Best hand cleaner.

[545_days]

I find my hands are much easier to clean if I put lotion on them before I start working.

If my hands are dry when I start working, filth, grease, carbon and rust seem to penetrate every crack in my hands and are virtually impossible to remove. Lotion beforehand greatly reduces that problem.

 

[nadogail]

There are so many really decent hand cleaners that I would not "spin my wheels" trying to find "the perfect one".

 

[Sumboodie]

Brody blue pumice waterless cleaner.

Has some sort of lotion in it too. Cleans better than the solvent tank but leaves hands feeling nice too.

Edit... Not sure why it's "quoting"...

Zenex International | Professional-Grade Surface Care Products

Discover Zenex’s range of cleaners, lubricants, adhesives, sealants and more—high-performance solutions designed to protect and maintain any surface.

zenexint.com

Been using their stuff for 20+ years. Gojo and other brands don't clean as well and use more product than this stuff. Also my hands break out with deep zits and get dry as sandpaper.

The zenex stuff is SUPER great. You have probably used it before and didn't know it as it's mostly private labeled and sold locally.

One pump and grind it in. Once dry, if not happy, add a little water and keep grinding it in. Then rinse off and enjoy.

Their other products for are great as well. My picky mother even loves their spray can window cleaner.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Dirt-infused soap! That is awesome.
I can hear some mom telling her kids how great it is. "And don't forget to get behind your ears."

I edited your post to delete the quoted spam.

 

[Sumboodie]

Something that works well too is quality good fitting nitrile gloves.

It's awesome to be able to work in nasty stuff and simply pull the gloves off and have clean hands.
Plus not getting chemicals absorbed in your skin.

The orange "chicken skin" ones have worked the best for me.
Don't bother with cheap ones, you'll end up going through 10 pairs a day when they rip open on anything or melt with brake clean.

 

[Sumboodie]

I find my hands are much easier to clean if I put lotion on them before I start working.

If my hands are dry when I start working, filth, grease, carbon and rust seem to penetrate every crack in my hands and are virtually impossible to remove. Lotion beforehand greatly reduces that problem.

We had some special lotion made for that purpose when I did a job with fiberglass delineators.

Seemed to work well.

 

[andyvh1959]

Back when I was little, my dad went to an electrician's trade show, and brought home a can of ZepCinch Hand Cleaner. It was green, nasty looking, and smelled disgusting. When I tried it however, the stuff was amazing. It would remove paint, grease, oil, stains and anything else that might get your hands dirty.

When that can ran out (about ten years after he bought it), I bought another. When I went to order a third, I found that Zep stopped making it. They said something about the marketplace wanting sweet smelling, citrusy stuff with skin softeners. In other words, another company gave in to the pussification of the would. Tim the Toolman Taylor would never use such ****. Ever.

My question is what hand cleaner do you swear by, that will remove everything? I find the Walmart cleaners (GoJo, etc) to be completely inadequate.

Back in the 60s/70s, I recall my dad used a combo of Lava, and Mr. Clean. He said it burned on any cuts or scrapes, but he never got an infection from any hand wounds. Thought of that when I read pussification comment in the OP message.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I used to be a big Boraxo fan, except I could never put it on my hands without sneezing at least once from the fine powder. I later discovered “Green Saatin Glove” powdered hand cleaner at work, which we purchased from McMaster-Carr.. It cleans every bit as well as Boraxo (maybe because it too contains Borax), doesn’t make me sneeze, and finishes it very smooth and gentle because it contains lanolin. Because I don’t have running water in my shop (due to the fact that we are on rock and I can’t bury a line below frost level), I have taken to using Tub o’Towels to clean my hands out there before returning to the house. Learned about Tub o’Towels here on GJ in a similar thread.

 

[NFH2740]

John Deere pumice free or dish soap.

 

[Lumpy102]

Any good recommendation for use in below freezing weather in a unheated shop far from home (ie, I can't walk into the house and clean up there).

Gloves?
Seriously, gorilla nitrile gloves, the heavy ones

 

[ImportTuner]

I was using something called Gritty Girl. Works great, but when I went to re-order, found out they were out of business.

 

[brownbagg]

at the shipyard they have huge trough of 'Tide" in the bathrooms

 

[scooby074]

My top 3. Worx (when you need extra grit to mix in with the others), SnapOn Nitro, Stoko Kresto.

 

[toyotadriver]

Fast Orange for me. I have no idea if it's the best but it works fine. I don't have a sink in my shop but there is a frost free hydrant nearby the shop so I rinse off with that. Put the cleaner on dry and work in before rinsing.

I have been known to clean my hands with Windex and it works pretty well too. Also, rinsing your hands with PSC 1000 in the parts washer or mineral spirits also works....probably not healthy though!

I have been using nitrile gloves from HF a lot over the past few years especially when working on really dirty/greasy stuff. I like the blue 7 mil ones. Cleanup is SO much faster when using nitrile gloves. I keep a few boxes in the shop and after the COVID glove shortages, I have increased the number of boxes I have stashed.

 

[toyotadriver]

I find my hands are much easier to clean if I put lotion on them before I start working.

If my hands are dry when I start working, filth, grease, carbon and rust seem to penetrate every crack in my hands and are virtually impossible to remove. Lotion beforehand greatly reduces that problem.

Shhhh.....guys aren't supposed to admit to using hand lotion. You might have to turn in your man card............

I have no doubt your procedure works though...........

 

[Willie Makeit]

Swarfega, it's banned in the US.

negative Ghost Rider

Amazon.com

 

[ZRX61]

negative Ghost Rider

Amazon.com

Original version is green, the orange "original" on Amazon is $59.04 a liter... They have the *original* classic green version... $52 for 500ml... That wasn't available last time I checked & we'd buy (imperial) gallon cans in the UK for about £8... NOT $472 a gallon...

 

[scooby074]

Original version is green, the orange "original" on Amazon is $59.04 a liter... They have the *original* classic green version... $52 for 500ml... That wasn't available last time I checked & we'd buy (imperial) gallon cans in the UK for about £8... NOT $472 a gallon...

So why was the Original Green banned? Beads or labelling or what?

 

[ZRX61]

So why was the Original Green banned? Beads or labelling or what?

The beads were in the Tufenega version (advertised as *Swarfega with balls*). That was the first orange variety. I read something about the original green being banned because of a particular chemical in it.

 

[freudianfloyd]

My dad has been using Fast Orange with pumice for as long as I have been alive and has never had a problem. However, for me, it just doesn't work. We can both be working on the same thing, and both use the same Fast Orange, and after one wash, his hands look like they have never touched an engine, and mine will still be black. On the other hand, I like just plain GOJO and it seems to work well for me, but he hates it.

My preferred option though is Tub O' Towels hand towels. They seem to work great for me, although quite a bit more expensive than GOJO.

 

[scooby074]

The beads were in the Tufenega version (advertised as *Swarfega with balls*). That was the first orange variety. I read something about the original green being banned because of a particular chemical in it.

"Swarfega with balls" great tag line IMHO

There's been so much consolidation in the "Hand Soap" industry, I wonder if Swafega is being sold under some other brand in NA. Swarfega / Deb and Stoko Kresto are now owned by SC Johnson who also own and a bunch of other brands. You got to think that they share recipies like some old ladies at a bake sale lol. Ownership of these brands is a real tangled web.

 

[brownbagg]

just a note: most handcleaner have citrus oils in them, like oranges. well oranges will also eat concrete like if you get splatter on your truck, it will eat concrete but not hurt the paint, something about ph

 

[rustyzman]

I used to be a big Boraxo fan, except I could never put it on my hands without sneezing at least once from the fine powder. I later discovered “Green Saatin Glove” powdered hand cleaner at work, which we purchased from McMaster-Carr.. It cleans every bit as well as Boraxo (maybe because it too contains Borax), doesn’t make me sneeze, and finishes it very smooth and gentle because it contains lanolin. Because I don’t have running water in my shop (due to the fact that we are on rock and I can’t bury a line below frost level), I have taken to using Tub o’Towels to clean my hands out there before returning to the house. Learned about Tub o’Towels here on GJ in a similar thread.

Allow me to add my Vote for Green Satin Glove. I have tried nearly everything out there and this is by far the best for me.

In my earlier days, the original LanLin was pretty good, but unbelievably harsh stuff and is not available anymore (at least not in the formulation from the old days, I swear it had Naptha in it).

Our 1st Ayd guy sold us some powdered hand soap that was a lot like boraxo, but a much finer grind. It was Excellent, but I don't have access to that anymore.

Then I came across Green Satin Glove. Like Yankeefarmer said, you get it from Mcmaster Carr. A half dollar size sprinkle of it with a LITTLE water, lather up into a creamy consistency and have at it. This stuff takes off everything right down to the nastiest fine brake dust that gets in the cracks of your skin and breaks down the greasy oily stuff too. I spent years as a tech with hands that just never really looked clean until I found this stuff. Smells pleasant and does not dry out your skin. Usually do a quick follow up with regular hand soap and afterwards you would never know the levels of nasty that I just finished working on.

https://www.truekleen.com/gsg-green-satin-glove

Sold in smaller shaker cans or 5lb boxes.

 

[paulsomlo]

Fast Orange, no pumice - I've found it works better without the grit in it. I wipe clean with a paper towel, then follow up with bar soap. But if I'm getting into really greasy/oily stuff, I usually have nitrile gloves on.

Someone mentioned pre-applying lotion; anybody use those barrier creams, like liquid gloves, etc.?

 

[infinite97]

John
Deere citrus hand wipes on the truck - they’re amazing


cintas shell shock in the shop.



i freaking hate that red cherry bomb ****. Leaves a film / residue on my hands. Can’t stand it.

i also wear long sleeves and thick nitrile gloves almost all the time. Dunno what they are, maybe 8 mil, our cintas guy brings them. I keep like 4 boxes on my truck and have another three or four at my station in the shop.

 

[macdabs]

Snap on had a medicated hand cleaner in a red can. It worked the best when i was wrenching full time. The price started going up and I don't even know if it is available but it worked awesome wihtout ripping your hands up in winter with all the brine and salt they use up north .

 

[v6buick]

It depends on what kind of mess I'm dealing with. I'd say 95% of the time, dish soap works just fine. In the 5% situations where I've really rubbed a lot of rusty oil cakes into my skin, Fast Orange has done pretty well. I actually have a bottle of dish soap in my shower now. Really any of the gritty soaps have worked well, but I like the scent of Fast Orange the best.

 

[minke]

 

[bwringer]

Worx hand cleaner (green powder containing mysterious eldritch magicks) is, without question, the finest I've ever used.

They used to have it at Walmart.

But for some reason it got ridonkulously expensive and nearly impossible to find.

$30 for a pound container is actually better pricing than I've seen in quite a while.

Amazon.com

The one caveat is that you must instruct people in how to use it before allowing them access to the sacred elixir. Neophytes accustomed to lesser hand cleaners will casually dump $5 or $10 worth on their hands then drop 99% of it into the sink.

 

[Plump]

It's not the greatest of all time, but works here. I just love the name!

Nut Scrub Professional Hand Cleaner (Two 13.53oz Bottle's)

Nut Scrub Professional Hand Cleaner (Two 13.53oz Bottle's) Professional Hand Cleaner Now Available At Zequip.

www.zequip.com

 

[bwringer]

It's not the greatest of all time, but works here. I just love the name!

Nut Scrub Professional Hand Cleaner (Two 13.53oz Bottle's)

Nut Scrub Professional Hand Cleaner (Two 13.53oz Bottle's) Professional Hand Cleaner Now Available At Zequip.

www.zequip.com

It does have a certain charm...

 

[IndyGarage]

I use Kresto, and started buying it about 10 years ago based on a thread here. It has walnut shells in it for grit.

It works way better than the orange scrubs. If my hands are really greasy, I find spraying them with a squirt of Spray 9 before the Kresto works even better.

 

[nadogail]

In my adolescent days the shop I worked in used Hemphill’s. That was almost 68 years ago.

 

[swsman]

I have been using Tub O Towels for tool and hand cleanup lately.

Also have Zep Cherry Bomb, always applied to dry hands, rinsed off and followed with Dawn dish soap and scrubbing brush.

 

[knotdust]

Keep a bottle of Fast Orange on the shelf in the garage by the door to the house along with a roll of shop towels. Also have a bar of lava soap at the wash up sink in the half bath just off the garage where I strip out of my greasy dirty work clothes and finish the clean up of my hands and arm.

 

[rooster59]

 

[johninct]

I can't find Go Jo anymore, is it still made?

 

[ToolsRCool]

Another vote for Zep Cherry Bomb, unbelievable first pass cleansing. Usually gets all of it and you are ready to perform open heart surgery right after working on the EGR cooler of a diesel engine.

My 1.5 or #2 would be Dawn dish soap with a Scotchbrite pad. For some reason, seems you really need to do your best on the first round with Dawn, as the second round can get more but seems more difficult than just the additional scrubbing the first round would have taken. I think a water rinse establishes a barrier that was not there the first time.

 

[AC-WC]

Goop is my favorite waterless and paper work towels are good to remove it all.

 

[TheRealZeus]

The four horsemen of the grit, grim, grease, germ apocalypse.