The Cal-look Lounge

I am looking for something decent that I can buy over the counter.

Thanks

Buy some disposable gloves and save loads of soap and time washing your hands.

Beat me there Zack, 3M use to sell this stuff that would take imron and deltron off your hands, Great stuff ! Always wondered what was in the stuff, Felt like it had wallnut shell ground up in it. The stuff was magic and probably worst for you than the paint. Something that works good Is a little paint retarter.

even with gloves you still need to clean yr hands.

i use Fast Orange or Simple Green.

there is another superb cleaner made by WD-40, comes in red bottles but i forgot the name.

Lava.

good stuff, you can even buy it in soap form!   :D

wow there's a balst from the past. Haven't used that in years. Good stuff

Could have done a better job if I had Lava, That line always kills me in pulp fiction

Hard to beat good 'ol GoJo.  Don't forget a stiff nail brush.

Nowadays having a relatively clean 'hobby car" I can get away with a bucket of soap/degreaser
and water under the work bench. That and a wash cloth keeps me and the bench clean.

But as a kid in Auto Shop, I can still recall my teachers hands. Being a retired mechanic, they showed years of hard work and
neglect. I swore my hands would never look like his, and after thirty years under the rack they don't. I've scrubbed with everything
from ATF to kitchen cleansers, and used a dozen different commercial hand cleaners mixed with powdered 'you name it'.

In the end, when working on filthy cars I wore long sleeve shirts and gloves. Lots of gloves, a box of nitrile/latex gloves in two days
was not uncommon. Abrasive hand cleaners, Scotch Brite pads and a not too stiff brushes as needed. Sometimes even washing the
dinner dishes by hand would help clean under the finger nails. A little hand lotion before bed to help prevent drying/cracking and
you won't hear "don't touch me with THOSE hands"  :D

I hope that helps.

PS, Almost forgot this.

Use some of the wife's facial scrub/exfoliant when you shower, helps keep down those nasty blackheads you can get after doing
brake/clutch work.  In fact a facial now and then isn't a bad thing either  ;D ;D

Stockhausen Solopol or Kresto industrial hand cleaners. Not cheap but it's the best I've ever used. Both contain crushed walnut shells.

http://www.stokoskincare.com/c-28-solopol.aspx

http://www.stokoskincare.com/c-23-kresto.aspx

As a career collision repairman, I have tried them all. Some better than others. But I have to say that Cupran hand cleaner is the BEST!.
At work we use a lot of industrial bonding adhesives, and if anyone else has used any Sika products, you know it's tough to get off.
Cupran will remove this adhesive.  We buy it from our paint material supplier. A tube is about $7.00 or $8.00 dollars.
Google  Cupran for more info.

Boraxo.

I use Lava or fast orange for day to day but for the really ground in dirt and stuff I use a product called "prety feet & hands" that I swiped fom my mom. it basically takes off a layer of skin.

When I was a kid in high school and messing with home made go-karts that had replaced bicycles for transportation a friend said he used Brillo pads.  I don't know if they even make them any longer.  For you youngsters they were Steel wool pads with soap in them.  They were really rough on the skin of your hands, but got most of the grease, oil and dirt off.  As I recall I didn't care how my hands looked.  The folly of youth...

I've used the latex gloves a lot recently, and I have to say that they're really good. I get a box of 100 for £2 from the local car boot sales, and might go through a box every month or so, with three of us working one day over the weekend and a couple of evenings a week. I use a nail brush and some exfoliating soap, that shifts most things.

Still available, at least in my area.  I like them for gunky parts.

Although not readily available in stores, I just tried and like very much a new product called Pro-Scrub from Swepco.
Not sure how it works with paint, but everything else I've put it against has been miserably brushed aside.
If you see or find it, try it out!

Remember GoJo?

Malco used to make this great hand cleaner, which was a thick pink liquid, sorta like dish washer soap.

Hey deano, You have to work on your car, to get your hands dirty. LOL !

Yeah, yeah..... Yes, I am taking a break from working on my '67, BUT!, there's certainly enough "Dirt" in my life!