I did a tire change the other evening, and as usual my hands wound up looking like I'd spent the day in a coal mine lined with grease. I was about to start on my usual routine of multiple attempts at cleaning them with various soaps and detergents, when I decided to try something else. I had a box of 20 mule team borax sitting there, and gave it a whirl. Something must have reacted, because I felt a considerable amount of heat when I began rubbing. When I rinsed, I was quite astonished to find that my hands were about as clean as I've ever managed to get them immediately following a wrenching session. What else works well for you guys?
I've had good luck with rubbing a small dab of shaving cream into my hands before starting work - it coats your hand and fills in terrain features with a water-soluble coating that keeps grease from sticking and significantly eases cleanup. I'm also a big fan of the bar-style Lava soap. Seems to work better for scrubbing than pastes or liquids - only downside is that it's near useless on fingernails. Honestly, since I just started buying big boxes of cheap nitrile gloves at Harbor Freight a few years ago I haven't had much occasion to use heavy-duty hand cleaners. They're great - save time with cleanup, easily removed if you want to grab a bite or need to touch something "clean", and surprisingly good protection against cuts and abrasion. I rather like being able to wrench in the morning and then go out that night without residual grease on my hands. Also, I suspect gloves help prevent automotive fluids from migrating through your skin and melting your brain.
Since I don't have water in my shop I use WD40 to get the heavy stuff off my hands. just squirt some in the palm of your hand and rub them reall good. wipe off with a rag or paper towl. then once in my house I just get the dish washing liquid and squirt some in my hand and wash with that to get the remaing WD40 residue off. if it's dirt,rust,or grease WD40 will cut it off then all you have to do is wash the residue off with sope. And it doesn't dry your hands out.
A little table salt added to a squirt of soap works pretty well too, the salt makes the soap abrasive. Cheap, easy, and it's already in your house
http://www.gojo.com/united-states/m...px?pcat={342B4E7F-FC4F-463A-B8CA-8FCED2D3FDAC} I use this stuff. It takes oil and grease right off.
i was an auto tech for 6 years. i would first wear laytex gloves, it sucks but you get used to them. I found a quick wash with just gojo, followed by a gojo/atf mix works well. i would use a finger nail brish too. the wimminz will appreciate this. if there is nothing else brake clean works too...
+1 to this, its grainy and sometimes takes two washes. Even the knockoff at true value works darn well.
I use Fast Orange. http://www.permatex.com/products/au...ex_Fast_Orange_Pumice_Lotion_Hand_Cleaner.htm Works great and you can get two big containers at Costco for around $14.00.
I usually end up using Dawn with a green scratch pad if I have REALLY stubborn stuck-on grease. I put it on dry and work it in, then if the grease spots aren't emulsifying, I take the scratch pad and sand a little bit of my skin off. Once the grease is emulsified, it'll wash right off. If it works on baby seals, crude oil soaked birds, and some of the nasty crusty dishes that accumulate in a bachelor's house, it'll work on some axle grease.
Similar to the shaving cream trick, is to put lotion on your hands before you work. If your hands are dry, they will soak up the grease which makes it harder to get off. The lotion also seems to form a bit of a protective layer between your hands and the grease. Using your wife's expensive fancy-smelling lotion is optional. Cheap baby lotion works just fine.
Mineral oil from the drug store will dissolve oil and grease. Better for you than WD-40 or BrakeKleen. Solvents are tough on your skin and brain cells.
I have to keep my hands somewhat un-thrashed for professional reasons. I made a special order of heavy-duty powdered latex gloves from Labsafety a while ago. You get used to wearing them. They work well under Mechanix gloves for really nasty stuff. Even better, in winter, you can use liners from REI under the latex to help keep warm.
Harbor Freight nitrile gloves ($7 a box on sale/coupon) until you're done wrenching. You'll use a few, but it really helps reduce the number of cuts and scrapes on your hands, too! Then use Gojo. (NO abrasive pumice stuff - you won't need it, and your skin will thank you).
Gloves You acn guess what I work on day and day out The saying is "you can't pet the kitty if the hands are gritty" It cam from one of my mechanic buddys who gave some chic a nasty yeast infection.
Having installed unknown sq ft of epdm roofing (rubber). Go get some chicken wings and enjoy them. Then, rub them on your hands andwipe off with paper towels. Now use a cleaner of choice (go jo) etc. try it, it works.
No but it will give you cancer Getting oil/grease/coolant/whatever on your hands just from working is bad enough. I wouldn't want to spray a volatile compound on them too if I could avoid it. I've never found a glove I could work comfortably in so I just keep lots of clean rags handy and wipe my hands off every few minutes.