Bicycle Mechanics - Soap for greasy bike mechanic's hands

What kind of soap does everyone use for getting grease & muck off your hands after working on bikes?

$1-a-bucket stuff from Autozone or whatever. But my wife HATES the smell. Also works good for removing stubborn grease stains from clothing, not too surprisingly.

I've used orange goop (http://www.goophandcleaner.com/orange_v2.htm), then wash my hands with a hand soap my wife has in the downstairs bathroom.

+1 for a tub of GOJO

works getting oil based paint off hands too
http://www.gojo.com/product/product.asp?productid=15

FWIW ... I've taken to usually wrenching in a pair of old rubber gloves ... the kind you'd do dishes with.

Nitrile are good, too.

Don't mean to avoid your question. Just another possible to think about....

I've used dish detergent full strength for years. It's cheap and it works. Just squirt some on and work it in.

Nothing better than WORX (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302883730&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442618259) all-natural hand cleaner!

The only downside: it's a bit expensive... But it's more effective than any disgusting orange goop, and while small, the container lasts a long time.

At the community bike workshop we purchase motomaster orange goop by the gallon, and it cleans OK... It's inexpensive, smells bad, feels bad, and cleans more poorly than WORX, and it's full of chemicals. But it's dirt cheap!

The dish soap, Goop, Gojo, and everything mentioned above works fine. In my opinion the key to getting your hands clean is a good, stiff scrub brush.

Old fashioned I guess but I still like Boraxo or Lava hand soaps. I wish the Boraxo still came in the metal can too!

What i do and what my dad does is we take sugar and put it in our hands and then use soap and then scrub( It works like very fine sandpaper) and works great! ( you probably think i am crazy!)

"Fast Orange" by Permatex or "OrangeHand cleaner" by ZEP , wont ruin the skin on your hands.(important, when you do it 10+ times a day)
Bud

+1 for Gojo.

It doesn't have an unpleasant chemical odor like many pumice cleaners. Just smells like orange peel.

Dish soap. If it's super thick, or stuck into your fingernails, use a loofah ($1 at Wal Mart) and some foot scrub. Girly? Yeah, but it works.

I picked up a box of Nitrile gloves at the auto parts store, saves a lot of cleaning!

For hands Gojo works well. Boraxo works better but is a bit of a pain to use, and will remove the outer layer of your skin. Shout Gel gets grease out of clothing.

GoJo all the way. Spent many years as a professional auto mechanic, it virtually was my cologne for most of my dating life.

I picked up a box of Nitrile gloves at the auto parts store, saves a lot of cleaning!

+1
I pick up the latex gloves at Home Depot because they are the cheapest.
Gojo is good for whatever grease gets on other parts of the body, e.g. arms, and chainring tattoos.

I also keep a pair of gloves in the saddle bag.

I use dryer sheets after they have been used. they remove old grease that sticks to your hands and after they have done their job in the dryer I think of them as free.

GoJo all the way. Spent many years as a professional auto mechanic, it virtually was my cologne for most of my dating life.

+1 on the "cologne." haha. lava bar soap works well too. and i find using a bar is a bit less wasteful than liquids. but i like gojo too.

I use one of those hand degreasers that you can find at the autoshop, wipe it off, then wash my hands with regular soap and then finish up with some hand moisturizer.

whatever citrus gritty hand cleaner i happend to pick up (gojo usualy)... if not a dish detergent (either JOY or dawn are my preference) with a bit of sugar works well

I've used dish detergent full strength for years. It's cheap and it works. Just squirt some on and work it in.
+1. It works, doesn't smell bad and isn't hard on your hands. I keep a squirt bottle of it by our basement stationary tub so my wife doesn't get incensed about my wasnhing my hands in the kitchen sink. :o

+1 also on the recommendation to use nitrile or latex gloves. I buy nitrile gloves at Home Depot or Lowes and they do a great job of keeping the dirt and grease off your hands while allowing enough dexterity to do the work. Heavy rubber gloves are even better protection but you can't do most bike adjustment while wearing them.

Generic GOJO from Sam's or whatever. Big 2 or 3 gallon thing has been lasting me for a while - and I got it second hand from a friend, who got it from his dad. Also works wonders on your feet.

OH MY GOD, at my shop we have this soap, I'm not sure the name, but it has kind of a sandy texture, and it gets the grit and oil and grease off so easy! Try to figure out the name, or I'll get back to you about it.

I use Hand Rx. Anyway I usually end up showering afterwards to get the dirt out from under my nails.

What i do and what my dad does is we take sugar and put it in our hands and then use soap and then scrub( It works like very fine sandpaper) and works great! ( you probably think i am crazy!)

The sugar works great, I also use vegetable oil along with the sugar. Then finish off with dish soap. One other solution that I have used, use the dish soap before you start wrenching. Rub some into your hands really well, then go to work.

use the dish soap before you start wrenching. Rub some into your hands really well, then go to work.

Interesting idea. I know part of the problem with me is dry hands, so they absorb everything.
I'm mainly looking for scent-free solutions. The typical mechanic's gunk in a tub really stinks up the hands.

I've tried everything in and under the kitchen sink. The problem with most of cleaners or dish soaps is they dry the heck out of your hands. For minor grease.... I know use pure olive oil soap.

When I know I'm going to be in the grease heavy, there is no substitute for nitrile gloves, as previously mentioned. Nitrile makes latex gloves obsolete. Latex tears so easily. Depending on the thickness and type used, the rip resistance is moderate to very strong.

GOJO and a small scrub brush... Cheap, smells OK, and it's available at Wal-Mart.

Cheap, smells OK, and it's available at Wal-Mart.

What DOESN'T that describe :D

Sugar? I guess, but baking soda is much, much cheaper.

I use dish soap plus baking soda. That stuff is magical. I'm compiling a list of 101 uses for baking soda. It's odorless. It does a better job than any scrubby thing, and it is less painful, too. It gets the grime out of the fingerprints and from under the fingernails.

Don't use too much dish soap, as it dissolves the oil in your skin.

Don't use hot water, as that dries your skin. Believe it or not, cold water will work fine.

Also, before you start wrenching, put some vaseline on your hands. It helps the grime from getting into your skin.

I spent a night wrenching last night, and my hands are CLEAN!

I just spray some Simple Green on my hands, then wash with soap.

Lava, with a hand brush.

anything with borax,pumice or corn meal+citrus.

at work, we have this.

http://www.azpartsmaster.com/images/catalog/gshop/DC341.jpg

For the last 30 years I've tried just about everything on the market. I find plain old non pumice GoJo works better than anything else. And I've had some really nasty petroleum products on my hands. I prefer the little brush with the plastic bristles instead of pumice.

The bar soaps like Lava never really cut it for me.

Some of the other products mentioned will do the job just as well. IE, Fast Orange, Zep, Goop all work well. I have a bottle of Fast Orange on my work bench right now.

Dish soap like Dawn will also work "ok" in a pinch.

I find the dedicated shop-type cleaners (GOJO etc) do work best, but coffee grounds and dish soap are pretty good too :). Coffee grounds will also take the smell off your skin if you have been cutting up onions and garlic.

The soaps are very drying so I use "Udderly Smooth" brand hand cream (non-greasy, unscented, and absorbs lightning quick) afterward, and Healthy Hoof for my nails and cuticles. You can get both of these at tack shops, veterinary supplies, and you can also find the Udderly Smooth at quilting stores, of all places!

For the last 30 years I've tried just about everything on the market. I find plain old non pumice GoJo works better than anything else.

+1
I have found the same thing. I always get annoyed when I can't find real Gojo and must settle for something else.
I think pumice is just a fruitless effort to try to make inferior products work as well as Gojo.

At a job years ago we had Gojo and another cleaner, and I can't recall the name of the other.
We kept it on hand because it was much better than Gojo at removing tar, but it had the annoying characteristic of leaving a greasy residue behind. So we only used it when we needed to clean off tar, then followed up with Gojo to get rid of the greasiness.:lol:

Also, I have to keep GOJO or something in the shower, because I always get chain prints on my legs if I get within ten feet of a bike...

Fast Orange, you can get it with or without Pumice. The without seems to work just as well (if you don't like that gritty feel).

This actually works well for me:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/imgWrapper.aspx?img=/cm/CM402G00_____16OZ.jpg&type=2

Everybody has their favorites, but if you can find this stuff, it truly is the BEST.
http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/images/joes-hand-cleaner.jpg

http://www.joeshandcleaner.com/

Zagnut

these guys think theirs is the Best!

http://www.worldsbesthandsoap.com/

First wd-40,then dawn dish soap

I use a pinch of laundry detergent.
Burns a bit, but saves me from the horror of buying yet another thing related to bike maintenance.
Probably not something you should use everyday.

Buglady, somehow, I get the feeling there are cow farms near you.

Generally I just use dish detergent. But for really stubborn grease, I discovered one day by accident that baby wipes work great for grease on hands, clothes or whatever. I don't what they put in those things, but they work really well.

We have lots of suggestions here!

One thing that helps, no matter what cleaner you use, is time. Keep your hands wet for two or three minutes or maybe more. Keep scrubbing.

I got a sample of this at Interbike last year, and must admit...it works quite well.

http://www.shikai.com/images/bikersoap.jpg (http://www.shikai.com/products/bikersoap.html)

At the shop we use Zep Shell Shock, it's awesome, smells like green apples.

Since I can't afford that at home I use fast orange.

My only tip to add is don't throw away your old Brillo dish scrubbing pads when they are too worn out for scrubbing dishes. The worn down Brillo surface works great for removing really stubborn grease from your skin. When it's new, it's too aggressive at least for my skin. This has always worked better for me than those plastic bristle brushes.