What's your go-to hand-cleaning product?

Coco Scrub is the OG and the best.

I've been using Goop and it works amazing but you then have to clean it off.

Rath's PR88 

Use it BEFORE you get dirty. 

Crud just washes off with water most of the time. A little soap will get whats left. 

Even stops the dirt accumulating under your nails.

I really do feel there are two separate and distinct catagories, needs a sink and water and doesn't. 

My shop is an outbuilding without water, if I had a sink I wouldn't be as on about the towels.

SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) said:

Dish soap and coffee grinds.

I heard about it here at GRM, and it's all I use now - even in my high-school auto shop.  Best hand cleaner ever!

It really is legit. It even gets fish slime smell off your hands which almost nothing else will touch. We compost and three people in the house are avid coffee drinkers so there's always fresh grounds in the compost bowl and a squirt of blue dawn and anything will wash off. 

I have tried many different cleaners and brushes over 50+ years. Hands down Duluth Trading Walnut Husk Hand Scrub is the best. One can't even tell I worked on a greasy dirty car after using it. If what you are using doesn't get your hands completely clean then give this a try. 

PS I have no association with this company or any of its products.

My best solution is to pretreat my hands before starting the project.  I rub dishwashing liquid (usually Dawn) into the palms of my hands and wrists and let it dry.  When it's time to wash up a little more dishwashing liquid and the grease comes right off.

Gojo supro max. It's easier on the skin than the normal pumice stuff but still cleans well, plus I can grab it at the local parts house.

Dawn dish soap. Good enough for oily penguins means it good enough for me. Plus its such a good grease cutter I can use ot for a thousand other things

Gojo with pumice, since the time I was 4 years old and helped my older brothers fish something out of a transmission case of an f250. Their hands were too big so they went and woke me up from my nap.

Scrubbing the transmission fluid off my arms with gojo afterward is such a core memory that I don't think I'll ever use anything else. Somehow the fact that it hurt my skin meant I was all grown up. 

Memories are weird. 

SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) said:

Dish soap and coffee grinds.

I heard about it here at GRM, and it's all I use now - even in my high-school auto shop.  Best hand cleaner ever!

This doesn't put food on your table - it's supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun - you're doing something wrong.

I have both of these things... I will give it a try sometime

In reply to Colin Wood :

20 mile team Boraxo. Works wonders. 

 I am among the Dawn dish soap crowd with the addition of sand for better scribing action. For the sake of the drain plumbing I rinse outside.

I like many of the big names-GoJo, Lava, Orange power, etc, but arguably the best I've used is home made. Take used coffee grounds, wet well with dishwashing liquid, and prepare to be amazed. It flat works.

Edit: Busted for not reading the whole thread before posting. Still, the hand wash is exceptional.

In the same spirit as gloves, which I tend to wear in dirty situations since my hands seem to rebel a bit these days when I get them too grubby, it can help a LOT to make sure your hands are well lubed up before getting grease on them.

It not only helps keep grease out of the pours / fingernails, it serves to protect the oil in you hands from getting stripped away when you wash them.

I also have found Dawn type soap to be my primary go to (harsh soap is far less necessary if you pre-lube or wear gloves a lot).

Regular old Gojo.

Brake cleaner and a rag

Patrick said:

Brake cleaner and a rag

I'd be worried about developing chemical sensitivity. I know some guys that can't handle any contact with common automotive chemicals due to decades of doing stuff like this as mechanics. I'd rather take a cautious approach and avoid the nerve damage. 

In reply to dculberson :

It was mostly tongue in cheek throwback to the older guys who all used nasty chemicals to clean their hands, but i still do a brake clean wipe every now and then if nothing else is available. I do remember getting greasy helping my dad in the garage and having him wipe down my hands with turpentine or paint thinner, and the amount of lacquer thinner and mineral spirits we used installing windows and building patio enclosures would kill an army with the fumes alone. 
 

I really like the fast orange bars for when dawn doesn't cut it

Personally, I do not like cleaning at all. I mostly do not like to waste my time cleaning the house. So most of the time, I try to be very careful and not make any mess. Still, my house needs to be cleaned regularly, so whenever I need that, I just give the guys from Sparkle Wash Upstate a call. I have been using their service for an extended period and am very satisfied with them. I understand that some people will find me immature for not cleaning the house. But I prefer spending this time on more productive things.

Since this got bumped... sweat.

Even after you hands are dirty, put on some rubber gloves and keep working.  Your hands will get hot, pores open up, and the sweat will loosen everything.  After that any basic soap will finish the job.

Best stuff ever. I discovered it at the Bosch plant here in town after working on a particularly greasy linear drive door.

Click the picture. 

Sorta related, I recently stopped by a big box store for something that I couldn't get at the local hardware store. While there, I figured that I'd grab a fresh container of hand cleaner.

I couldn't find it.

I could find holiday decorations and all sorts of things, but not hand cleaner–couldn't find anyone to ask, either. 

Next time I was at Ace, I asked where the hand cleaner was located. The guy practically handed it to me. 

Gloves and Fast Orange, but I am going to try the coffee grounds/dish soap trick.

There was a "professional grade" product called Kresto in the soap dispenser of the Auto parts store I worked at in the 90's. That stuff was amazing. Very thick and gritty but left your hands super clean and smooth. It probably ground off your fingerprints...

Edit:

Just went to their website, they use walnut scrubbers and have a few different sizes and types of cleaners, wipes, etc.  Looks like $40 will set me up with a dispenser and enough cleaner to last for years. I have a dedicated shop sink so it would look even more professional out there! Wonder if that stuff freezes...

My Lava bar soap does a decent job though, really need to try some of the pre-treatment ideas.

And another vote for wearing gloves. The more I think about it, the less I want that grease/oil/feh going through my skin pores. Also, quick clean-up.

Super useful when not near water. After doing last-minute cleanup at Radwood this weekend, I took of my gloves and, ta-da, clean hands for the evening activites. :) 

Gloves also give you a better grip on stuff and less chance of getting cut / burned / etc.