Possibly the best hand cleaner for motor mechanics.

Wig

I've used washing up liquid, Swarfega and Tufanega and now I use Lidl 'W5' hand cleaner which comes in a pot, and is £1.69 It is the best stuff I have ever used. It even works when your hands are wet. You know you clean your hands once then rinse, and you see dirt/oil you missed. With washing up liquid and swarfega, it's not easy to get those bits off because now your hands are wet. With 'W5' it's as easy as pie. 'W5' is not affected by the water, infact a little water helps it to clean your hands.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Or you could buy a job lot of surgeon's gloves, and not have to clean your hands.

goldspanners

i made the fateful mistake when i was younger of not using gloves, everyday my hands would be covered in engine oil, hydraulic oil,battery corrosion/acid,rust,salt,paint, thinners, just about every nasty substance you could find,then at least 3 times a day i would go and wash my hands with industrial hand cleaner,it didnt take too long for the dermatitits to kick in. but then it was too late.
i now wear nitrile gloves when im working,if i need to touch any dirty tools i will put them on and if theres even the slightest chance i will get my hands dirty i put them on.

the oil and stuff is bad enough and as we all know its carcenogenic,but the hand cleaners are drying your hands out of the natural oils in your skin which you need to stop your skin drying out and cracking.
over the past few years (since i stopped smoking) mine has calmed down a bit but has by no means gone and i doubt it ever will.

take note any young mechanics!

Wig

I once bought boxes of 100 gloves for about £1 a box. I wish I'd bought a lifetime supply at the time, because now all I ever see is approx £5 per box. I'm not prepared to pay that much. When I did have the gloves, they were a very good alternative.

When I'm finished working on the car for the day I'll put moisturiser cream on my hands.

tallsam

I use hand cleaners daily but also apply barrier cream and moisturiser too. I wear gloves when its really oily or muddy but generally can't stand wearing them.

goldspanners

tallsam wrote: »

I wear gloves when its really oily or muddy but generally can't stand wearing them.

thats what i used to do but i tried loads of different barrier creams and found them all rubbish.
i used to only wear the gloves when it got dirty, usually too late. i used to hate wearing them but when it became a choice of scratch myself to death or wear gloves the choice was easy. my company have to provide me with them so the cost isnt an issue. i cant wear the latex ones, i think i mus have an allergic reaction to them, it has to be the (slightly more expensive) latex free nitrile ones i use.

ailuro2

nitrile ones are the best, you can still 'feel' throgh them but are pretty tough.

you get used to them after a while, but for working underneath things on a hot day you need sweatbands for your wrists as all the moisture runs down your arms...:rolleyes:

much nicer than stripping all the oil from your hands, best not to get most of it on there in the first place.

Baby wipes work well on missed bits of dirt.