Hand cleaner

My problem with Swarfega and All Jobs Hand Cleaner is that after a couple of hours my pores ooze out more grimey oil. So finish "work" at 5, wash hands with Swarfega, wash them again at 8 in soap and again at 10 then finally when I retire at 11.

Years ago when I was an apprentice, we used barrier cream, what a pain, it dries out so I had a fine clay coating on my hands then you had to rehydrate it before it could be washed off.

I have been cogitating on this problem for years, this thread is prompting me into action, So John, your olive oil has no secondary ooze-out?

Frank

Washing up liquid with a spoon of sugar in it. Rub in well before adding water.

Another effective way of getting the hands clean is washing your hair (where applicable). Alternatively, make some bread, but DON'T get caught

What I could do with right now is something that will get Leylandii sap off. After two days with a pole-chainsaw and a weedy twig-shredder I have many black marks that won't come off

Neil

barrier cream iant what it used to be...use dri-guard, no drying and it really works

Gentlemen,

I hate using gloves when working on dirty jobs as I find they get in the way but have found through my job that if my hands are still mucky after using hand cleaner I wear latex gloves for half an hour and my hands sweat themselves clean, at home I use Swarfiga Orange.

Martin P

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Putty also works well, so that has to be the linseed oil ?

Resin from evergreen trees, fibreglass, epoxy etc is a sod to get off. I used to have some "Emulan" which was a white waxy hand cleaner. It worked a treat when I was doing car repairs but seems to be no longer available.

There seem to be other resin hand cleaners such as Tufanega, Loctite / Henkel 7855 etc. Some people are happy to use Acetone but this dries out your skin, pushes resins into your bloodstream and causes dermatitis. I already have a eczema-like condition caused by use of solvents, petrol, strong hand cleaners etc. Once you have sensitised your skin, there's no easy way back. Best find and use the correct cleansers to start with.

Murray

Over the years I have tried just about all commercial hand cleaners and some home formula ones but the best by far is Lidl's W5 Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner available in 500ml tins. Put a little into the palm of one hand and add a little water then rub with the other hand until a creamy consistency ( a little patience is needed here) is obtained then spread it all over both hands an work it in. It removes anything you are likely to use in the workshop.

Make some pastry. Works a treat.

Martin

The lubricant in these gloves is talcum powder. There has been an unproven scare that it can cause ovarian cancer: **LINK**. So perhaps you just need to be careful where you put your hands

Russell.

White cheddar cheese seems to work well too from memory.

L'Occitane liquid soap......came with a christmas pack for SWMBO.

It is superior to Swarfega, will not hurt the skin and even removes dried on paint. Not tried it on Leylandi goo but would not be surprised if it did. Thick grease is washed off with very little at one attempt, even fingernails.

It is expensive - but works better than anything I have used in my 40 years in industrial engineering - and I have tried a few.

Trevor - usual disclaimer, very very satisfied customer

Edited By Trevor Wright on 22/06/2015 12:53:01

I can heartily recommend 'Scrubs in a bucket' pre-moistened Hand Cleaner Towels for removing just about anything; super-glue, ink, epoxy resin, polyurethane glue, oil; I haven't found anything they won't remove. A bit expensive at around £20 for 72 towels but one towel is all you ever need. I cleaned the smoke box and chimney on a 7.25 Bagnall resulting in a tennis sized ball of oily soot, the really super black sticky stuff. One towel cleaned my hands enough to go straight out for dinner. Also leave you hands soft and smelling OK too!

NickM

Gave up using Barrier Cream, (not that it was not effective) but it it gripped any non rotating handle or socket extension, so that it rubbed the skin.

Often wear industrial gloves, but they are not waterproof, (so your hands can become soiled with dirt carried through in the oil/coolant) and eventually become soft and start to sag or get trapped between the workpiece and the jaw as the vice is tightened.

Washing Up Liquid is good, (with or without sugar/sawdust - never tried salt. NOT if you have a cut!) but dries out my skin, and having had Dermatitis, try to avoid using it. Still using original green Swarfega, IMO, better than the more expensive Orange version.

Howard

The only barrier cream I remember from years ago was pretty much pure Lanolin, I would have thought. Never experienced the clay layer mentioned by some.

These days I just use that squeeze bottle handwash from the supermarket plus Solvol soap. Not sure if Solvol is available outside Australia? It is a pumice powder-based soap that is abrasive as well as a soap.

In worst case scenario - machining cast iron or working on stinking dirty old diesel engines - WD40 does the trick. Then wash the WD off with soap afterwards. Probably some highly carcinogenic aromatic solvents in the WD so I try to use it only in desperate cases.

Hi all, some years ago I worked for an airline in the wheel bay, we used a barrier cream which seemed impervious to all the grease/ carbon dust from the brakes but when hands were washed it became soap and left hands squeeky clean and soft as a babies proverbial. Can't for the life of me remember what it was called though. At home I use Manista by Comma from the local cheepy shop works for me.

Mark P.

I try and avoid getting my hands dirty by wearing vinyl disposable gloves. The main problem with them is they dissolve after a while particularly when using oil and solvents (brasso zaps them quicker than anything). On an oily job I have used up to three pairs a day. I keep costs down by buying boxes of 100 at a boot for between £2.50 and £3.50. Also, Costco do them for £3.50 if I remember.

For heavier jobs like yesterdays band saw blade change I use the heavy duty industrial gloves with the cotton wrist - these are unaffected by oil.

Looking back to my teenage at work I spent day after day up to my ears washing parts barehanded in a tank of diesel/paraffin I am surprised my mitts have not fallen of from the abuse.

I have been using something called "The Really Good Stuff" made by Tetrosyl (maybe Carplan branded), seems to work very well for me.

Edited By V8Eng on 23/06/2015 11:01:43

If you dunk your hands in white grease on entering the workshop the lowest layer of goo will be white. So after cleaning what oozes out later will be less visible. Some people may need to use a graphite or copper grease here. More seriously perhaps a lanolin based paste would work.

I used to use swarfega then one day at a car boot I saw Knight's Castile hand soap. We just bought some out of curiosity as we remembered the add on TV from a long time ago now. For some reason it does it's job and it's what we always have by the sink now. We come across it from time to time and buy it to keep a stock.

I wonder if it works so well because it's real soap. It's rather odd that it will shift oil and grime really. My son wont use it as he doesn't like the smell. My wife and I use it all of the time now.

At work, machine work mainly, they used to have some green gritty stuff. No idea what it was called. The gritty aspect was borax as the company had found that this helps prevent skin infections and dermatitis.

John

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Wright's Coal Tar Soap is the real McCoy

My best investment was a nail brush

Neil