Hand cleaning methods - Any favourites or secrets?

[waveman1500]

Plenty of people on here, including me, love getting their hands dirty and working on their old cars at home. Leaky VWs with 40 years' worth of baked-on engine oil will grease up your hands like nothing else, even if you're just doing a quick job. So, what are your favourite methods for de-greasing your hands before dinner/work/returning to civilised life.

I always depend on the trusty old Solvol, which has been an Australian icon for the last 90 years. It's a sort of gunmetal-grey soap with huge chunks of sand in it, which the manufacturers claim to be pumice. Rips into your hands beautifully and gets all the grease out with enough "elbow grease". No pain no gain, as they say.





For less serious jobs I sometimes go for liquid hand soap, but I start by rubbing it in without wetting my hands, seems to work a lot better that way. Do any of you guys have any tried and true methods of washing up?

[stueyt]

Liquid hand soap with a spoon full of sugar for the dirty jobs at home, If I am at work then it is DEB Lime green.

Cheers,

Stu.

[sammm]

I make a nice thick paste from a combination of a big pinch of Oxy-action laundry powder and a squeeze of liquid soap, you can feel it working before you even lather it up.

[Prud]

Its probably really really bad for you, but when the hands get seriously filthy i use degreaser - handy and it works well.
Aside from that - Napisan or whatever is floating around the laundry

[Keefy]

Manista, great stuff!

[waveman1500]

May 14, 2009 5:29:27 GMT Prud said:

Its probably really really bad for you, but when the hands get seriously filthy I use degreaser

That just reminded me of this crazy guy who I bought my new beetle engine from. He was cleaning his hands using alkaline-based truck wash in a garden weed sprayer! Now that is what you call bad for you. Although depending on what's in the degreaser I suppose it could be roughly the same.

[ben711200]

washing up liquid with a bit of sugar in it..

[Retrojunkie]

If you have trouble shifting grease on your hands, try WD40 sprayed straight on it.

If it's really ground in then I use Carb Cleaner, that's usually good for getting the ground in dirt out immediately.

Can't use gloves, won't use gloves

[suterman]

If I'm going to a scrappy and I know I'm going to get dirty I take a can of the trusty old 3 in one foaming degreaser and a rag.

Works wonders and is not too toxic.

[BenzBoy]

I use washing up liquid with sugar, but after a while it really dries my hands out. I really need to get some Fast Orange (I think that's what it's called) or Swarfega, although that doesn't have the gritty texture that gets all the ingrained curse word out.

My life would be easier if I just remembered to put on latex gloves - I have some but often forget. Or if I do wear them they seem to disintegrate in seconds and I'm back to messed up hands! ;D

Mind, I've given up being concerned about all the scratches, cuts and bruises my hands and arms pick up when I go to meetings for work - most people now know what I get up to in my spare time... ;D

[Deleted]

swarfega or when they're really bad washing up liguid with washing powder . Dries the skin out tho .

[jettadeluxe]

May 14, 2009 8:13:06 GMT tattooedwhitetrash said:

swarfega or when they're really bad washing up liguid with washing powder . Dries the skin out tho .

Popular choice, and I've used it in the past too.

The reason is dries out your hands is because of the salt content in the washing up liquid, which is why you shouldn't wash cars with it!

[Bob the Fish]

Washing up glop & sugar mainly. Quick blob of E45 if the paws get dry. Tried using barrier cream ages ago but just stopped when it ran out. Did make it easier to clean paws though.

[Deleted]

Comma Manista hand cleaner. It doesn't dry your hands out and lifts all the dirt off first time. I can't believe people are still using Swarfega these days. It's curse word, expensive, it stinks, it's hard to get off your hands and it stinks.

[trogdor]

We use swafega to wash our hands its an orange version with some form of grit in it to remove ingrained oil etc

We also use latex gloves when working on a car, they do work really well apart from hands sweating inside and needing moisturiser and smelling like a condom!

I work for a lab equipment supply company and use the gloves supplied to laboratories, they last for quite awhile. Cheap ones are rubbish.

[reanimation]

Old skool green Swafega does the trick a lot of the time. My dadsused teh gritty orange stuff for years too. I try to use latex gloves, despite pros actuallyy using em too I always feel like some muck shy office worker (erm which I sort of am) no they feel wrong in a way, if I remember i'll use em. Not getting mucky much at mo as i'm on metal work so kevlar gloves keep hands safe and cleanish.

[kee]

actually works really well and has little abrasive thingies in to help it along, cheap too.

[Gray]

Washing up liquid and sugar, WD40 etc for me too and a handy tip I picked up as a young fellow in the shipyards, when your hands are really filthy wash them in cold water as hot water opens the pores etc and allows dirt to get in deeper but cold closes them
don't know if its true but it sounds right and ive always stuck to it ;D

[Mr S]

Latex/Nitrile gloves is by far the best way. If I don't have any to hand, then the orange swarfega with gritty bits in does the trick afterwards....

Remember, old oil is carcinogenic and can end up giving you cancer....

[datman]

manista, manista or manista !!!!