Tractors can be greasy and kinda dirty...

[OklahomaBill]

What with hitches and grease zerks and front end loaders and assorted machinery.

I usually carry a couple of blue paper shop towels or a cheap terry cloth towel to wipe my hands of before grabbing the steering wheel... But my hands still are grubby....

Who wears gloves for the greasy stuff? Any recomendations? There are tonnes of mechanics gloves out there and I would have to believe not all gloves are created equal.

 

[Jim L.]

I pull on leather gloves since they seem to last longer. I've tried pigskin and mechanics gloves but they wear out fast.

Fluids call for the nitrile that come in 100 pk. Also use these around chemicals. But not for other as they hold in sweat.

The white hand cleaner gets oil and grease pretty well. Find I don't need the stuff with pumice. Also it can be wiped off if you're without water.

 

[Russell King]

There are packs of mechanic's hand wipes available - see link.

They work well and the kind I have (can't recall brand) has a resealing device on the small pack that helps them last a while.

http://www.gojo.com/united-states/b...px?sdid={C96F3FBA-E32E-463A-86DA-B56D936BAEF5}

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I use brown jersey, canvas or leather gloves when servicing or setting up the dirty greasy stuff, then pull them off before jumping on and driving.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Just working around at home i use nitrile gloves. Powder free. I go through lots. But take em off and hands are clean. Get dirt in your eye and now you need to clean your hands befor you can deal with it. Closed grain leather gloves for the rough stuff. My lathe has a tendency to create these little needles when turning mystery metal. The nitrile tear away so easy they dont create any safety issues. Leather on the other hand would be a nightmare around moving parts. I do try to keep the tractor half decent clean, but grease is one of those necessary evils.

 

[85Hokie]

What with hitches and grease zerks and front end loaders and assorted machinery.

I usually carry a couple of blue paper shop towels or a cheap terry cloth towel to wipe my hands of before grabbing the steering wheel... But my hands still are grubby....

Who wears gloves for the greasy stuff? Any recomendations? There are tonnes of mechanics gloves out there and I would have to believe not all gloves are created equal.

I have never liked wearing gloves to work on something, i dont know why i never caught on to it. Even when i stain a piece of wood i dont use them - i will get stain all over my hands!

I want to find a way how NOT to get the @#$#@$% grease on everything! On the backhoe and the bucket - i try to clean off the zerks and inside the little counterbores before I start another round of greasing only to find that no matter how many papertowels I bring, it is never enough!! That damn grease goes places the gun aint never been!!!

This stuff is fantastic for the cleaning of the hands after the fact :

http://www.harborfreight.com/45-lb-goop-hand-cleaner-40717.html

I put it on without water then rinse, cuts all grease and makes my hand smell good for once !

 

[koja]

I know what you mean about grease going every where . Seems like every time I grease the machine I spend more time wiping off all the black grease that goes everywhere than I do actually greasing. Thinking about switching to a clear colored grease . Or am I not using the right type of grease ? Hmm , may start a new thread on grease types , lol .

 

[Stubbyie]

Gloves seem to get in the way. Some jobs require them (staining wood) but others (handling a slippery grease gun) not so much.

Try this: wet hands with liquid dishwashing detergent and rub hands together until dry. Go grease or other chore. Wash hands or even rub on grass or rags and off comes everything leaving hands mostly clean. Finish under a hose if required. Fast easy and better dexterity than gloves. Similarly, scrape fingernails (think 'clawing') along bar of soap. Keeps nails clean for those black-tie events after greasing orange iron.

All handcleaners remove ALL oils and create dry cracked hands and cuticles. In dry winter my old hide cracks and bleeds if over-cleaned and deoiled. Slather on Bag Balm after using handcleaners.

 

[Daren Todd]

If you have really dry skin where oil and grease soaked into pores and won't come off. Try lathering hands with hand lotion to the point where it won't soak in to skin any more. Wait 5 to 10 minutes and then wash hands. Oil and grease will come right out of the pores

 

[Kingcreek]

I wear gloves a lot. I go every year to a big glove manufacturer/importer clearance sale. I usually buy a big bag full usually for $15-20. I buy several different styles. some I like for tractors like the mechanic's/assemblers gloves, some I like for butchering deer, welding, gardening, etc. People line up before the doors open and some bring 2 wheel handcarts to this sale.

 

[Benhameen]

I love grease for the protection it provides but I sure hate to get it all over me. Which is what I tend to do every time I grease my tractor. As far as gloves I use the kind that look like they have been dipped in rubber, not sure what they are called. I keep an extra pair of leather gloves on the tractor for changing implements and what not. I'm not a fan of using leather with grease, to me the grease tends to soak into them and my hands get greasy anyway.

When I was younger I never used them but when I started riding dirt bikes again and doing the maintenance that they require, particularly cleaning and oiling the air filter, very important on these new high revving 4 strokes, I found using rubber gloves sure saved a lot of head aches and clean up.

As far as the type of grease, I use the "clear" type not sure what its called or the specs.

 

[ShaunRH]

The dried on dishwashing soap is a very old school trick, works. I use disposable gloves when I don't want to get greasy/oily.

 

[rentthis]

I wipe my hands on my pants

 

[OklahomaBill]

I wipe my hands on my pants

Pants? I'm supposed to be wearing pants when I work on the tractor?

This explains a lot about why my neighbors always go inside when they hear me fire up the tractor....

 

[Tooljunkie]

Been waiting all day for that reply, bill?
I used a product called invisible glove, worked well. But shop wouldnt buy it for me. Hand cleaner can be rough on the ol grippers.
I use lanolin based non grit hand cleaner. Not as harsh.

 

[85Hokie]

Pants? I'm supposed to be wearing pants when I work on the tractor?

This explains a lot about why my neighbors always go inside when they hear me fire up the tractor....

I am reading this at the dinner table......lmao ....
my wife asked - what are you laughing at .....

had to tell her too - thanks Bill - I needed that ......and that one beer didnt hurt either !

 

[GWD]

I think it was already mentioned but those thin medical exam gloves are used when actually greasing. They can be bought cheaply at Costco or Sam's Club in bulk. I think Harbor Freight has them also.

Just toss them when done or even replace them mid-job.

Then your work gloves don't load up with stuff that gets all over everything.

 

[Billdog350]

I have been doing equipment maintenance for several years now on a professional level as well as personal. Good quality nitrile gloves (black ones from a quality source) are great for all around mechanics uses where you will be getting oily or greasy and still need dexterity to pick up tiny parts and so on. Get the right size for your hands...too big will make the fingertips loose and make it hard to pick up things. The cheap blue nitrile gloves are great for one time use like greasing, but tear very easily.

Another amazing product if you insist on not using gloves, or wear fabric gloves a lot and your hands still get dried out, is clear shield. http://www.shop.com/ClearShield+reg+Maximum+Protection+and+Hydration-559010729-p+.xhtml

I bought this stuff after testing it out at my dentists office, and holy crap its great. Put on a good layer all over your hands, esp your cuticles and fingernails and you will be impressed with how easily you can wash away grease. This will keep your hands from cracking in the winter too. It lasts a long time so even though its pricy, its worth it. Don't bother with the 2oz, spend the extra few bucks for the 12oz.

I also use either cheap mechanics gloves or leather gloves depending on the chore (logging, etc).

 

[Burt]

What with hitches and grease zerks and front end loaders and assorted machinery.

I usually carry a couple of blue paper shop towels or a cheap terry cloth towel to wipe my hands of before grabbing the steering wheel... But my hands still are grubby....

Who wears gloves for the greasy stuff? Any recomendations? There are tonnes of mechanics gloves out there and I would have to believe not all gloves are created equal.

Oklahoma Bill:

Yes I too suffer from the contact with tractor grease. Many times, I have wrecked a pair of pants or a shirt by leaning over something when I shouldn't have. Now, when I park it inside our shop, I usually leave a rag on top of the loader rails to remind me.

For cheap gloves, I get the ones from Harbor Freight and their nifty magnetic holder and have it on the man door in the shop which makes for an easy grab for quick use. They are inexpensive enough to keep a couple extra boxes around for there tasks like a quick paint touch up or bug spray, roundup as well.

I also love the protection that the grease gives but then we wouldn't be men if we didn't get some grease on us would we? I once read that unless a hobby gets blood, dirt or grease under your fingernails, it ain't a real hobby. So that means hunting, farming and gardening and tractors and wrenching.

Burt

 

[olthumpa]

Another amazing product if you insist on not using gloves, or wear fabric gloves a lot and your hands still get dried out, is clear shield. http://www.shop.com/ClearShield+reg+Maximum+Protection+and+Hydration-559010729-p+.xhtml

I bought this stuff after testing it out at my dentists office, and holy crap its great. Put on a good layer all over your hands, esp your cuticles and fingernails and you will be impressed with how easily you can wash away grease. This will keep your hands from cracking in the winter too. It lasts a long time so even though its pricy, its worth it. Don't bother with the 2oz, spend the extra few bucks for the 12oz.

I also use either cheap mechanics gloves or leather gloves depending on the chore (logging, etc).

I use leather gloves when operating equipment.
Disposable gloves when working on things.
I do not use clear shield but depending on what I an doing, I do saturate my hands with a hand lotion. Saturating them with the lotion makes it much easier to clean them after. The clear shield does interest me. Might have to try it to see the difference.

As for clothing, I just assume that whatever I am wearing around equipment is going to end up with grease and dirty anyways.