It took you the better part of the day, cost you the skin on at least four knuckles, and fought you every step of the way, but the car is fixed, running better than ever, and you’re done in the garage. The tools have been cleaned and put away, the stands are stored, and the shop floor has been swept, but there’s still one thing you need to clean: your grimy self, complete with those greasy hands of yours.
I’ve been wrenching on cars ever since I was ten, and for the life of me, I don’t believe there is a way to work underhood without getting dirty. Small tasks usually mean that you just wash your hands afterwards and move on, but anything more involved than changing spark plugs usually ends up with me coated up to the elbows in grease, dirt, and whatever else is appropriate. I’ve had days back when I was in the Army where my arms were completely blackened by wrenching on the underside of a car, yet by morning I had to be picture-perfect for a dress uniform inspection. Nowadays, it’s more like “be cleaned up for dinner tonight with the wife”, and I promise you, the sergeants running the uniform inspection were less strenuous in making sure that I was ready to be seen in public.
So, the question of the day is, how do you go from the picturesque greasy wrench to acceptable for public use? After having the question posed to me, I looked back to what I did when I was in the military: in my shower was a pump-drum of pumice soap and green scrub pads. You want grease off in a hurry? That’ll do it. Is it gentle and soothing? Hell no, but neither was busting your knuckles on the front tie-rod. I’d liberally use the soap on the dirty areas and scrub until I was concerned about raw skin, rinse, hit any heavy spots that I missed, then wash twice with regular soap: once to clean off what greasy film was left over, then again for a final finish. Fingernails were cleaned with either a dental pick or a soft bristle brush, and a once-over of a good quality lotion meant that nobody would be wiser that four hours ago, I was yanking the transmission out of a Firebird.
Drastic? Absolutely, but that regiment is effective. So let’s hear it: How do you clean up?
ATF. Easy on the skin, dissolves grease. Followed by regular soap and water.
If possible I have started wearing those blue gloves for really greasy jobs. I don’t have anyone that gives me crap if I have some oil stains on my hands for days, so I wash what I can off with gojo and let time take off the rest.
Carb cleaner. Works great, but it does leave your skin dry.
Dawn dishwashiing liquid. Best ever. Cheap. Everywhere.
Gillettee shaving cream works for me.
Sugar and dish soap. ( dawn sunlight etc. ) . Mix sugar, dish soap to a paste from . Wash off with water.
I have a big spray bottle of full strength Simple Green in the shop for degreasing engines and myself. It does a great job on both and is easy on the skin. I finish the job with Gojo or Dawn dish soap.
The last 10 years or so i’ve started wearing gloves, as the grease and oil on my palms would make me sick within 1/2 hour. The weird thing is my arms can be covered from wrist to shoulder and it hardly effects me. Either way my go to cleaner has been Sunlight dish soap and a scrub brush, it almost always gets it all off in one pass.
Brand of soap called Mulehead. Only soap mechanics will use at heavy truck shop where I work. Blows orange,goop,gojo,lava all that out of the water. Highly recommended
Gloves, Genius.
Gloves.
DL in the navy blue tin, havent seen that stuff in years, our shop teachers had it back in the day-it was like oily yellow yogurt and would strip off everything but your skin.
What ever was at hand be Safety-Kleen, Varsol, Lava, everything dried my skin out. Corn Huskers Lotion and or Udder Balm kept the hands soft.
When I was a kid at the base auto hobby shop, the carb cleaner tank worked quickly. I looked like I had mickey mouse hands afterward, with all the oil leached out of my hands. Painful but fast.
I use the scotch brite pads now, and do use the blue gloves if it’s something totally filthy.
When I was in the USAF,PD680,MEK and “TRIKE” (trychlorethlene),spent a lot of time on my hands and arms. Dont get MEK or Trike in your armpits or…shorts.
Barrier cream is the best, I only just discovered this recently but it is awesome. Rub this on your hands and fore arms before you get greasy and it makes everything so much easier to clean.
The best hand cleaner I have found is Reinol, I have tried hundreds of different brands.
First wash the worst of it in the solvent tank then use Dawn with water. That gets them presentable. Then in the shower I use a hand brush to scrub them. Been using solvent over 40 years with no skin problems or cancer the government falsely claims I will get for getting the dreaded solvent on my skin. I also use solvent, brake cleaner, carb cleaner, gasoline, diesel, etc. on cuts. I never get infections and the wound seems to heal faster. During the winter I sometimes must use hand lotion because the weather dries my skin.
Fast Orange. Hey,it works.
I give my wife a shampoo and scalp massage. By the time I’m done, my hands are pretty clean.
LOL,Ive done this but not on purpose. After a grubby day in the garage ,trans fluid,fast orange,zest in shower, my wife needed some time…..NOW! Well I didn’t get too my nails in the shower but I noticed after I gave her a scalp massage my nails were clean…….
Fast Orange and/or Laquer Thinner.
I never heard of the tranny fluid deal… I’m gonna try that.
I hear the laquer thinner and brake clean go right to your liver…
Sam
Gojo or whatever brand of pumice cleaner I have (I do remember it’s something from costco) then Palmolive and wash the pots and pans from the day, by the time I’m out of the shower I’m all nice and clean, pruny but clean. I used to use some lanoline cleaner that was fantastic but I keep forgetting to buy any and it gets really runny around 100 degrees.
Powdered boraxo and hand soap does the trick for me.