Gloves Keep Your Hands and Fingers Clean

When I was younger, having paint-stained hands/fingers was a source of pride for me. I was happy for my school mates and peers to know that I was out painting. Not everyone liked it, but it stood for my personality.

Over time – as you integrate into graffiti culture – you get caught up in the realities of graffiti life: cop chases, arrests, and generally needing to keep a lower profile. This is where wearing gloves pays off.

Police Chases

Heaven forbid you get rolled on and decide to run (I don’t recommend it, but I can’t stop you, can I?), gloves are cheap to throw away and at least have clean hands if you end up getting caught up in trouble.

(As a side note, would you enjoy a post on dealing with cops? Leave a comment below and tell me)

Maintaining a Low Profile Life

When you wake up after a bombing mission, paint will wash off your forearms fairly easily, but not as easily off your fingers and definitely not your nails.

Eventually you get older, and understand the importance of maintaining a low profile outside of your graffiti life. When you’re 30 years old (I know that’s a long way away for some of you), you get funny looks when you have to tell co-workers why your finger nails are black and purple.

Gloves keep your hands clean to keep your public life and your graffiti life separate.