Advice from the hive. Gloves for mechanics with tactile ability.

Ragin Cajun · 2026-11-11T13:38:39-0600

My grandson has been working at the local Toyota dealership starting as a lube tech. He is in his element and looks forward to his future as an auto mechanic. His Poppa (me of course) has been helping him out with his tools and equipment as well as teaching him the ropes on his investment and taxes and stuff like that. Anyway, he had an ER visit with chemical burns on his hands last night. He's okay, but the dumb shit decided to work out his shift before visiting the ER. Poor kid has a great big old heart but his ADD takes over frequently. He just made 21 and has learning disabilities, epilepsy, dyslexia among other challenges and have taken upon myself to mentor him to be a capable young man. He's fine and will be back at work tomorrow.

His hardheadedness has him not wearing gloves because he can't feel anything when he doing specific tasks. (Head slap moment.) My plan is to buy him some good nitrile gloves that provide decent tactile feel and some protection. My next life coach session with him will be to treat his hands like surgeons do. They are your source of prosperity and must be cared for.

I have used mechanics gloves and other heavy duty stuff since my LE days and continue to do so.

So, my brothers and sisters, do you guys choose a specific brand or type of glove for such a purpose? Do you change them frequently during the day? Any other tips, tricks and wisdom you can impart upon me?

I have no problem kitting him up with tools of his trade because his brothers and cousins are all past, present and future college grads and I am considering this an investment into his education.

I just bought him a cordless impact wrench and heavy duty case for his birthday. He was ecstatic.

Thanks for your time.

SNKETR · 2026-11-11T13:56:51-0600

I run Venom Steel 6mil Nitrile when I need tactile and oil/chem protection. They hold up pretty well, but I'm tempted to try something thicker. I also try to use Mechanix when I'm doing tire rotations and the like, when I don't need that much feedback, but I often end up going barehanded.

NEOHIO · 2026-11-11T13:58:18-0600

Sounds like his shop foreman or lead needs to take him under his wing.
No way anyone in the shop should have some sort of chemical burn and not seek immediate attention!

Gloves are a nightmare initially. Dexterity will improve with use.
Grab a few different sizes and thicknesses for him to try of nitrile gloves.
We go thru 20+ cases a week in my factory. Some guys like tight gloves, others like loose gloves.
Thickness isn't important for a lube tech. He needs to change them when compromised/cut/split etc.
Never ever reuse them. The sweaty bacteria could cause nasty infections if his hands have cuts.
He will need to use some sort of lotion at the end of the day.
I always wear nitrile gloves, even under mechanic style gloves. I heavily dislike the feeling of grease on my hands. Total "ick" factor to me.

DFS · 2026-11-11T14:16:34-0600

Following to learn as well, love to see people investing in the next generation, and the next generation engaging in this type of work. Teach him well, we need it!

TRAMPER · 2026-11-11T14:17:48-0600

I’m a professional mechanic and equipment operator in a power plant and while I prefer to work without gloves on many occasions when my hands are going to get greasy I wear the purple nitrile gloves and generally double or even triple them. The reason I do this is because when the first glove gets really greasy and I can’t work or hold onto anything I just pull that one off and begin using the clean one below it.

When I’m working with hot things or something where gloves are important I wear Mechanix brand gloves.

I work for a very large and profitable company so all this PPE is provided and if I wanted I could use and ruin 3 pairs a day and no one would care. If I were paying for my own stuff my feelings may be different.

Keep in mind the Nitrile gloves don’t offer a lot of protection, as evidenced by this wire from a wire wheel that was jammed up under my finger nail. Happened when I was cleaning out a bearing race of grease.

BLKBTY · 2026-11-11T14:22:13-0600

I use 6 mil Nitrite heavy duty gloves here at home. I don't have near the demand on mine that he would. But, they hold up really really well

TexasTremor · 2026-11-11T14:32:47-0600

we sell a ton of the Black Lightning branded gloves where I work at . 6ml and cheap enough
he would benefit from a textured palm nitrile or latex glove and Venom is a popular brand also.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WMJOGI?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback&th=1

mrmag00 · 2026-11-11T14:33:05-0600

Might try something like Blue magic glove in a bottle or Onwex invisible glove protection. These creams work well at protecting the hand without affecting dexterity. Then a good nitrite glove when needed.

mrmag00 · 2026-11-11T14:36:14-0600

I use these around the house seem to hold up wand have a textured palm.

Ragin Cajun · 2026-11-11T15:03:50-0600

TRAMPER said:
I’m a professional mechanic and equipment operator in a power plant and while I prefer to work without gloves on many occasions when my hands are going to get greasy I wear the purple nitrile gloves and generally double or even triple them. The reason I do this is because when the first glove gets really greasy and I can’t work or hold onto anything I just pull that one off and begin using the clean one below it.

When I’m working with hot things or something where gloves are important I wear Mechanix brand gloves.

I work for a very large and profitable company so all this PPE is provided and if I wanted I could use and ruin 3 pairs a day and no one would care. If I were paying for my own stuff my feelings may be different.

View attachment 278785

Keep in mind the Nitrile gloves don’t offer a lot of protection, as evidenced by this wire from a wire wheel that was jammed up under my finger nail. Happened when I was cleaning out a bearing race of grease.

Yea, I used to triple glove when I was CSI, especially when working with DB's (dead bodies).

Blade420Play🔪🏆 · 2026-11-11T15:16:16-0600

https://a.co/d/04CvGHbX

I used these for work during the summer, and then when they become a little too stinky I retire them to the shop. Then I'll use them for oil changes and all that. If my hands are going to get really dirty I will wear nitrile under these. After I'm done I just throw them away.

Showa Atlas Grip 310 Gloves | Free Shipping Over $80 https://share.google/TDam9zFxhiLuDSf85
These are the ones that I wear in the winter, also for work. Same deal when they get stinky take him in a retire until the shop for one use oil change or otherwise gloves. Also where natural underneath will never messing with nasty stuff.

Either one of these I generally don't put rubber gloves on underneath for just oil changes because I can almost come away unscathed

Ragin Cajun · 2026-11-11T15:35:02-0600

Blade420Play🔪🏆 said:
https://a.co/d/04CvGHbX
I used these for work during the summer, and then when they become a little too stinky I retire them to the shop. Then I'll use them for oil changes and all that. If my hands are going to get really dirty I will wear nitrile under these. After I'm done I just throw them away.

Showa Atlas Grip 310 Gloves | Free Shipping Over $80 https://share.google/TDam9zFxhiLuDSf85
These are the ones that I wear in the winter, also for work. Same deal when they get stinky take him in a retire until the shop for one use oil change or otherwise gloves. Also where natural underneath will never messing with nasty stuff.

Either one of these I generally don't put rubber gloves on underneath for just oil changes because I can almost come away unscathed

HA, Beau, unfortunately has issues with the unscathed part, but I'm working on that

Bless his Heart
He's a hero to the little old widows at our Church and works on their cars for free as well as other related odd jobs. They offer to pay him but nope. Except for food.

mrmag00 · 2026-11-11T16:04:59-0600

And I bet the stuff the little old ladies make for him is fantastic.

Ragin Cajun · 2026-11-11T16:15:12-0600

mrmag00 said:
And I bet the stuff the little old ladies make for him is fantastic.

Nothing's like Louisiana home cooking! Beau wanted badly to be a Marine like his other grandfather, but epilepsy put the stop to that. His passion is cars and the trade could be a great career for him.

HeavyAssault · 2026-11-11T16:29:06-0600

More pics of hands please.....asking for @Optimus🤖 . "Shifting priorities" is what I was told.

To the OP : Costco nitrile by the case, find the best fitting size if even a size up, double up on gloves for more durability, swap out as often as needed.
Cons : Hands will sweat and pulling those gloves on a wet hand is damn near impossible.

MrFancypants · 2026-11-11T17:25:40-0600

The thing I hate about nitrile gloves is they tear and always at the worst possible time. I usually start with the best intentions and then my hands get sweaty or I need to take them off and they are impossible to put back on when wet without tearing. At $15 for 50 gloves you're basically spending 50 cents every time you reach for a new pair. So I generally only use nitrile gloves when dealing with chems that you really shouldn't get on your hands (like oil and grease, solvents, or dumping the trailer).

So far the best cost to performance gloves I have found are the Milwaukee nitrile dipped gloves. I like my gloves tight and they make smaller sizes so you get a good fit with good tactile feel. I use them more than 10x so they basically cost the same as nitrile gloves. They fit snug and let your hands breathe, but if you want to do delicate things like thread a small fastener, I prefer bare hands. Like I said, I usually start with great intentions to stay clean and end up removing gloves, getting distracted, then washing my hands with degreaser

I'm not a big fan of the padded/armored mechanics gloves. Somehow I find a way to hurt my hand anyway (not as bad as TRAMPER though, geez) so the loss in feel isn't worth it.

JasonAL · 2026-11-11T17:44:25-0600

I use nitrile gloves to keep from getting hands messy. If I’m needing heavy gloves for impact/cut resistance I use tig welding leather gloves.

A tip for nitrile gloves is I keep a bottle of baby powder in the shop to cover my hands to aid in putting them on.

OmahaBravo · 2026-11-11T18:06:00-0600

mrmag00 said:
I use these around the house seem to hold up wand have a textured palm.
View attachment 278787

I love these gloves. Unfortunately our local Atwoods quit carrying them.

I switched to the orange 7mil gloves from Harbor Freight. I stock up when they go on super sale.
I carry the blue 5mil ones in my truck for when i go offroading.

For airing up/down or doing any other task where i want to keep my hands clean but dont need "waterproof" I use these gloves: https://www.harborfreight.com/hi-vis-polyurethane-coated-work-gloves-medium-64474.html

BadDogPSD · 2026-11-11T18:24:19-0600

I use Venom 6 mil nitrile or Mechanix depending on what I'm working on.

Blade420Play🔪🏆 · 2026-11-11T18:37:27-0600

OmahaBravo said:
I love these gloves. Unfortunately our local Atwoods quit carrying them.

I switched to the orange 7mil gloves from Harbor Freight. I stock up when they go on super sale.
I carry the blue 5mil ones in my truck for when i go offroading.

For airing up/down or doing any other task where i want to keep my hands clean but dont need "waterproof" I use these gloves: https://www.harborfreight.com/hi-vis-polyurethane-coated-work-gloves-medium-64474.html

Imma hafta try a pair or two of those