Hand Cleaner favorites

[anndel]

Currently I have Permatex Fast Orange Xtreme under the sink and 3 more bottles in storage. I prefer Snap-on Nitro gold because it cleans faster and don't dry my hands out compared to the Fast Orange. Worked at the corner Shell Station/garage from the late 1970's to early 1990s and we used GOOP which smelled like paint thinner.

 

[bonneyman]

Coconut or cooking oil + normal hand soap.

https://rtstools.com/how-to-clean-greasy-hands-after-working-on-a-car/

Works better than industrial hand cleaners and is good for your skin.

I use Quik N' Brite. It's coconut oil and algae based so it's all natural with no petroleum products.

Works well, no bad smell, doesn't strip your hands dry, washes off with water. I've used it on clothes, too.
Sweat stains, grease satins, even got ink out of a breast pocket on a used shirt I got for $4. Nice shirt, figured I'd give Q&B a try. Most I would lose is $4. It worked well, wore that shirt for years.

https://www.quicknbrite.com/

 

[thr3squared]

For quick clean up between tasks, bulldog wipes: https://www.bulldogwipes.us/

End of day either GOJO (or some other pumice cleaner) or dawn dish soap and a brush if needed.

To get nasty adhesives of your hands (PVC glue for example) brake cleaner works, but shouldn't be done often and will dry the heck out of your skin.

 

[i_be_moose]

Another vote for Tub-O-Towels. In a shop with-out running water I have found them to be most convenient!

 

[justintendo]

Until last week I just used Dawn. Went to a friend's shop and he had Snap-on Nitro Gold hand cleaner. It works better than anything I have tried. I told my friend to get me a bottle when the Snap-on driver comes around again. Dawn works well but I need a brush. With the Nitro Gold I just need a little water and all the dirt and grease comes right off.

you would like kresto as well then..very similar including smell. its been 15 years since i used snap on hand cleaner but they are both concentrated.
dime size amount in one hand, wet the other and youre set.
dawn dish soap *****..

 

[Skin]

Until last week I just used Dawn. Went to a friend's shop and he had Snap-on Nitro Gold hand cleaner. It works better than anything I have tried. I told my friend to get me a bottle when the Snap-on driver comes around again. Dawn works well but I need a brush. With the Nitro Gold I just need a little water and all the dirt and grease comes right off.

Snap-on is rebadged PK Soyl. The price off the truck is actually atrocious at nearly 70 cents an ounce but that shouldnt be a surprise. You can find Kresto HD in 1Gal pump bottles online for about half the price even with shipping factored in.

 

[Indexmill]

I worked at the corner garage during college. They had a product you rubbed into your hands before working on cars. It was supposed to help at cleanup time. I don't remember if it actually helped.

Anyone remember this?

Yep, hand cream. Just rub any hand moisturizer cream into your hands prior to wrenching and cleanup will be much easier. It really works. Especially useful with brake dust.

 

[vpd66]

My favorite is a good old bar of Lava soap!

 

[Vahispd]

I worked at the corner garage during college. They had a product you rubbed into your hands before working on cars. It was supposed to help at cleanup time. I don't remember if it actually helped.

Anyone remember this?

Yep, hand cream. Just rub any hand moisturizer cream into your hands prior to wrenching and cleanup will be much easier. It really works. Especially useful with brake dust.

+1 on the moisturizer.
I know some folks also rub dish detergent into their hands until it dries and gives the same benefit of easy cleanup.

 

[1cargarage]

I keep the large container of TUB O' TOWELS wipes at work and in the car.
At home and at work, it's STOKO KRESTO out of a wall dispenser. The STOKO KRESTO is the best I've come across - crushed walnut shells instead of pumice, one pump is all you need (surprisingly small amount), no overpowering scent, and no greasy residue.

The CHERRY BOMB stuff is good too, just too fragrant for my delicate nostrils.

Also, I keep a 5-gallon bucket of BLUE DAWN on hand + a stiff bristle hand brush for the big jobs.

All else fails... paint thinner, mineral spirits, and/or acetone just like mom used to make

 

[islandkent]

Anybody else like the "John Deere" Stuff? I mostly used gas my whole life but caught on to this a few years ago. Works pretty nice.

 

[HMCFab9]

Has anyone used, or heard of "Gritty Girl hand cleaner"?
I got a bottle of it from a promo (several years ago / on this site i think)
The bottle says: made with abrasive volcanic ash......etc

I used up that bottle & wanted to order another, but can't find it anywhere.
I wonder if he went out of business, or got bought out... Anyone know?

 

[Ralf11]

Varsol.

That's what we used when I was just starting out. Later on, there was an upgrade to Goop.

 

[Treeman]

 

[u2slow]

That Worx stuff is the best I've ever used by far. But holy flaming hopping hades, it is incredibly expensive stuff.

I had no idea of the price. I don't buy it - its what we have at work. It does have borax as a component - part of the magic IMO.

You mean you don't use brakleen to clean up sometimes? That's a daily deal for me

Haha! Nope... I really try hard to wear nitrile gloves for solvent type products. Strangely, oily/greasy stuff doesn't wreck my hands anything close to the chemicals than cut it.

Dad used this when I was a kid...

Same! Agrees with my hands, but I can't find it affordably anywhere.

 

[39 LaSalle]

I made a hoop to hang my Tub O' Towels on the leg of my tool cart for on the spot cleanups. Love them. Keep Fast Orange next to the sink for heavy duty scrubbing. Just depends on where I'm at or what I'm in the mood to use.

I like the Cherry Bomb smell, but sometimes I have to scrub my face pretty good if I've been doing something really nasty under the car. Whatever they put in it burns my eyes, so I went back to Fast Orange which doesn't have that problem.

In my experience Gojo has never worked as well as Goop, but the last batch of Goop I had was either reformulated or defective. As it is, my strong suspicion is that Goop is predominantly lard. Either way, I don't use those very often. If things get bad enough that nothing else is working, Brakleen is the answer.

 

[Wyoming09]

I worked at the corner garage during college. They had a product you rubbed into your hands before working on cars. It was supposed to help at cleanup time. I don't remember if it actually helped.

Anyone remember this?








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Following.


My first job out of high school (47 years ago) was at a print shop. We had a product like that described above. We would use a bit on our hands before starting work and when cleaning up it made the magnetic ink come off MUCH easier. Too long ago to recall the name. I'd be interested on having some of this now.

 

[77thor]

LAVA bar.

 

[WNYflyer]

This it?

Dad used this when I was a kid.

.

My grandfather, uncle and dad all used that hand cleaner. Probably one of the original hand cleaners before the advent of all the products on the market today. Was real popular in our area and probably because back in the day it was made locally in Buffalo along with its sister product Fast Orange.

When I was in high school and college I worked in the circulation room of the local newspaper and with handling all those newspapers every day ended up with ink embedded in my fingers. In the bathroom we had a liquid soap dispenser on the wall and man did that soap have a lot of grit in it. Today I would like to know what it was. It did a good job but even using that it probably took at least a good two years after leaving the job to get rid all the embedded ink in my fingertips.

 

[neitzel]

Eagle Grit
Towels and/or wall mount dispensers.

https://eaglegrit.com/collections/hand-cleaners

 

[rockcrawler]

I’ve used a lot of products over the years and was never really happy with any of them. Then I started using Pro Soap. This stuff just works. I highly recommend it. I’ve only used the tub cleaner. They have a pump product that I have never used. Not sure how well it works.

https://www.prosoap.com/

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

I use what Dad did. Goop and/or a bar of Lava
. i also use Goop on my clothes as a degreaser.

 

[dnschmidt]

As a painter the only way to go is Stoko Cupran Special which is a special hand cleaner that is specifically manufactured to remove paint. Even Urethanes. Stoko sold the brand to somebody else and it's now called something else but it's the same stuff. Stoko also made a special hand cleaner for dyes which was the only product that can remove dyes called Ru-du-Ran Special which had a strong smell of bleach to it. For anybody using NGR stains on wood it's a lifesaver.

 

[MarineScott]

Boraxo, and GoJo Supro

 

[gilbo]

I use dawn dish soap in the kitchen sink

Nothing simplier than Dawn and a paper towel. You can a 1 gal pump for like $12.98 at Sam's.

 

[seber]

I worked at the corner garage during college. They had a product you rubbed into your hands before working on cars. It was supposed to help at cleanup time. I don't remember if it actually helped.

Anyone remember this?
.

Silicone Glove. It works well but I never liked the greasy feel of my hands while I'm working.

 

[tarmy]

Borax and hand soap or Dawn...works for me...

 

[CHRIII]

Growing up Lava was the go-to hand cleaner. It even removes the 'wax' you get from harvesting tobacco. Really cleans, but it's rough on the skin!

Now I just wipe the worst off and go for dish detergent.

I may or may not have used gasoline for really tough/stubborn stuff!

 

[dvblanch]

wd40 cleans hands well wipe off and wash w regular bar soap ez on skin

 

[Mgdoug3]

Snap-on is rebadged PK Soyl. The price off the truck is actually atrocious at nearly 70 cents an ounce but that shouldnt be a surprise. You can find Kresto HD in 1Gal pump bottles online for about half the price even with shipping factored in.

I'll have to remember that when I need more. The Nitro Gold is just easy to get because my friend will just sell me an individual 84 oz jug.

 

[mrobins297aaa]

Another vote for Joe's hand cleaner, it gets your hands clean without all that grit and it smells good also

 

[gearhead1]

My favorite is a good old bar of Lava soap!

LAVA bar.

Yep, the Lava bar is my go-to for cleaning hands. I let the lava bar dry out by elevating with the spiked plastic pad when not in use. I think of it like a magic eraser for hands. I just rub the bar where I need some grime removed. Sometimes I use a small hand brush in conjunction with the lava bar.

I had a goop dispenser at the shop at my old property I bought another one but haven’t mounted yet. I’ll use that in the shop, then the lava bar with water in the mud room in the house.

 

[gearhead1]

Borax powder bought at super market mixed with oxy dish soap. Its a nice abrasive that doesn't dry out hands and very effective compared to other pre made mechanic hand cleaners. I put it in a small plastic bottle, like the squeeze ketchup bottles at burger shops

And its cheap

I’m going to try that.

I have borax but use it on ant hills. It dries them out similar to how diatomaceous earth dries them out. I prefer non toxic ways to get rid of them as I don’t want to taint my water. I haven’t tried it as hand soap, but worth a try since I already have it.

Thanks to those who posted. I enjoy seeing the various responses and finding new ways to do things. This is a benefit of GJ.

 

[Indexmill]

Gas.

 

[dscheidt]

This it?

Dad used this when I was a kid.

]

Could be. It wasn't one of the green cleaners. I remember it being white, with blue bits in it, but the blue bits might be a trick of forty years....

 

[Yankeefarmer]

I had to do some searching, but IIRC, the product that my dad used and I think some people here have remembered was called “Skat.” It was a gritty paste that cleaned wonderfully. Seems to be long gone, though.

 

[Audiman]

Another vote for Dawn dish soap, I put it in a spray bottle with water and keep it next to my tool box. Spray it on and wipe it off with with a towel.

 

[ToysRUs]

Bringing this back to life.
I did the exact same thing. We moved in June and I left the old gojo pump over the mop sink in the garage thinking I would just get a new one when I build my new garage. The new garage is done and I just started looking for the pump and see it's discontinued.
I didn't really see an answer on replacing it here. I want the same one-handed plunger pump so I can get cleaner with one dirty hand.
Anybody ever figure out anything?

 

[KnurledNut]

Ouch. I may as well wash my hands in brake-clean for what it does to my skin.

I know a guy that actually does this.

 

[KnurledNut]

I stocked up on Scott Blue Titanium when Advance clearanced it out.
I wasnt expecting much, but its quickly become my favorite, and i find it works better than others.