Change Clothes? Who does that?

[sunnyorm]

I find it difficult to remember, or just don't like to change clothes to work on my car.

What are some solutions from other members.

Thanks

[nhusa]

I change my clothes one a year even if I don't have to!




I have a set of work clothes for the times I plan on getting dirty. When I forget my good jeans usually become work jeans because of the paint, grease, and other stuff that seem to be attracted to them. There are times my wife can get the grease out of them but paint and other stuff can cause a problem.

On the other hand shirts are near impossible to get clean once I have greased them.

[Tom Wesenberg]

If you don't have to get under the car, then an apron is good to have.
The problem is to find one large enough to protect your sides as well as your front.

[J Franklin]

Only one item needed for that, a pair of coveralls!

[Drive Shaft Dave]

I have a couple of worn jeans i use for work clothes, a pair of coveralls work good too.

[Joe K]

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Originally Posted by J Franklin

Only one item needed for that, a pair of coveralls!

For a while, Ford Script Coveralls were available to enthusiasts.

Alas, not now.

Car-Hart it'll have to be.

You could do worse.

Joe K

[Y-Blockhead]

My wife has become an Expert at removing grease from my clothes. She has had a lot of years of practice...

I do carry a pair of coveralls in the trunk incase I have to get under the car while away from home.

[Brentwood Bob]

Bibs are good.

[PC/SR]

Well, since Nordstrom's is now selling fake dirty jeans for over $400.00, I plan to get those old greasy and dirty ones out and sell them for $300. Or maybe sell them as genuine authentic dirt for $500!!! I have always told the wife that this hobby would pay off someday.

[Licensed to kill]

For me, it's the other way around. I change cloths when i go somewhere. I always dress like a homeless person when at home anyway whether I'm working on cars or not.

[redmodelt]

Simple I only have one pair of "good" jeans so unless I am going somewhere besides work or out in the shop I wear my cover all's or work clothes all the time.

[RawhideKid]

It doesn't matter to me, I'm seem to be a dirt magnet.

When I go to work on someone else's car I always wear an apron because I know it keeps my belly warmer belt buckle from scratching the paint. I once tried coveralls, but they don't really make them in my size and when I would lay on the ground and reach over my head, I would be a soprano.

[sunnyorm]

Thanks for the replies, think i'll try coveralls.

[1928Pickuppain]

Carhart coveralls. I built a special hat
Rack for The garage and have a ritual; walk in, fedora drops on hook, next is vest and watch, revolver pops on shelf next to anything in pockets, coveralls go on and baseball cap with led lights built into the brim go on next and I'm set to go. One recommendation with coveralls is to wear suspenders as it's almost impossible to pull your pants up once they start slipping. All my blue jeans I'v sewn suspender buttons on. And wear suspenders daily. best part of the Carhart coveralls compared to cheaper brands is if I have to head somewhere and don't want to change out of them say the hardware store or parts store I can still slip my wheel gun in the pocket and it's kept in perfect positions, firmly in place and compleatly concealed. riturals are important for remembering things!

[SeaSlugs]

ooh try the whole concept of spray painting anything - nah i wont get any on my glasses are final last words haha

Yea work clothes and home work clothes used to be the same thing. Be all sweaty and stinky and greasy/dusty/dirty from work so come home and keep right on working on my own dirty dusty greasy things. The company paid for the uniforms and did the laundry service on them so they arent ever going to know if its my grease or the companies grease. Now that i changed jobs i have to dress somewhat presentable so i have a set of job jeans and a single pair or two of greasy jeans. Come home and immediately change clothes or occasionally i will bring my home work clothes to ork and change right before i leave. Put jeans on do the task, remove jeans and hang on hook ready for next time - no point in keeping them clean or washing that often. (5 seconds with liquid wrench or pb blaster and you stink again anyways)

i have entirely too many dirty shirts - usually become the shirts when the collar wears out. Then when they are even too worn out to be classified as a shirt anymore then its cut up into rag time for changing oil or wiping grease zerks.

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by 1928Pickuppain

One recommendation with coveralls is to wear suspenders as it's almost impossible to pull your pants up once they start slipping.

Wait...WHAT?? You wear pants under your coveralls?

[jthomas6]

Originally Posted by Licensed to kill

For me, it's the other way around. I change cloths when i go somewhere. I always dress like a homeless person when at home anyway whether I'm working on cars or not.

x2

[1928Pickuppain]

Originally Posted by Y-Blockhead

Wait...WHAT?? You wear pants under your coveralls?

Not in summer I don't! Biggest problem with pants under
Coveralls is when the explosive need run full steam to
The crapper hits and you know you must try to unhook while you run
so by the time you get there it's not to late.....

[SAJ]

This is an interesting subject for me. Putting on coveralls involves taking my boots off, which needs sitting down and bending forward. Back and shoulder problems make this painful and slow. Struggling without taking off boots is worse, when the coverall legs get hung up on the boots.
I hate changing clothes, so what I put on in the morning after a shower is what I go out in at night and take off before I go to bed - funerals and weddings excepted!
My saving trick is to have 1 litre cans of Shellite, (X55 solvent, lighter fluid or white gas are the same thing here) and a large roll of paper towels in the workshop, my office, laboratory and home laundry (my hobby workshop is in my factory building, 7 minutes by car from my house). Each time I get grease on my jeans or shirt I get it off with this "dry-cleaner fluid" which evaporates in seconds.
My clothes ethic is compounded by the nature of my factory where we manufacture and use sticky resins constantly, so a can of acetone sits next to each can of X55 for a similar purpose. And sometimes a wipe with a mix of both solvents (plus meths too if called for) is needed for unidentifiable stains like gasket cement, paints etc.
So I manage to keep my jeans and shirts reasonable until they wear out.
For dirty jobs like changing a gearbox, I put on a hat and brown dust coat. And maybe a filthy shirt and ripped jeans for really mucky jobs like using liquid cutting and polishing compound on a paint polishing mop.
I can no longer roll under a car due to old back injuries and arthritic shoulders, so coveralls are not essential - all work is done using a 4-post hoist.
This is a long answer, but the OP's question made me think about what I do and how it evolved over the years as I became less mobile.
My wife loves to change her clothes and looks different several times a day. Me, I hate the time effort, extra washing, bending, etc that changing clothes involves.
Man, I have turned into a crusty, inflexible, grumpy old Git in the last few years!
SAJ in NZ

[JDupuis]

Reminds me of the Book. " 200 yards to the Outhouse" written by Willie Makeit.
With the sequel written by Betty Won't. . Jeff

[Keith True]

A few years ago I was at an old home days near me.They always had 50-75 cars show up for the car display.Folks would get all gussied up for the costume contest,and sit around their cars for people to vote on.At some point I kept hearing my name called so I went over to the podium,and found I had won best depression era costume.They congratulated me for such a fine costume,but I wasn't wearing a costume.I was wearing my regular clothes.Overalls,floppy hat,boots,I was just being me.Some of the guys involved in putting on the show were rolling around laughing because they know I have absolutely zero interest in entering or winning anything.

[2manycars]

I am still wearing the Brauch Auto Restoration shirts I had made 20 years ago, even thought I retired and closed the business several years ago.

[JDupuis]

I'm like you Bill. We sold our dealership a few years back. But I still wear all my old dealership work clothes for working on anything greasy. Jeff

[California Travieso]

Do you have to go to a tractor Store to get coveralls? J.C. Penny used stock them in the work cloths section and I believe Sears did too back in the day. They may be back in style, I've see some kids wearing them but the legs are more like shorts.

David Serrano

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

Only one item needed for that, a pair of coveralls!

Same here

[1928Pickuppain]

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I think I picked. Ip coveralls up at sears and one pair at Kmart (maybe the answer for the less moblie is sippers down side of them like a pair of chaps I had a pair like that made up after a bad injery and numerous surgeries that really helped it took 5 years to finally be able to put my left boot on without a hook extender to reach the boot straps.

[bettlesr]

I still use some of my fathers who retired in '90. I also have some long sleeve and short sleeve I bought from Dickies on line.

[Keith True]

Tractor supply is good for overalls,not sure about coveralls anymore.I buy all my pants from Baileys,a logging supply place in Woodland California.I buy what they call,Wild Ass pants.They are double front and it takes a while for the torch and welder to ruin then.They have suspender buttons on them,and run about $20.when on sale.The black ones seem to hold up a little better than the blue ones.Plus they don't show the grease as bad.I have a friend in the body trade that loves them,he said he gets double the life with the double front.

[HoarseWhisperer]

One must wear proper attire when working on the Model A Ford.

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by HoarseWhisperer

One must wear proper attire when working on the Model A Ford.

NOW you woke me up.

A good friend is both a Model T AND a Model A fan. So we gave him one of these for Christmas.



Discussion of the present status at http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages...tml?1483838621 Seemingly not available except in the "gently used" category now.

Wife has bought herself the "mega" Viking/Husqvarna sewing machine - the one that does embroidery from a computer scan. I think I should introduce her to a new pair of CarHart coveralls and see what she can simulate?

Joe K

[SAJ]

I thought "coveralls " was American for what we call "overalls " here in the (very) deep South. But I see Keith refers to both. What is the difference?
In NZ parlance overalls have pants legs and all in one upper body cover with zip or press studs fastening of this "jacket" upper part. How are "coveralls" constructed?
SAJ in NZ

[Keith True]

What we call overalls here are pants with a bib that comes up almost to your chin,with straps that cross in the back,like suspenders,and come down to hook to the bib.What we call coveralls are one piece,neck to ankle,and down to your wrists.A little bit of work to get in and out of.I hear some ex-military guys call them jump suits.Some of us call them monkey suits because you look like a monkey getting in and out of them.

[G&N Farms]

I always work on my cars NAKED but if I did put clothes on, Dickies work really great. They are very close to a uniform and kind of repel oil stains. When I was teaching Auto Mechnics, I had my students buy them for the lab work.

I would love to have an antique shop coat , those look very cool. BTW, be careful on what you are wearing when welding, some clothes burn really fast and easy. I have seen that happen.

[SAJ]

Thanks Keith. I did not know that. Our "overalls" are your "coveralls". I would like some of your "overalls" which I always heard were "dungarees" in our speak. I don't think you can get them here except as a woman's fashion garment. They may also be called "bib overalls".

Guess what. I Googled "bib overalls nz" and found we can get Carhart and Dickies bib overalls here in NZ. Very expensive though.
And painters here apparently use "bib and braces" overalls.
My problem with arthritic shoulders and damaged lower back etc is that even after getting my boots off and the pants part of coveralls on, I find it very difficult to then shrug the top half on after getting one arm into a sleeve. The bib style would overcome this, and be much cooler too.
I bet there are many more that have the same trouble as me after a life full of adventures and injuries.
Zippers in the legs sound a great idea too, so boots would not have to come off.
I will definitely investigate this, but my car repairs tend to be impromptu - I walk into the workshop intending only to look at and maybe caress the cars, but suddenly find myself under the car on the hoist with my bald head covered in grease, because I didn't put on one of my filthy caps that hang next to the hoist, and greasy spanners in my hand.
SAJ in NZ

[V4F]

I change to try to keep the garage in the garage .

[5851a]

Originally Posted by licensed to kill

for me, it's the other way around. I change cloths when i go somewhere. I always dress like a homeless person when at home anyway whether i'm working on cars or not.:d

x 2

[Jim M]

x3!

[Joe K]

x4

Clothes are VERY important to the wife. I figured this out when she went credit card shopping and ended up with a "Coldwater Creek" credit card - because she (not I) gets 1 percent back as credits towards Coldwater Creek purchases.

"Honey, what about the L.L. Bean similar credit card/credit?

"You never buy any clothes ANYWAY - so you'll never get to use the credit."

She is right in that.

Her wardrobe occupies about 7/8th of our combined walk-in closet.

My clothes, once they've been used to do something "manual," like mow the lawn, or carry a screwdriver in a pocket are somehow contaminated as "work clothes." And never to even TOUCH dress clothes ever again - even while clean in the closet.

"Work" apparently is somewhat akin to nuclear contamination. In her mind only suitable for permanent burial at a high security waste repository. I could see the wheels going around in her mind when I told her the Yucca Mountain project had been scrapped. (Could they use this for Joe's old clothes?)

Oh well. She makes a stellar chili - just don't dribble any down your front - or your WORK CLOTHES wardrobe will increase by one garment.

Joe K

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Joe K

Oh well. She makes a stellar chili - just don't dribble any down your front - or your WORK CLOTHES wardrobe will increase by one garment.

Joe K

Thats why you eat chill like a man! No shirt and eat standing over the sink!

[ronn]

changing of clothes.............

sounds like "pretty boy" syndrome to me.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by Licensed to kill

For me, it's the other way around. I change cloths when i go somewhere. I always dress like a homeless person when at home anyway whether I'm working on cars or not.

that's funny! i am the same way! i always look like a bum!

[Cool Hand Lurker]

Naked. Maybe a thong for modesty.

[big job]

I sit on a soft chair and sip my beer - thats why I have two sons layin on creepers
LOL

[Jim M]

.......x3

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Lurker

Naked. Maybe a thong for modesty.

isnt it too cold up there to be wearing a bannana hammock?

[d.]

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WalMart carries both overalls and coveralls.

[mcorrell]

An old pair of jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt (or sweat shirt in winter) works for me. What constitutes an old pair of jeans? A good pair that gets an oil stain on them when I forget to change before working! I like long sleeves to protect my arms. I've also started wearing "mechanics" gloves whenever possible. I get cheap ones for oil changes and grease jobs.
I keep a few old beach towels in the garage to protect my cars' interior when working on them so that I don't dirty the seats when climbing in and out.

[California Travieso]

Originally Posted by mcorrell

An old pair of jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt (or sweat shirt in winter) works for me. What constitutes an old pair of jeans?

For me, it's when my wife says I can't wear the jeans in public because they are frayed. She doesn't object if I wear them to swap meets as long as I change after the swap meet.

As for T-shirts, Jim Brierley has a good description in his book on the cycle of T-shirts from new to shop. For me, it's when my wife says the collar is frayed on my T-shirts as well as shirts or they are stained. She expected me to shave too!

When you're married, you don't have think too much.

David Serrano

[dave in australia]

In summer, I usually wear shorts and t-shirts for working in the shed. My A's aren't the only thing being worked on in my shed. In winter, it's either KingGee style work pants and a cheap windcheater, or overalls. What we call a windcheater in Aus is what you call a loose sweater in the USA, and overalls are one piece long sleeved pants/shirt combo made from drilled cotton.

[modelAtony]

I always carry a pair of Paper coveralls, cheap reusable and if they get real dirty throw them away. Have fun modelAtony tony white Lafayette, LA

[sunnyorm]

Wow, just dropped in, to find Many more replies, and enjoyed them all.
Thanks

[V4F]

I have a set in the garage & a set in the house . change in garage to keep crap out of house .

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

When I worked on Jaguars, ALL my shirts had BIG BLACK thread CIRCLES on them, from leaning on KNOCK OFF HUBS. They called me "SCREWY"---
My Son, Gregg, (RIP) had one uniform from EVERY Dealer he had ever worked for!
He left me about 50 Wild & Crazy "T" shirts & over 100 Baseball Hats! AND, 107 KEYS, that I don't what they fit??????---I look "IMPORTANT" with my BIG Key ring--LOL--I tell "them" they're keys to Girlfriends' APARTMENTS & my CAR COLLECTION!
Bill Equipped

[H. L. Chauvin]

Change Clothes? Who does that?

How about:

(A) If we never consider going to the trouble of changing into work clothes; hence, never even consider working on maintaining our Model A's.

(B) Next, after driving down the road for a few months or years, we hit our brakes and one of our front wheels rolls out ahead of us.

(C) Appears a similar experience would now warrant a most necessary belated change of both clothes and underwear.

(D) Life appears to always be just full of these agonizing "Now or Later" choices.