Okay gang... I know ya'll have got some excellent ideas for me. Just for those who haven't caught on with my avatar I am in a wheelchair most of the time. Actually I'm in this thing all the time except when sleeping/bathing/driving/laying under a car/mowing the yard and those occassional mishaps when I miscalculate angle/speed and tilt ou: lol I'm havin a real problem with staying clean or at least somewhat clean. I've got some orange stuff to clean my hands after working which works alright, it just doesn't do so hot around the finger nails. I even bought a small brush, but it doesn't seem to help much. Any suggestions on what/how to get my hands clean after workin on the car(s)? I'm using large sheets of cardboard to lay on while under the car. I bought a creeper but I just get stuck on the durn thing and can't move(think of a turtle on it's back and you've got a mental picture of me on the creeper under the car). The cardboard works well for a while till it gets dirty. I've also got a bag of absorbent to throw on the floor. While I can tolerate dust on my wheels, grease and oil simply gets tracked into the house and onto my wife's carpet(which is an extreme no no). So let's hear how you stay clean while wrenchin!
I bought a pair of those mechanics gloves awhile back, and they work well. That is when I remember to wear them. ou: I use cardboard on the floor to lay on too. During the winter when it's freezing cold, a scrap of carpet is even better. Don't care for creepers. I have 2 that I got as gifts over the years :birthday: and never use them. Unless you can jack the car up really high, you loose those several inches of room between the car and yourself.
As far as your hands go, (I've been a mechanic for 27 yrs) I found a couple things that help alot. First, never use hot or even warm water to wash. Warm/hot water opens your pores, so the grease goes even farther into your hands. A couple days of cold water washing and you will see a big improvement. The funny thing about this is that no-one will believe me until they have tried it, cause it goes against all we've been taught. The other thing is when using the orange cleaner, don't wet your hands first. Rub the soap around, maybe the tiniest bit of water just to help spread it around, then scrub until dirt is loosened...then use water. I also favor surgical gloves, but not any latex glove. Use Microflex diamond grip gloves...they have a rough surface on the fingertips so they aren't as slippery as most. Another thing that helps is to use some vaseline intensive care on your hands before getting dirty...it keeps the dirt from soaking in. Also use it after washing up...it will loosen any leftover grease so the next time you wash, it is all gone.
Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go get me some of them mechanical type gloves. Maybe it'll help with all the little cuts I'm getting too!
I use some stuff called "barrier cream" before wrenching. Liek suggested above it helps oil/grease from getting into the skill so much. I also use the mechanic gloves when I remember.... I use carpet foam, the 1/2 thick material used under carpets. Its really obsorbent!
I painted a few bays of my garage floor with epoxy. I love it.:TU: Oil drips clean up with a paper towel wipe, there's no concrete dust to contend with, and it makes it easy to slide under the car without a creeper.
The "orange" cleaners seem to work OK at best. Try another brand such as STOKO...they have a product called "Kresto" that seems to work pretty darn well. You can get a wall mounted dispenser for their 2000 ml container and it lasts a long time. Has walnut shells in it and the paste part itself really seems to cut the grease. Another one you could try is called "Worx"....this stuff is similar in that it has some sort of ground up shells but comes out in a dry rough powdery form. I think you wet your hands a little and then put some of this stuff on and work it around.
I try to put some cheap skin moisturizer if I can remember. however, Lately I've been using blue nitrile gloves and they work wonders. harbor freight has a box of 100 for 3 bucks, and they actually make a custom fit to your hand after a few minutes. (when you put them back on after a break but put them onto the wrong hand they're stretched funny.) I also use mechanix gloves too the quick fit cheaper ones when doing things that will scrape the knuckles such as dropping a gas tank like today.
Until I win the lottery and can get a lift installed :Brow: , I also use a carpet to lie on under the car. It cushons the concrete and it's not as cold. I have a few friends in the carpet business, so they give me their scraps from installs. I never wash the carpets, just throw them away because I can always get new pieces. I'm sure if you talk with a carpet store in your area and explain you situation, they'd probably save pieces for you and you could pick them up so you could stockpile a supply. I have a creeper, but only use it when I put the car on ramps because of the height problems. Paul
Ya know... the more I hear about the carpet idea, the more I like it! It might not slide as much as the cardboard but it'd definitely be easier on the bony parts of my legs. Maybe I could spray glue some cardboard to the back side of the carpet.
I would think glueing carpet pieces back to back would work good. That way one fuzzy side would slide easy and you would lie on the other fuzzy side for comfort.o No:
I'm only a part-time grease monkey, but whenever I go I use some hand moisturizer first. There used to be a product called "Glove" but I haven't seen it in a while- you put it on like moisturizer and your hands come cleaner at the end of the day. -Bob C.
I don't, but I try. I wear a cheap pair of gloves - stuff soaks through, but not as bad. I put cardboard down and sometimes paper. I take off my shoes and leave them in the garage when I go in the house. As far as washing - work the grease-cutting soap in before using any water. Work it in well. That helps a lot.
Ya know some days it just doesn't pay.... lol So I went and got a box of rubber gloves today while I was picking up several cans of oven cleaner to spray the motor. So far so good.... I had sprayed it once with what little oven cleaner I had and when I got back I hosed the motor off with the garden hose and rinsed off the garage floor... Anyone see where this is going yet??? I put on my new fancy smancy gloves and proceeded to spray oven cleaner on the motor inadvertently getting some on my hands, the push rims/tires on my chair and the floor(NO ONE has ever referred to me as being neat or tidy).... so now I've got this wet oven cleaner on my hands which are covered with slick rubber gloves on a wet concrete floor.... Honestly I was stuck in the middle of my own garage unable to move for several minutes!!!!! I finally had to grab the spokes to even get the wheels to move and even then they just spun on the floor. It had to be hilarious seeing me push the wheels 90 mph and going absolutely no where! rofl Just when you think it's safe to go to the garage.....
Heck just clean your hands as best as you can. Are you a mechanic or a dishboy. Little grease under fingernails no big deal. Little paint on hands who cares. Grease and tranny fluid in hair, I don't care. But my wife does. LOL p she always gets over it. :beer
I use latex first aid gloves. Double them up on each hand so they are a bit stronger and they are a sinch, just pull off the dirty ones as you go. Also, they are great since they keep you nimble finger tips.
I find that Dawn dishwashing detergent works just as well cleaning my hands as the fancy stuff ... and Dawn works alot better than other brands at breaking up the grease. ...as for carpet :Brow: Im a BIG FAN of beating the garbage man to the big pile of carpet someone just replaced and tossed to the curb. Its free ... its absorbs spills great ... its ALOT better than laying on concrete or cardboard ... and when it gets even the slightes bit grungy I toss it to the curb and usually the next garbage cycle I can score some more !! Just watch out for PetPeePee stains and the staples around the edges. Stay away from shag too - I like a nice light one color short pile as you can see stuff you drop more easily. Ohh - and thanks for the Laugh :laugh: The mental image of you spinning the wheels at 90 mph and going nowhere gave me a good chucle :beers2:
Ditto on all types of gloves and also on putting cleaner on your hands first with no water rub it all in and then rinse with cold water. Another great trick is before you put your gloves on scratch your fingernails on a bar of soap and rub it all around trying also to get it under your nails...I find fast orange hand cleaner works good...in a pinch you can actually use laundry detergent which works quite well ,,,just dont get it in any fresh cuts as it burns and put moisturizer on afterwards......glad you havent let anything stop you in your hobby pursuit - you are an inspiration to us all....J
