soaked.
Have washed them several times in the machine and they aren't any worse for the wear. I bought them a walmart for around $10, i think.
 
I use both Mechanix gloves and nitrile gloves depending on the job.

The mechanix gloves are great for wrench turning and part removal to protect your hands from sharp edges. They fall down when you on some fine touch jobs; installing a nut or bolt in a difficult access location.

The nitrile gloves protect from grease and grim, but are easy to cut or rip on a sharp edge and provide little cut protection.

I've found the mechanix gloves can be washed and reused quite a few times w/o becoming too greasy.

regards
 
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I wore mine yesterday while I swapped out upper ball joints and replaced a faulty brake booster. The booster was a hellacious job. The hardware was blocked by the steering column and the little brake light switch clip took an hour to figure out. I used my high dexterity gloves to put the nuts back on the studs, No cuts on my hands.
I also have a pair of Mechanix gloves with padded leather palms that I got at Lowe's for 16.99. I've been wearing them in the house while I build walls, insulate, replace electric lines... They're workin' great. Washed them twice.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
I haven't tried those.
But if those pictured gloves are not durable, what is!?
I use vinyl [not latex] surgical type gloves in the shop.
For temporary high heat or rough work, I use $1 pairs of brown cloth gloves.


Me too! I also have a pair of those $8 leather yard-work gloves for a little more ruggedness.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't wear gloves at all. But my day job is in a professional capacity, and it wouldn't look too slick to be covered in filth.

With the vinyl or nitrile gloves, they are cheap as dirt, and I don't have to worry about wrecking them like I would with those "expensive" gloves. Although I do have a pair of them for when I get roped into helping people move house. A tight fitting pair with the grippy fingers really helps extend my strength and dexterity when trying to maneuver a dresser down three flights of winding porch steps. And it's always on the third floor...
 
I just have red cars so the blood blends in.

I have huge hands and very few gloves fit good enough to allow me any dexterity.
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 1sttruck
Building a rock retaining wall one can go thru a pair of cheap gloves a day, or expensive ones in two days. For hot things I sometimes use one of a couple of pairs of good welding gloves that I picked up at a garage sale, but otherwise use cheap leather gloves. I tyr to find ones with thicker leather as some are pretty thin. My favorites as a work glove and for riding motorcycles are the fitted Wells Lamont leather gloves, but they still don't last for abrasive work.



While any type of glove is better than nothing when riding motorcycles, something tells me that those gloves wont protect your palms from being ground down to the bone "if" you happen to go down. It is only a natural reaction to put your hands out in front of you when you fall.
 
These gloves have been really great. Great for working on and riding the motorized bike. Got 'em pretty greasy.

They are in the wash right now. No, I won't put then in the dryer!
 
I love mechanix gloves!! But as other state I use nitrile gloves for most of my oily work. I use the mechanix for brakes and suspension where I beat my hands but the nitrile when I am doing valve covers, etc.

Jared
 
I burned out a pair of these restoring my early Bronco. I think they are great especially for work on a rusty old beast.

A little tip........In the fine print somewhere on the Mechanix site or packaging they point out that the gloves last longer if you wash the oil/grease out of them often. I wash my second pair of these every time I wash my coveralls, which is fairly often. They seem to be lasting quite a bit longer, but they aren't getting as intense duty. They come out sparkling clean, and to think I was making them last longer by NOT washing my first pair!
 
I have one pair of the mechanix yellow gloves. They work well and are thin enough for most work. They have been holding up ok.

I have several pairs of Sears red and black gloves that I like too. They are a little thicker but still allow good dexterity and feel. Sometimes (ie around Christmas) they have these on sale for $9/pair which is a pretty good value I think.

I have several pairs of harbor freight/'us general' gloves (I don't have nay of the blue ones - they're always out when on sale!). The hf black ones are too thick for me to use for much.

I wear the hf nitrile gloves when doing anything involving fluids. However I have learned with enough cuts and scrapes and bangs to try to wear something heavier whenever possible; I have cut myself several times right through the nitrile gloves, usually when a wrench slips.
 
I HATE wearing gloves when I'm working on a car. Makes everything 3x as hard. Do you guys find that too, and just put up with it?

Also don't you get grease and [censored] all over the gloves which then gets transferred to every other part, and every tool, you touch?
 
It depends on what you are doing. For normal swinging wrenches, etc., I find the crapsman or mechanix gloves don't cause me any real trouble. Sometimes I slip the glove off for a minute if I need to, or for finer work I just wear the nitrile gloves.

Yes if you get grease on them it will transfer to other things, but it will if you get grease on your hands too. I keep rags handy to wipe off my gloevs and stuff if I get something on them. sometimes i even put nitrile gloves over the mehcanics gloves but that really decreases dexterity.

I like that if I am diligent about the gloves my hands are still clean at the end of the day and I have less scrapes.
 
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