For years I have used US made DX88 barrier hand cream and Gent-L-Kleen hand cleaner which I bought from Brown Brothers.
Now I need some more of both I discover that both Kingfisher, the UK importer, and Brown Brothers have disappeared and although there is a US Gent-L-Kleen web site their products don't appear to be available in the UK anymore.
Does anybody have any recommendations for a barrier cream which is water repellant and a hand cleaner which works.
John H
Can't help on the barrier cream, but have you heard the tale that your hands are never really clean until you have washed your hair with them?
Bearing that in mind, I use Tesco coconut oil shampoo as a hand cleaner
- and yes, it really works, plus the coconut oil stops your hands drying out too much.
-- Peter Fairbrother
Comma Manista is a nice beaded lemon smelling hand cleaner which works for me.I think the barrier cream we have is Rosalex.
For the last couple of years I've been using Tygris R-250 Barrier Cream, which is unusual in that it comes in a rattle-can type aerosol.
This makes it very easy to use (and keep clean!), it's completely non-greasy - which is a nice bonus over most barrier creams - and it's works very well indeed as both a barrier cream and a moisturising hand cream.
I get it from a local fastener supplier, but a quick Google finds it quite easily.
Peter
Can't help on the barrier cream, but have you heard the tale that your hands are never really clean until you have washed your hair with them?
Bearing that in mind, I use Tesco coconut oil shampoo as a hand cleaner
- and yes, it really works, plus the coconut oil stops your hands drying out too much.
-- Peter Fairbrother
One of my uncles, now sadly departed, claimed the best way to clean you're hands was to knead a batch of home made bread! After that I avoided their bread!
Steve R.
Rather than mess around with lotions, potions and unguents, wouldn't it be easier to wear gloves? I know some will say gloves are impossible for certain jobs, but that is nonsense. One can adapt to anything given the right incentive, and clearly skin protection is important to you.
Cliff Coggin.
Gent-L-Kleen
available
No - small diameter short screws are impossible wearing even surgeons gloves. Above 1/4" Whit no problem !
AWEM
The cheap and cheerful system I use is to rub in a dollop of Clarke's* barrier cream at the start of each session in the workshop and at the end I rub another dollop into the tips of my fingers or other parts of my hand that are badly soiled. Then I go to the sink and thoroughly rub in a couple of dollops of cheap hand cream soap cleanser** before applying water and rubbing vigorously and rinsing, finishing off with a little soap if necessary.
Both are decanted as necessary into old plunger type soap dispensers for ease of use.
Alan
I disagree. Let me give two examples from personal experience. Like most clock and watchmakers, I wear gloves or finger cots when handling any part of a watch including screws as small as 2 mm long by 0.5 mm diameter. It isn't easy at first but one learns.
In my previous career in a chemicals factory everyone was required to wear steel capped boots, hard hat, and protective spectacles at all times. Many new employees claimed they could not work in such equipment, but when it was made clear they must use them or lose their jobs, they all found it to be possible.
There are many other examples in the fields of micro-electronics, pharmaceuticals, and radiology where personal protective equipment is essential no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it may be. As I said, given the need it is perfectly possible to adapt.
Cliff.
Have you ever been instructed to wear safety glasses when using high power microscopes though? One lab I worked in had these through an archway from a "wet chemistry" area (bad idea, I know) and the whole area was designated (for a while)
Eh? I know three or four watchmakers, and none of them wear gloves or cots when handling parts.
Why would a watchmaker want to?
Also, I just skimmed about 20 watchmaking videos on youtube at random, and no-one was wearing gloves or cots - neither the £10,000 per watch guys nor the hobbyists.
-- Peter Fairbrother
HAND WASHING PASTE 500ml 95210005
From Tooled up .com. Its a sort of sawdust mixture, and its very good, I buy it in large drums. Sadly the website gives very little description, but can get more info when at workshop from the actual drum if required. Its a German made product.
Bob
Never used gloves unless it was for protection against sharp objects or heavily oiled components.
When I worked on trucks daily, we used Rosalex which was free issued by the employer, the hand cleaner gave us more trouble than the oils etc., it was too aggressive and took too much oil out of the skin.
Much prefer to use bare hands for almost all jobs, electronics or Land Rovers or engines.
Water-based barrier creams are fine when you haven't got water around, haven't found a generally universal one yet. Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@prepair.co.uk
Eh? I know three or four watchmakers, and none of them wear gloves or cots when handling parts.
Why would a watchmaker want to?
Also, I just skimmed about 20 watchmaking videos on youtube at random, and no-one was wearing gloves or cots - neither the £10,000 per watch guys nor the hobbyists.
I used to! The acids on you're skin can cause corrosion with time. Of course, I used to repair a lot of antique watches with enameled dials, and you don't want fingerprints on those! I used finger cots mainly for assembly. Some watches were ...... erm... gross, as in filthy with dried sweat and grime, so finger cots were used on them for disassembly too.
Steve R.
-- Peter Fairbrother
Eh? I know three or four watchmakers, and none of them wear gloves or cots when handling parts.
Why would a watchmaker want to?
Also, I just skimmed about 20 watchmaking videos on youtube at random, and no-one was wearing gloves or cots - neither the £10,000 per watch guys nor the hobbyists.
I used to! The acids on you're skin can cause corrosion with time. Of course, I used to repair a lot of antique watches with enameled dials, and you don't want fingerprints on those! I used finger cots mainly for assembly. Some watches were ...... erm... gross, as in filthy with dried sweat and grime, so finger cots were used on them for disassembly too.
Steve R.
-- Peter Fairbrother
Eh? I know three or four watchmakers, and none of them wear gloves or cots when handling parts.
Why would a watchmaker want to?
Also, I just skimmed about 20 watchmaking videos on youtube at random, and no-one was wearing gloves or cots - neither the £10,000 per watch guys nor the hobbyists.
I used to! The acids on you're skin can cause corrosion with time. Of course, I used to repair a lot of antique watches with enameled dials, and you don't want fingerprints on those! I used finger cots mainly for assembly. Some watches were ...... erm... gross, as in filthy with dried sweat and grime, so finger cots were used on them for disassembly too.
Steve R.
-- Peter Fairbrother
Thanks for all the suggestions.
Barrier cream is needed as the management complains about the state of my hands if I don't use it!
In answer to Cliff, the reason I don't use gloves very much is they tend to get torn if I am working on my car or bikes, also I foget!
The suggestion from Steve R about making bread seems to be quite common, several people I've spoken to mentioned it, I think I'll have to take a bit more notice of whose bread I eat!
When I looked at the Tygris R-250 suggested by Peter their web site didn't work properly.
Strangely barrier cream suppliers seem to be disappearing, when I rang Machine Mart in Twickenham about Alan's suggestion they said 'we don't do barrier cream now'.
Mark reminded me about Rosalex which I haven't used in over 40 years.
Bob mentioned a hand washing paste with sawdust - which must be the same type as my choice.
I decided to buy what is easy to obtain - either Rozalex or Swarfega barrier cream, which turned out to be Swarfega as I went to Screwfix and not Cromwell Tools who sell Rozalex.
The hand washing product with sawdust is Lidl's 'W5 Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner' which has several advantages - its cheap, it works and it comes in a tin with a snap on plastic lid which will make a useful storage container!
John H
John H
I was introduced to "Fast Orange" when I did a welding class some year ago. Amazing stuff, and doesn't dry the hands like Swarfega. Comes in a tub, or a 2.7Kg hand pump. J&L stock it but I buy it in quantity off eBay for about half their price..
In my youth we used a spoonful of castor sugar in the palm of the hand, with a dollop of cooking oil on it - works quite well as the oil pulls the grime out of the pores (paws?), and the sugar is a mild abrasive.
AWEM
Sorry to restart an old thread but I've just found out that Machine Mart are once again selling Barrier cream although by a different manufacturer. See p.240 in their new catalogue or the following page on their website:
Alan
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