Mechanics’ hands go through a lot of abuse daily, oil, grease, lubricants, etc. they always play with items that make their hands extremely dirty. There are few, very few mechanics who wear gloves during working but most of them don’t wear, they find it satisfying to work without gloves.
However, dirty hands not only hamper your overall look but it is extremely unhealthy as well. When you eat, some part of the dirt goes into your stomach (unless your hands are properly cleaned). And if you keep sending dirt there on regular basis, that time will be near when you might find yourself lying on a hospital bed.
In this very guide, we have come up with the 10 best hand cleaners for mechanics. Not all hand cleaners will give your hand a thorough wash. Since all the oils, lubricants, greases, come with harmful chemicals, you will have to make sure that before you eat, your hands are completely free from all of these.
And in that case, you can place your trust completely in these 10 hand cleaners. Take a look!
Editor’s Recommendation: Top 5 Hand Cleaner for Mechanics
Best Mechanics Hand Cleaners Reviewed
As we mentioned before, not all hand cleaners will give you a clean hand. The following hand cleaners come with components that will get your hands rid of every bit of dirt and chemicals. A lot of users are using these models on regular basis, and so far everything one is very satisfied with their purchase.
1. Permatex 23218 Fast Orange Smooth Lotion Hand Cleaner
- Doesn’t contain any harmful chemical.
- No water is required.
- Good oil cutting power.
- Good smell.
- Needs a little amount of rubbing.
- No grains are effective for getting rid of tough grease and stains.
We are starting the list with a top-notch and highly versatile lotion hand cleaner, the Permatex 23218 orange smooth lotion hand cleaner. This one is a water-saver since you don’t need any water to get your hands cleaned with this lotion. Doesn’t matter if you don’t have access to water, this lotion is specially designed for cleaning hand without water.
And don’t think it wouldn’t be effective without water, it cleans off grease, oil efficiently. Another highly satisfying part about this lotion hand cleaner is, it doesn’t contain any artificial chemical, petroleum, solvent, etc. So there is nothing in it that could harm the skin. Plus, it doesn’t come with any scrubber as well which is a good thing if you don’t have stubborn grease or oil build up on the skin.
But if you have grease which is hard to remove, just the lotion wouldn’t do the work properly, you will need a scrubber for that.
This lotion consists of Lanolin, Glycerin, Aloe, and some other conditioning ingredients that will take care of the dry skin. So you wouldn’t have to purchase a moisturizer separately. Grease, soil, grime, tar, oil, printer’s ink. Paints, and epoxy, this lotion can get your hands rid of all of these.
Lastly, it is a citrus hand cleaner that is best known for cutting oil, grease, etc. extremely oil. And it comes with a good smell as well.
2. GOJO NATURAL ORANGE Pumice Industrial Hand Cleaner
- Moisturizes hand.
- Highly powerful hand cleaner.
- Citrus orange scent.
- Comes with pumice scrubber.
- Features pump.
- Not for sensitive skin.
- Low quantity.
In the second place, we have the Gojo Natural Orange Pumice Industrial hand cleaner which is another top-rated hand cleaner for mechanics. It not only cleans hand, but it also soothes. The way it moisturizes hands after cleaning that feels amazing. As you can see, it is an industrial hand cleaner, so obviously it is a little harsh so make sure you don’t apply it on any wounded area.
The reason isn’t that it will damage the wounded area badly, it could be quite painful. And one more thing, do not use this cleaner if you have very sensitive skin, you might feel a burning sensation after using it. The reason behind the burning sensation is pumice concentration.
They tear through the skin in order to make sure no dirt, grease, grime, left on the skin. However, it doesn’t damage the skin but people who have very sensitive skin, they might find using this cleaner a little uncomfortable.
It comes with active sand scrub so you won’t have to do a lot of rubbing, little will do the work perfectly. Doesn’t matter how stubborn the grease, oil, or the stain is, this cleaner will get your hand rid of all of those efficiently. Soil, dirt, grease, paint, oil, lube, epoxy, you get to take off all of these with this powerful hand cleaning lotion.
This lotion has an orange citrus smell which is very appealing. However, there are few downsides to this cleaner as well. The pump doesn’t work well long, starts troubling after a while. And comes in less quantity.
3. Permatex 25219-4PK Fast Orange Pumice Lotion Hand Cleaner
- Waterless cleaning lotion.
- Gives thorough cleaning.
- Moisturizes hand.
- Removes all kinds of dirt, grease, oil.
- Smells very fresh.
- Little expensive.
Here comes another hand cleaner for Permatex, they are actually doing a great job in manufacturing industrial hand cleaners. This one is Permatex 25219-4pk hand cleaner that is also an extremely effective hand cleaner for mechanics.
Comes with Aloe, Glycerin, Lanolin, and other skin-soothing ingredients that take care of skin dryness. It is also a waterless lotion, which means you don’t need water to clean your hand. Just do a little rubbing with a little amount of lotion, your hand will be cleaned.
And the best part is, it is completely solvent and petroleum-free, the lotion doesn’t have anything that might damage the skin, so it is completely safe for everyone.
Grease, tar, resin oil, soil, printer’s ink, paint, epoxies, rubber cement, tile cement, grime, etc. this lotion can take care of all of these effortlessly. Not only that, but it can also even clean laundry stains, scuff marks, pet odors, and tile floors as well. It smells very fresh, the citrus and orange scent makes it appealing.
4. Tub O Scrub TS18 Heavy Duty Pumice-Free Hand Cleaner
- Petroleum and solvent-free.
- Fresh citrus smell.
- Cleans all oil, grease, and grime.
- Waterless cleaner.
- Problematic pump.
Tub O Scrub hand cleaner has proven itself to be an effective hand cleaner for mechanics. And that is why now it is found in almost every garage. Since the tube size is a little small compared to other hand cleaners, some mechanics even use it as a portable hand cleaner as well. It comes in an 18oz container that easily fits in any tool bag.
Like the previous models, this one is also a waterless hand cleaner. Comes with Aloe, Lanoline, and few other moisturizing ingredients. The manufacturer has used biodegradable formula on this hand cleaner so it wouldn’t clog in drains and make things hard for you. Plus, it is completely solvent and petroleum-free.
This liquid is made of treated cosmetic grade walnut shells and has scrubbing agents that clean off even the stubborn grease, oil, grime buildup from the skin. The storage life of this cleaner is great, with time it doesn’t get thicken, it can be stored even for years. However, there is a set back of this cleaner. The pump becomes problematic after a few uses.
5. Grip Clean | Hand Cleaner for Auto Mechanics
- Through skin cleaning.
- Absorbs dirt.
- Removes stubborn stain, grease, and oil build-up.
- Leaves fresh and smells very good.
- The texture is thin.
And the last mechanic cleaner of the list, the Grip Clean Hand Cleaner, another finest quality hand cleaner for auto mechanics. Like the previous ones, this one is also a heavy-duty oil, grime, grease cleaner. The way this cleaner is designed, it not only cleans the hand, but it also absorbs all the dirt from the skin. And since it comes with Coconut oil, olive oil, and omega sources, it smoothens the skin after cleaning, preventing the skin to get dried.
This cleaner has pumice scrubbers which are extremely effective when it comes down to removing stubborn stain, grease, oil builds up from the skin. Comes with a very appealing scent and leaves a freshness in the hand after washing with this cleaner.
How to Choose the Best Hand Cleaner for Mechanics?
If you really want to choose a hand cleaner that is actually designed for greasy, oily, in other words, mechanics hands, you will have to little work. And that considering a few factors. Just make sure to check the following factors right before you pick the best soap for mechanics and they will close to no chance at all that you will end up with the wrong one.
Let’s get started!
Oil Cutting efficiency
This is the first thing you will be looking for in any hand cleaner. The hand cleaner you pick needs to be able to eliminate all kinds of grease, oil, etc. from your hand. There are some cleaners which make the hand look good but really doesn’t do much, stay away from those. They might smell extremely attractive but the main purpose is to get a fully cleaned hand, not an attractive smell.
There are some ingredients that are best for removing oil and grease very effectively. And Citrus is one of them. If you find a hand cleaner that contains a citrus ingredient, you can go with that, that has great power to eliminate all kind of oil, grease, lube, etc. from the body. Apart from that, there are other ingredients as well which does the job.
Best would be to go to the reviews section of a top-notch eCommerce store, find the cleaner you have an intention to buy, and read all the user feedback. If you see the majority of the people are appreciating the cleaner, then you can go with that. Otherwise, swipe left and move on to another one.
Scrubbers
You might have noticed this is face wash creams, some creams come with some component like sand or pumice or ground walnut shells. When the cream comes they have better potential to fight with stubborn dirt. Since oil, grease, lubes, are very sticky and could be caked in different areas, having a hand cleaner that comes with a scrubber or pumice will be a great grab for sure.
Oil, grease, adheres very fast to the coarse substances so when the cream texture would be a little coarse or abrasive, doesn’t matter how dirty your hand is, it will be thoroughly cleaned.
Liquid Quantity
Looking for a good quantity makes sense but if you want the efficiency you will have to check how much liquid it will require to give a thorough cleaning. Some cleaner comes in big tubes and people purchase thinking about the big quantity. Often what happens is, when the cream efficiency is low, you will need a lot of cream for a single hand wash. So doesn’t matter how big the tube is, that is going to end soon.
So instead of quantity, look at how much liquid will be needed for a thorough cleaning and then go after the quantity. Obviously, you will want to pick one that requires a very low amount to clean hand. There are a bunch of such hand cleaners in the market, you just have to do a little research.
Safety
In order to make hand cleaners more effective some manufacturer uses harsh chemicals which could be bad for skins, and do not ever pick those even if someone is offering for free, that is just not worth it. Take a look at the cleaner’s ingredients chart and search for solvent and petroleum, if you don’t see any of these, then it is safe for the skin. But if you see any of those, then ignore that cleaner.
Portability
If you are someone who doesn’t work anywhere except in a fixed area, then you don’t need to look for portability when you are purchasing a hand cleaner. But if you do visit different garages or work areas, and work there if required, then you will have to look for a hand cleaner that you can carry with you.
You can carry a giant tube if you want but that doesn’t make sense since there are options that enable you to carry hand cleaner in your pocket. There are some small tubes of hand cleaners, they come at a low price, and work well as well. So consider putting one in your pocket every time you go out for work.
Ease of use
Some cleaners require a lot of rubbing to reach the ideal soapy state, it would be wise if you stay away from such cleaners. They require time and patience which is just not worth it. There are cleaners that don’t require much rubbing, a little water, and few rubs do the work.
Well, you might think how would you know which cleaner requires time without using them. Fair question!
Just head over to the review section, check what the majority of the users are saying. And that is it.
Moisturization
Hand cleaners can the skin to get dry which is why adding moisturizer after cleaning the hand would be beneficial. But mechanics don’t have the time and probably nor the interest to use moisturizer. And they wouldn’t want to buy two separate things. However, there are some hand cleaners in the market that comes with moisturizer as well.
It is not that you will get a tube of moisturizer free with the cleaner tube. It will be a single tube and the cleaner will contain the moisturizer. So you just have to clean the hand with cleaner, moisturizing will also be done with that.
However, if you have a hand cleaner that doesn’t come with moisturizer, in that case, you can use concentrated coconut oil, aloe, Olive oil, etc. as a moisturizer.
Smell
Though this isn’t mandatory but it would feel good when your hand smells good. Every hand cleaner comes with a good smell, you wouldn’t find any hand cleaner that stinks. But you would want to pick a smell that is attractive, not very normal. Saying again, if the scent is causing you even a slight amount of more money, do not go for it. The smell isn’t important.
How to Clean Mechanic Hands Effectively?
If you tough oil, grease, lube every day then you definitely need a thorough wash after you are done working in every single day. Otherwise, the skin will get stained. When the skin is dry, it absorbs oil, grease highly, so consider adding moisturizer every day before starting work.
Do not neglect this, once the skin starts getting damaged, you will pay a big price. It would take really long to get your skin back to the normal state if you don’t maintain the hygiene.
The very first step in washing hands in to make sure you have everything ready. By saying everything we mean the following items,
- Petroleum Jelly.
- Dish Soap.
- Salt or Sugar scrub.
- Mineral Oil.
- Wash soap.
Now listen carefully!!!
You will not need any of these if you have a right-hand cleaner. If your hand cleaner comes with scrubbers, you wouldn’t need additional scrub, if has conditional or moisturizer added to the liquid you wouldn’t need mineral oil or petroleum jelly. But if you don’t have a good hand cleaner than you will need all this stuff for a healthy or thorough hand cleaning. So let’s see, how to clean mechanics’ hands without a proper hand cleaner.
Get Rid of Excess Oil or Grease
Dip your hands in water and rub bar soap in hands, and make sure to wash through, try to get rid of as much as oil and grease possible. You might have some stains or grease in hand which are stubborn, which means hard to get rid of. In that case, ordinary soap wouldn’t do the work, you might have to take a heavy-duty dish soap. Heave-duty dish soaps have the ability to break off grease and stains easily.
You wouldn’t need a heavy-duty soap and nor you will have stubborn grease or oil in hand if you clean your hand immediately after working. You give them time to adhere to hands, they will sit hard.
Sugar or Salt Paste
If heavy-duty dish soap isn’t doing the job, that means you will need a more abrasive wash. Take one spoon of salt or sugar into a cup of water and then stir until it turns to a paste. This is an easy home remedy to get rid of stubborn grease or stain. But before you apply the paste on your hand, you will have to buff the palm with a pumice stone a bit.
Plus, for cleaning your nails you can use a used old toothbrush and scrub your nails and fingers with that. The more you scrub the better cleaning you will get. And the paste will do its job more effectively.
Once you have done scrubbing and brushing the hand, nail, and fingers, now clean it off with soap and water. If you were curious to know how to clean mechanics nail, you just use an old toothbrush and scrub thoroughly, that is it. When you scrub your hand, if possible try using warm water.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do mechanics use to clean their hands?
Most mechanics don’t pay much attention to cleaning their hands. Some use soaps and water which is not effective if the hand is too oily or greasy. Most importantly if they were on hands for a long period of time. What they should use is a proper hand cleaner with the ability to fight oil, grease.
How do you clean dirty hands and nails?
There are different ways but what we think best is. Use warm water with dish soap, and then little buffing with a pumice stone. And if you have a proper hand cleaner for fighting oil and grease, you don’t need to do the buffing and all. Just scrub your hand with the hand cleaner.
Conclusion
If you were here for the best hand cleaner for mechanics, you must have found it. The cleaners we have mentioned by far are the best mechanic hand cleaners you will find in the market right now. Hope this helps.
Check out some other cleaners for mechanics from Amazon also: