Gloves for bike mechanics

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Disposable nitrile gloves, also handy to have in case you need to sort a chain or puncture out and about.
Try engineering supply companies, builders merchants or similar.

 

[Blue Hills]

Swarfega works pretty good for me.

Got to agree. Very often don't wear gloves - tend to tear and get in the way and interfere with my oh so delicate refined expert twiddling/fine tuning of my old Ridgebacks - I have some cheap poundshop aqueous cream - rub it in my hands - helps getting the muck off with soap or swarfega later - clean hands in secondary bathroom using old towel. If things really bad (not often) can always have a shower and wash hair - by end of that all will be well.

 

[Blue Hills]

Disposable nitrile gloves, also handy to have in case you need to sort a chain or puncture out and about.

Yes,always have a pair in the seat pack.

 

[mjr]

If you get into the habit of wiping your hands with a cleanish cloth between jobs you shouldn't get oil everywhere.

And then instead of getting through cheap disposable gloves, you need a steady stream of more expensive cloths... depends how many rags you get and how much you work on bikes, I guess.

 

[Ian H]

Barrier cream well rubbed-in, especially around the nails is effective. That and Swarfega or similar, as mentioned upthread.

 

[Ian H]

Make some bread after you've worked on the bike. I find kneading dough works like a charm on ingrained dirt.

Does it improve the bread?

 

[Bazzer]

Keep the bike and in particular the chain, clean. That way the dirty jobs are less dirty, so if you have to wear gloves, (have a box of B&Q gloves myself for bikes and cars), you don't go through as many and if none are around, your hands wash much more easily.

 

[keithmac]

And then instead of getting through cheap disposable gloves, you need a steady stream of more expensive cloths... depends how many rags you get and how much you work on bikes, I guess.

Hotels chuck old bedding out all the time, makes for an excellent supply of rags..

 

[Blue Hills]

Hotels chuck old bedding out all the time, makes for an excellent supply of rags..

how on earth do you secure access to this treasure trove?

 

[keithmac]

You can ask around, we get sacks full at work. It's a godsend really!.

 

[lutonloony]

I find that asking wifey to get me some from the dental practice is quite "handy"

 

[Tojo]

Make some bread after you've worked on the bike. I find kneading dough works like a charm on ingrained dirt.

Well, I don't think I'll be popping round to you're place for a slice of toast......

 

[tyred]

Rub Vaseline into your hands before starting work and they will be easier to clean afterwards.

 

[RichardB]

[QUOTE 4532258, member: 9609"]If you don't have something like swarfega, washing powder (daz) used with a scrubbing brush is just as good, with some oils like smelly hypoids it may even be better at getting rid of the smell.[/QUOTE]
I have never found Swarfega very good. Halfords sell a product called Manista (made by Comma) which is excellent - works well and your hands smell lemony afterwards. If you run out (as I did recently), try ordinary handwash and get someone to sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar on your soapy hands. The sugar acts like the polychips in the hand cleaner and works remarkably well. It's probably better for the environment than plastic chips as well.

I try to use nitrile gloves, I really do, but for most jobs I don't bother as I prefer to feel what I am doing and don't mind cleaning up afterwards. But for mucky stuff like scraping black gunk off jockey wheels, definitely gloves.

 

[mjr]

Swarfega Orange contains couscous, not plastic chips. Works well IMO.