Best hand Cleaner

[Fergienewbee]

I had to change sprockets in my planter yesterday. Kind of greasy. I'm not a mechanic or whimp, but what is the best hand cleaner, either dry or soap? I used gas, but even after washing once or twice with soap, dish soap actually, it didn't get all the grime off.

Larry

 

[GRWilliams]

I use GOOP brand w/pumice. You can buy it in smaller squirt bottles at just about any auto parts or farm store. Or if you're at the point of just needing to get the grease out of the cracks in your hands just pick up some Lava brand bar soap at the grocer. Get a finger nail/hand brush too, if you're real picky. A lot of fols use gas, but I have a problem with it drying and cracking my fingers, and then I have another problem.

Geoff Williams

 

[FrankM]

Fast orange gets the job done for me.

 

[John730D]

Fast Orange.

 

[John730D]

Fast Orange

 

[Anonymous-0]

Original Gojo or Gojo with pumice.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Fast orange you need to use too much.

 

[sd pete]

I used to rub hog feed on my hands it cleans them right up.

 

[Johnski]

I'm a heavy equip mechanic and when I get that heavy black grease on my hands, believe it or not, ATF or WD-40. Wet your hands well and rub the grease right out. Follow up with your usual hand soap, done.
HTH, Jf

 

[CAROGATOR]

Believe it or not, but, the best thing to clean up dirty petroleum products is to use the same product, but new and clean. Dirty motor oil cleans up with new motor oil, then soap. Road tar on the side of a vehicle cleans up with fresh motor oil.

 

[Phil in MI]

BEST TO NOT USE GAS!!! I know two people that did and somehow got ignition. Both were severely burned.
Phil

 

[Hal/ Eastern WA]

I also like Goop. It works fine for cleaning greasy hands, and it doesn"t make my hands get dry and itchy like the citrus products do. Goop also works good to get grease spots out of clothing--just rub it into the greasy spot and wash normally.

When I was a dumb kid, we often washed parts in gasoline to get the grease and grime off. In doing so I suppose I always got gas on my hands. Luckily, it never caught fire for me, but a guy I knew got badly burned that way. I would never suggest using gasoline for parts or hand cleaning!

Diesel works for hand cleaning, but it smells bad and keeps smelling bad for days. Motor oil works pretty well, but you still have to wash your hands with soap afterward.

I try to keep a tube of Goop and paper towels in each vehicle. Never know when I might need to clean up. Good luck!

 

[circus]

Fast orange. If that doesn't work Cupran Special removes anything. It's expensive but just a dab on moist hand cleans great, even dried paints.

 

[GordoSD]

Simple Green full strength in a spray bottle.

 

[caseyc]

Snap On makes a great hand cleaner. It's soy based with some grit and lotion. Only takes alittle bit with a dab of water. Doesn't seem to matter how nasty my hands get, they always come very clean. The old guys at church give me grief all the time. I'm a full time mechanic but my hands and finger nails are way too clean, I must not work hard enough they say...

Casey in SD

 

[RodinNS]

Dawn dish soap is all I ever use anymore. Of the commercial products... Zep makes a very good hand cleaner. Fast Orange is OK...

Rod

 

[retired farmer]

I detest getting my hands dirty. I wear leather gloves all the time or if in the grease or oil I use those disposable exam gloves from Harbor Freight. Used to use Lava hand soap but don't anymore.

 

[glennster]

We use scrub it hand cleaner from 1st ayd corporation at the shop. Works well

 

[Spooke]

(reply to post at 14:07:30 05/16/13)

ttp://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_x_7760009-P_x_x?cm_mmc=ACQ-_-Google-_-enhancedRM-_-7760009&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=7760009&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=&gclid=CLPwrdb-m7cCFVSf4AodekwAOQ[/url]

 

[showcrop]

I forget now and then to put gloves on. When I forget I clean the tip of one finger on my wife's cheek. She loves it!!

 

[old]

I use the Fast orange stuff and it is pretty much my only hand soap

 

[Southern Ray]

My hands get pretty grimy from most anything I do.
I use plain old liquid hand soap from Wally World.
Don't use water just yet. Work the soap around in your hands and then lightly dip in water. Little by little add more water till you have a nice lather.
Rince and dry. It even cleans up gasoline smell on hands.

 

[NCWayne]

I work on heavy equipment in the field so there's not usually any water around to wash my hands with. What I've used for years is the Fast Orange, no pumice, as I have to clean up with rags. Like others have said, the absolute best cleaner is something like hydraulic oil. I can work on a hydraulic system all day and my hads are cleaner when I'm done than they would be if I had sat around doing nothing. Barring that my fall back for things like open gear lube, etc is brake cleaner, followed by several applications of the Fast Orange ot keep my hands from drying out from the brake cleaner.

 

[js305]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Joe's Handcleaner. It's nice and easy on the skin and doesn't dry it out nearly as much. Start with about a table spoon full or a little more and work it into the cracks and wrinkles and such, then rinse off with warm water. Has a nice smell and does an excellent job. Has lanolin in it.

 

[pete 23]

After you get them clean and want to get that last bit of crud out of the cracks in your hands, you do the dish's. And no, we don't have a dishwasher. Works for me.

 

[Jim in LA]

If you don't have any handcleaner but do have some 409 or Fantastik spray cleaner, that will work. You just have to put lotion on your hands because it will dry your skin. The orange based hand cleaners with pumice work the best.

 

[JRSutton]

I use the orange stuff, works well enough. What that doesn't get off just stays.

I stopped caring about it years ago.

 

[Jason the Red]

I second the Joe's hand cleaner. It pulls heavy gear oil and
built up grease with very little scrubbing. It also does real well
as cutting and tapping fluid.

 

[BigMarv1085]

I use Krestol but it get it from work. Has pumice in it.

 

[Butch(OH)]

The best? For years my old mechanic had a routine for testing hand cleaner that still makes me laugh.

We have all kinds of salesman types coming by the shop trying to sell such things and they would say something like "you really need to try our hand cleaner, it is superior, bla bla bla. The mechanic would ask, "do you have a sample I can try?" and they would almost always say Yes and go to the car to get a can. The mechanic would then dip a dirty finger in it and touch it to his tongue and smack his lips a couple times. The salesman all reacted the same. Laughing, what the ??? Its to clean your hands with not eat??? The mechanic would spit on the floor and tell them. I eat a sandwich for lunch, I wash my hands with hand cleaner before I eat, I can taste whats on my hands when I eat, AND your hand c;leaner tastes like chit!!

therfore I wont buy it.

LOL, while the rest of us died laughing most of the time the salesman would drive off dumbfounded.

 

[Wile E]

That is a good one.

 

[Wile E]

I worked in an auto parts store as a kid (with a machine shop) The greasey oil sludge was bad.
I remember using this Go-jo stuff brand (I think) that was this white stuff (the consistancy of Mayonaise)
This worked good, nasty smell to it, almost like Emulsion hydraulic fluid. I have not used it in years.
When in doubt use Lava soap with a bristle brush.

 

[4xMF]

I never use gas or engine oil. I think there might be some bad things in it unhealthy for the skin. Margarine works well. Veg oil maybe just as well.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I have heard that Zep TKO was the absolute best, but the saleslady didn't have any samples. Read this on several boards over the years. Zep Cherry Bomb works well too, as I got a sample of that. I have a double laundry sink in the shop and one side has all the bottles of soaps and handcleaners. GoJo non-abrasive, Fast Orange with walnut shell, GoJo antibiotic liquid hand soap, Powdered Boraxo hand soap, Lava soap bar and small hand scrub brush.

At work we use Stockenhausen grit hand cleaner, works pretty well.

Charles

 

[Billy Shafer]

I use an orange. Sounds odd but it does work.

 

[Gambles]

I always have a couple of different brands around the shop. Why? Because it seems like the grease and oil somehow get an immunity to one brand. Okay, I know that statement isn't true, but it seems like different hand cleaners work best for different types of grease and oil.
BTW, my brother has John Deere hand cleaner. I don't know how much he paid for it and I'm not going to ask, but as far as cleaning ability, it's up there with some of the better ones.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I bought a new jug of GOJO orange with pumice. Don't know if I got a bad batch or what but it doesn't cut anything. It always seemed to work in the past. Zep has a good product and isn't hard on the hands.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I normally use Dawn dish soap with a small scrub brush. The other half just brought me home a box of surgical gloves from the hospital to try out for working on greasy things. So this week when I tear into something I will give them a try.

 

[PDRuff]

About 5 years ago I was told by my boss to take a load of stuff to the landfill, there was a blue 2 1/2 gallon bucket filled with ANCO Hand Cleaner powder, just takes a pinch to clean up with. smells good based on how fast I am using it should last me about another 20 years

 

[RodinNS]

If you find that the lighter 'surgical' gloves don't stand up... you can get a heavier nitrile glove at NAPA that's about twice as thick. Actually, NAPA has both... but I use the heavier ones. For the most part they're pretty good but some things still require bare hands. I wear gloves a lot now because the oil and particularly diesel fuel bothers me.

Rod

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Rod I looked at the box and these are actually Nitrile exam gloves and seem pretty heavy. Time will tell how they work.

 

[moresmoke]

I've got a 2 1/2 gallon water fire extinguisher on the back of my service truck. Works great to wash up with. Can put out fires too!

I personally like the Deere green hand cleaner in a squeeze bottle. Don't remember exactly what its called. The ZEP cherry bomb works well too, but tastes horrible on your lunch.

My skin can't stand the orange type cleaners for some reason.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Anco is good stuff

 

[Anonymous-0]

This stuff.

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[old popper]

I also use Kresto. Requires water to rinse but does an excellent job. Uses pulverized walnut shell for grit, not pumice. I buy 1/2 gal. pump bottles through Airgas.

 

[wolfman]

When I was a kid, I discovered nothing would get grease off my hands as well as Mom's home-made bread. (Except maybe the kitchen drapes).

 

[Nebraska Kirk]

(quoted from post at 15:07:30 05/16/13) I had to change sprockets in my planter yesterday. Kind of greasy. I'm not a mechanic or whimp, but what is the best hand cleaner, either dry or soap? I used gas, but even after washing once or twice with soap, dish soap actually, it didn't get all the grime off.

Larry

Borax powdered hand cleaner is what I like. It contains powdered pumice which is very aggressive at removing grease.

 

[T in NE]

I try to keep some windex in whatever I am running. Does fairly well on hands and does your windows too!

 

[John Garner]

As mentioned earlier, Dawn dishwashing liquid works pretty well when you have water available. If your hands are really greasy and grimy, though, it's even more effective if you add a teaspoon or so of granulated sugar to the squirt of Dawn in your not-yet-wet hand, then scrub thoroughly before adding water.