Happy Sunday! I’ve been wrenching hard on a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that hasn’t been on the road in eight years, and frankly, it’s been kicking my arse. As such, I haven’t had a ton of time to write weekend blogs, so here’s a short one about how I clean my hands when they’re covered in oil and grease.
Some wrenchers use rubber gloves when they work on cars, and frankly: I wish I were one of them. From a health standpoint, it’d be nice to not have lead-filled used oil and brake fluid and gasoline and all that leaching through my skin and into my bloodstream. But gloves ruin tactile feedback, and make it hard for me to know what’s going on in whatever blind nook and cranny I’m reaching into, so I’ve come to grips with the reality that in my old age, I’ll transform into something part-human, part-American Motors inline-six.
The result is that my hands get dirty a lot, and my brothers and mom regularly get on my case about how, really, I should wear gloves. Again, they’re right! But I lose all the feeling with that thin layer of rubber! I can’t deal with it.
[Ed note:
-MH]
Anyway, I’ve for years been trying various hand-cleaning methods, and I’ve narrowed down what works best. This is something that wrenchers are very opinionated about, so my solution may not be your favorite (you can tell me what is in the comments), but trust me when I say: It works really well.
For me, I use three products. First off, there’s Dawn Dish Soap. Yes, just regular Dawn, and no, standard-issue dish-soap doesn’t work as well.
I do find it bizarre how Dawn legitimately works better than the competition, because can’t the competition just copy Dawn’s formula? I’m sure some have, but most non-Dawn dish soaps just don’t seem to be able to get the grease and grime off my hands like that Bottle Of Blue can. It’s cheap, it’s readily available all over the place, it smells good, and you know it’s safe since it’s been used for a long time in kitchens around the globe.
The very best hand-cleaner I’ve ever used, though, is GoJo (or similar brands).
The key, here, is to get the original formula, and not the one with pumice in it. I realize how controversial this is, and I get how fun it is to have that gritty pumice rubbing between your hands, but the reality is that you’re basically trying to clean two smooth leather surfaces; smooth, pumice-free cleaner will work great. Now, there are very specific instances where pumice can help (like if you get RTV silicone stuck on your hands; the GoJo above probably won’t take that off), but besides that, it’s the smooth hand-cleaner that really works well for me. I mean, look at it go!:
I’m actually using Purple Power hand cleaner in the photo above; I find that it, Goop, and GoJo all work similarly well (though I prefer GoJo for no real reason).
What I like about these cleaners over Dawn is that they don’t require water to work. You can just have a can of GoJo in your toolbox, along with some shop towels (I love those blue ones above), and you’re pretty much all set.
Last but not least, there’s the fingernail brush, because grime will get under your nails, and neither Dawn nor GoJo will help extract it. You need something to get underneath those nails, and I (and I think most wrenchers) have found that a brush works best.
My hands are squeaky clean right now after having been filthy from tearing apart a four-liter Jeep engine last night. I can thank both Dawn and that Purple Power hand cleaner — along with those blue shop towels and a fingernail brush (I used an old toothbrush).
[Ed note: David made sure I put in Amazon affiliate links for these products because we might get a tiny commission from it. Seriously, these are like $10 for enough GoJo to last you, like, three Jeeps. So, yes, please click those links and get some GoJo and maybe a Roku streambar? Oh, you don’t need Roku streambar? Ok, fair enough – MH]
Lava bar soap and a sponge with a scratchy side. Hand lotion before getting greasy and again after the scrub. Lava bar soap has been around since 1893 for a reason. It works.
I’ve been a die-hard Goop user since the 70’s. Works great on hands AND clothing stains.
The only downside is that it isn’t hoard-friendly. The stuff tends to liquify after a year or two on the shelf. Still works, but not as conveniently.
Joes Handcleaner. Hands down best hand cleaner out there. And works waterless if you need that. The winter formula comes with extra moisturizers to keep hands nice and soft. I spent years behind an auto parts counter and tried them all. None of them compare.
GoJo is made nearby me in Akron Ohio. I worked summers in that factory boxing up tubs of soap.
I hate gloves
strait dawn, no water, on grease stains on clothes and let them sit a day before putting the washing machine does a good job getting out most of the stuff. Not hard stuff like anti-seize stains in light colors but most stuff, including butter and bacon grease stains.
I have been using strait dawn for years and THE most important part is to put in on your DRY/greasy hands and work it in and work everything loose THEN rise it off. If you wet your hands first it will not work as well by far. Dawn powerwash is not the same as it already has water in it.
I never really considered investing in gloves until I read this;
A great rule of thumb question to ask yourself…
“Would this be safe to drink/eat?”…
If not then why the French Toast would you marinade your skin with it for XX hours?
Don’t need to believe me, read the hazard labels for common automotive fluids or talk to old professional mechanics
Not a big fan of oil and grease on hands. Have been wearing mechanics gloves ever since they became available. Never an issue after that. But keep a jug of the Orange crap in the garage for the times oil does soak through though.
Dawn is a great help too.
My problem is every time it seems the rubber glove rips then I get shit pooling in the glove.
Best disposable mechanics gloves I’ve found…
NAPA has “heavy duty” 13 mil disposable gloves that are really tough that I’ve been using now for the past 8? ish years.
I can’t say for certain are the same ones as the ones I have are blue, but these might be the ones…
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NSEGWGN44100
Ill have to try some. The other issue I have is working in the summer heat in the desert makes these damn things so sweaty inside. Never figured out a good solution for that.
Yeah no good solution to the sweaty hand problem (yet)
Would likely need some gloves that could protect from the chemicals and at the same time allow perspiration out like conceptually really thin, flexible and yet tough gore-tex
Yeah and I have crazy sweaty hands. Oh well. So is life wrenching.
What I find, is that when I don’t use it in a while, the Gojo (and the others) separate into different oils, and whatever is in it. I use gloves so I get less dirty than you probably do working on cars.
Oh and shout out to Working Hands for after care of your hands. After years of doing body work and using all those chemicals, my hands are dry. This is the only thing that works well.
Growing up we always had a bottle of Dawn out in the garage.
This is exactly my take, which surprised me given some of David’s hot takes lately. Dad gave me Go-Jo when I was only 5 or 6 and I’ve been a believer ever since. I’m smart enough to know that I need gloves but not smart enough to remember to put them on. I even have a tube of Invisible Glove in the garage (a lotion as others have suggested) but I forget.
For some reason Goop seems to be a better pre treat for greasy clothing but my evidence might be anecdotal.
A dermatologist turned me on to brushes. I prefer natural bristles and I keep one in every shower and by the muck sink.
I have been known to grab the Dawn off the kitchen sink on my way to the shower aft partially greasy work sessions.
The inimitable Project Farm just did a comparison of these (and a bunch of other brands) for hand cleaning last week over on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0KqcEXh_so
I came here to post this, but you beat me to it.
My dad always kept a can of Goop on hand. It was nothing short of miraculous how well it worked.
The best stuff I ever used was in a hangar, but I’ll never remember the name of it. It was tan, and the consistency of regular Gojo, but with incredibly fine grit in it. That stuff worked great. Looks like it could have been Stoko Cupran.
As a diesel mechanic of 18 years that got cancer at 34, for the love of everything automotive, use the gloves. It took me about 2 weeks to get used to them. I’m to the point that I HATE touching anything without gloves. Your hands and health will thank you. Use nitrile.
This is the right answer. Cancer sucks. Hope you are ok now?
Yeah, 6 months oral chemo and 3 surgeries later, I had my 6-month follow up scan in Jan and I’m still all clear.
Wish you all the best. Take care.
Now this is an endorsement that makes sense!
In all seriousness, please use gloves when handling brake fluid. That shit is bad news when it gets on your skin. I’m tend to get into stuff without gloves on (and usually regret it, oh well) but when it comes to brake work I always wear nitrile gloves.
I use Dawn for washing my hands as it’s what we keep around for dish detergent anyway, so it’s convenient. For moisturizer, as long as I don’t have to immediately handle anything else, I use Bag Balm.
Agree on the post treatment, but I think Working Hands (the paste) works better.
I haven’t actually used Working Hands, mostly because I got 3 large tins of Bag Balm for Christmas one year, and well, I suppose I’m all-in on Bag Balm then, haha.
Bag Balm was the go-to to fix dry, cracked fingers when I was rock climbing several times per week. The climbing chalk and the dry, sharp granite and basalt combined to tear up my fingers. Bag Balm every night kept the damage to a minimum once I found it, thanks to a tip from another climber.
Totally get it with the rubber gloves, but I will use leather gloves for the heavy stuff. I remember that when I was a kid and wrenched for a living my hands were perpetually grimy. No matter how good you wash, you’re adding more every day and it just doesn’t go away completely until you stop touching icky things for a few days.
I went so far as to buy a commercial wall mounted GoJo dispenser for my laundry room. Total game changer.
My go-to is the coconut stuff
https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-14106-Grabber-Coconut-Cleaner/dp/B004U8LYO4/?th=1
All the bases I worked at used it and not any other stuff for whatever reason. Does a decent job getting stuff under fingernails, that last remaining bit under the fingernails I make sure I wash my hair two or three times and scrub my nails with my hair.
… I guess you don’t get that luxury though
I’m glad I started using gloves pretty much as soon as I started wrenching. I cannot stand having dirty hands. As David rightly points out, the kind of stuff that cars get on your skin is properly bad for your health as well.
I’ve worked with some mechanics who don’t like gloves from a financial standpoint, and I get it – gloves are expensive if you’re working wrenching full-time. I am just a DIY-er, and I buy my nitrile gloves in bulk. However, the loss of feel argument is patently absurd. You cannot tell me that a 5-10 mil nitrile cover makes it impossible to grip small fasteners. That’s just ridiculous. Maybe the gloves David tried were way too big?
Another advantage that only one other person has picked up on here is that gloves work as a second layer of skin. I honestly can’t remember the last time I got a cut working on my cars. Gloves save my skin over and over again from minor cuts – the kind that don’t do any real damage, but are annoying to deal with and sting when you wash your hands with the kind of products mentioned in this article.
I will never understand the “loss of feeling” thing with gloves. 99% of the time I have zero issues and in the rare instance I feel the glove is interfering I take it off to complete that task.
I wrench full time and could not imagine not using them anytime there is dirty work. They aren’t that expensive compared to future health issues or an infected cut.
Oh good; it’s nice to get validation from a professional! I agree – paying for health issues in the US will very quickly offset any savings from not wearing gloves.
I wear gloves when I’m doing pretty fiddly stuff, like soldering upside down underneath a dashboard, and have no issues. I do use two different weights – 5 mil for most stuff, but 7 or 9 mil if I’m going to be working for hours on something serious, removing a rear subframe, changing a clutch, etc.
Hell, I’m in Canada and my cancer treatment was fully covered. Still 0/10 don’t recommend. Use the PPE FFS!
I’m very sorry to hear that and glad you made it through your treatment. I hope you’re doing well 🙂
Thank you for reminding people one of the reasons why PPE is so important. I feel like gloves aren’t seen as being as important as something like eye protection. Something flies in your eye – immediate pain and suffering. The issues with allowing hazardous chemicals to leech into your skin take a lot longer to present as problems. It’s the same thing with ear protection – I put in earplugs any time I’m in the garage, even if I don’t think I’ll be using anything noisy. My dad has tinnitus and I do not want to deal with that when I’m older.
I have two type of hearing protection. I have ISOtunes bluetooth headphones. They provide a 22dB NRR and the volume doesn’t go above 85dB to protect hearing.
I also have 3M Peltor noise cancelling ear plugs. They actively amplify anything like a set of hearing aids, but cancel out any noise above a certain threshold.
I love the first for independent work, cutting the lawn, etc. The second ones I use when I train guys on the floor cause I can protect my hearing but still hear even the quietest of questions asked.
Dang, those are some expensive ear plugs, but for what you have to do, they seem worth it. 95% of the time I work by myself so I just buy the cheap 3M foam ones in bulk.
My SO thinks it’s weird that I wear earplugs while cutting the lawn with my electric mower or vacuuming, but honestly I do it out of a hatred of loud white noise as much as protection for my ears.
Why do I feel like the Goop logo wants to give me a hand job? A pumice laden one…
Dammit. What has been seen cannot be unseen.
wow, that is disgustingly accurate.
It’s quite handy to have around.
Lanolin before and after
Pro tip on clean hands from a mechanic who hates having dirty hands:
MOISTURIZE!
Dry skin and cracked hands hold dirt and grime. Keep your hands from drying out and they are that much easier to clean.
Yeah, also saving you and the touch screen world from “zombie finger”.
Another pro tip from a mechanic who hates having dirty hands. Nitrile gloves save me scrubbing off layers of skin and then trying to build it back later.
Yes, dish soap is also the go to thing here.
Old school washing machine powder also works.
And then some cheap super market skin moisturizer afterwards