How do you protect your hands?

[Sixseven]

Obvious safety tools like hearing, eye and respiratory protection should be common place now. But how do you protect your skin from harsh chemicals while working on the car and then again during clean up?

I have been using nitrile gloves for several years now as they keep my fingernails from getting greasy. Protecting them from grease stains and heavy scrubbing also keeps my older hands from getting torn up with abrasive hand cleaners.

Just discovered that rubbing my hands with olive oil before donning gloves helps two ways, the oil is good for my skin and it makes taking the gloves off easier. My normal technique for glove removal is to roll the glove down to mid palm and blow into the glove. Tonight, after playing in the garage all day and having used the olive oil, my hands feel great, they are not dried out.

My hands don't sweat much in these gloves in the winter, but the inside of the gloves are very sweaty during warm months. Letting my hands soak in water all day isn't the best for them either. I wonder if the olive oil trick will work in the summer.

[alanwoodieman]

had not thought of olive oil, but in the winter I do use hand cream, in the summer I use different types of talcum powder--most have some sort of moisturizer in them and in the summer I roll the gloves inside out and let them dry and if possible use them again. but I like the smell of 75 year old doping and grease under my fingernails

[51 MERC-CT]

Alas, this leads to more questions.
Should I use Greek, Italian, Spanish, French or Californian olive oil.
The answer, Californian ( buy American )
And then should I choose virgin, extra virgin, super extra virgin etc.
Decisions, decisions, I think i'm getting brain cramp.

[JonC]

It would appear that after some 50 plus years of plunging my hands into some unknown mixture of wheelbearing/oil sludge almost daily, my hands have built up a layer of inpenatratable surface bariers. This allows and requires no glove source and is not removalable by the strongest of thinners on the market. Thus a hard brushing with Dawn cleans most stains in only as little as several weeks. I should use gloves.

[Barry-ct]

I now use gloves my wife buys me at the beauty supply store. They're heavy duty and usually last thru the job I'm doing. I was working on a greasy old lawn tractor I bought and somehow got a "bug" and a infection in a finger and lost it from Diabetes, so I've changed my ways. Plus, I got tired of leaning over the sink trying to get the dirt off my hands! My hand will sweat in the summer, but I just get a new pair after I wipe the sweat off. Cheap enough.

[Mike51Merc]

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I made an interesting discovery for cleanup. One day I used my wife's Neutragena face soap (the translucent amber colored soap bars) on my hands. Neutragena is a glycerine-based soap like GoJo. Great on cleanup and doesn't harm skin. Now I buy it myself by the six-pack.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

I made an interesting discovery for cleanup. One day I used my wife's Neutragena face soap (the translucent amber colored soap bars) on my hands. Neutragena is a glycerine-based soap like GoJo. Great on cleanup and doesn't harm skin. Now I buy it myself by the six-pack.

FYI: Dial now also makes glycerine-based soap. It's a lot cheaper than Neutragena.

[Vic Piano]

I just never get my hands dirty... LOL

[Ross F-1]

I bought a box of Harbor Fright's Heavy Duty 7mil nitril gloves, and am amazed at the difference between them and the "regular" PVC or nitrile Medium Duty gloves. They cost a couple bucks a box more, but I had one pair that lasted 6 months! On/off many times, doing some pretty heavy work. They also seem to wipe clean easily, while oil and grease cling to the thinner ones.

[34pickup]

Nothing. Never have used anything except sometimes when welding or handling hot parts. That might explain the ugliness of my hands...

[wbedwards]

I've tried on and off for years to use gloves and it seems like the job always gets too tedious every time I do. I drop a needle bearing and spend 30 mins hunting it =[. My hands do clean up better using used ATF and a soft brush and then hand cleaner.

wbedwards

[LSJUNIPER]

Don't clean your hands with ATF, there are some nasty chemicals in that stuff.

[deuce_roadster]

Costco sells disposable gloves very reasonably. I will use 2 or 3 pairs doing the simplest job. Harbor Freight sells thicker gloves disposables for heavier use.

[cmbrucew]

Originally Posted by LSJUNIPER

Don't clean your hands with ATF, there are some nasty chemicals in that stuff.

I sure hope there are no nasty chemicals in Marvel Mystery Oil, I use it for after shave lotion.

Bruce

[jimvette59]

I didn't use gloves for 50 years now any time I get near any type of cleaning fluid my finger tips crack really bad and it's very pain full. My wife found this hand cream at the drug store It works very well O'KEEFFE'S WORKING HANDS hand cream. I use it all the time and it's guaranteed to work or your money back. Some times I forget to put glove on and I have a problem. Just saying Jim.T.

[dude]

Rubber gloves and Bag Balm .

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by jimvette59

I didn't use gloves for 50 years now any time I get near any type of cleaning fluid my finger tips crack really bad and it's very pain full. My wife found this hand cream at the drug store It works very well O'KEEFFE'S WORKING HANDS hand cream. I use it all the time and it's guaranteed to work or your money back. Some times I forget to put glove on and I have a problem. Just saying Jim.T.

That's good stuff, but expensive. Burt's Bees is good too, and expensive.

[JSeery]

I could never stand to have gloves on of any kind. Good thing I didn't decide to be a surgeon.

[jimvette59]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

That's good stuff, but expensive. Burt's Bees is good too, and expensive.

I seem to remember Corn huskers lotion also. But O'keeffe's heals those painful cracks in a few days. Used sparingly and it lasts. I am amazed. Jim.T.

[waterboychuck]

To clean my hands I use Lava.