How do you clean up?

Despite how this may sound, I'm not quite a rookie when it comes to shade tree mechanic work. My first car, twelve years ago, was an '85 Chevette. So it was either get some tools and learn how to use them or stay stuck at home. It wasn't long before I was turning wrenches because I wanted to, not just because I had to. Very soon I was doing all the maintenence on family and friends' cars. Then I was modding and swapping engines into places they didnt' belong, rewiring entire cars, resurrecting wrecks...

For a guy who does this sort of work only as a hobby, I'm proud to say I've picked up a great many skills. Washing my damn hands is not one of them.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have tried all the Gojo, Fast Orange, Simple Green, dish soap, whatever. I scrub using things that aren't intended for hands. I've even used SOS pads. It's particularly bad when hydraulic fluid such as brake, ATF or power steering is involved and I'm working with dirty parts.

I come to work in an office environment dressed in clean business casual clothes, hair well-groomed, beard neatly trimmed and my hands looking like I just gave a prostate exam to an elephant.

Is it my skin? Do some people just have skin that just absorbs and holds car funk more than most other humans? I'll be in the shower until the water runs cold, just scrubbing my hands until they're raw. It's only when the top layer of skin eventually starts to wear off that the grime goes away.

So... Come on... Tell me I'm not alone. Who else has this problem and what have you found that works?

 

If your skin is dry the oil and grease will get absorbed. Gojo makes a lotion like stuff the you use and it does a good job of keeping your skin moist enough so it will wash off alot easier.

 

Gloves...

 

Excellent suggestions thus far, brethren. An ounce of prevention and all that... I do hate gloves, but I might have to get over that. Where does one find this Gojo lotion? Somehow I've not noticed it at the parts stores, but I will look.

 

In the machine shops, we used to put lotion on then gloves. They also made a stuff called "Liquid gloves" that was a thick lotion that kept the grease from soaking so deep into your skin.

For clean up, find a creme soap with pumice in it (gojo makes some, I just found LAVA brand in a tub that I have been happy with), and buy a "green pad" from walmart. Scrub the pumicy soap into your hands, especially where the thick calloused parts are that catch the grime and use the green pad like you would sand paper. Your skin will actually be softer when done as it will take off the outer layer of calloused skin.

Buy a nail brush with short thick bristles to get under your nails and cuticles.

 

Good question.... i used to buy it from the tool trucks. Im not sure where to find it otherwise. Someone has to sell it though.

 

My solution is to work at a metal fabrication shop. My hands usually get dirtier at work then they do working on my car.

But I usually use the Orange hand cleaner that has the little abrasive particles in it. If I get especially dirty, I have been known to use fine steel wool or scotch brite... I usually don't have a problem getting my hands clean, but grime seems to like to get stuck around my finger nails. No one could ever accuse me of having silky smooth hands..

 

gloves, liquid gloves, scotchbrite, and finally doing the dishes. all of this will work. I always try to do the dishes, don't have the patience to sit with my hands in a pan of water.most important,don't get it there to begin with. I use dawn and scotchbrite every night,or when during the day i wash. just disassembled a r/e and that is dirty.

 

I not only get my hands super grubby from working on cars, I also prepare our meals. Since I'm handling food after a long day in the shop, I want to get my hands as clean as possible. For those times when I get paint on my hands, I use a little paint thinner on a rag to get off the worst of it. After that I wash my hands with plain old soap and water. To get the tough stuff off I'll scrub my hands with a sponge with the one side that looks like a scuff pad. I also use a finger nail brush the clean the junk out from under my nails. All this scrubbing and different chemicals can really dry out your skin, so appling a good skin lotion after washing your hands is always a good idea. The best way to keep your hands is to wear gloves whenever you can.

 

I never thought my hands were dry, although my wife has just corrected me, so fine, I guess I have horribly rough, dry hands. Good for traction I suppose. But I don't want slippery hands when working with tools, which is why lotion never occurs to me. Then again lotion is no more slippery than 10w30, so maybe I should give it a try...

Good suggestion on the nail brush, Scoop. Pocketknife just isn't always thorough enough...

 

I use a product called "Invisible Glove" BEFORE I do any work on cars, etc. Stuff works very well. Makes it very easy to clean my hands afterwards.

 

That's the stuff. I thought it was called "Liquid Glove". It is NOT slippery. It actually feels like you rubbed a dry bar of soap on your hands when it dries. It leaves a thin layer that is water and grease proof, preventing it from soaking in to your hands. And it actually makes your hands MORE sticky, rather than slippery.

And Jean, I recommended a "Green pad" but the rough side of my sponge has the "blue pad" attached to it, and that is what I use daily...

 

Any of you guys ever hear of D/L hand soap?? Also called D/L oil soap,or D/L hand cleaner.Comes in a tub,works very well on hands covered in paint/ink/grease/oil/tar and other such foul things.For stubborn spots use a scrub brush.I have used the stuff since the first time I got greasy,IMHO its the best stuff out there.

 

You guys won't believe this but I keep a bottle of "Avon Skin so Soft" in the garage. When my hands get really dirty i use this stuff and a paper towel before coming into the house. I've even used it on tar. I use Lava after that.

P.S. My hands stay oh so soft.

 

Nothing works better than having a big box of tight fitting latex gloves. just keep peelin em off and use new ones as they become dirty. I havent had luck with the thin nitryl gloves, they break easier than the latex. extra thick nitril gloves are ok though. And when i do ride bare back, I use Go Jo Natural Orange Pumice hand cleaner from the gallon jug with pump dispenser and handy blue GRIPPIT nail brush attached right to the side. That stuff rocks. But tight gloves are the way to go. just gotta get used to em.