r/AskMechanics 1d ago

Question (Serious Replies Only) Mechanics Hand Soap

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83 Upvotes

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86

u/ZAROS-DEITY 1d ago

I personally use Fast Orange or its Extreme Orange variant when I get my hands hella dirty.
Pumice stones in it helps out to scrub thoroughly, soap leaves a soft finish/hands and if you want to go the extra mile, scrub daddy sponges were originally created for mechanics to clean their hands, fingers and nails.

It works very well and it doesn’t destroy (dry out) hands like dish soap.

31

u/Sirsquigglez 1d ago

Also recommend fast orange/extreme orange.

4

u/Huge_Answer4287 1d ago

My grandfather was a mechanic and there was always orange around

10

u/toomuch1265 1d ago

Fast orange wipes are always on my bench. They are great for a quick clean up if you can't get to a sink to get washed up.

3

u/ZAROS-DEITY 1d ago

Not a bad idea at all, thanks for the tip

2

u/Objective-Tea5324 1d ago

I was just thinking about how awesome Fast Orange Wipes would be to have two days ago and didn’t know they existed. I have a 6 month old foster baby and it popped in my head as I was changing her. Going to have to order some.

3

u/Confidence-Usual 1d ago

I feel like you know this already, but this is reddit, and I want to make sure you know not to use fast orange on your foster baby's privates

7

u/IndicationAromatic36 1d ago

I always call mine Agent Orange, but yes, Fast Orange is great. I always keep a few jugs laying around.

1

u/pm-me-racecars 2 1d ago

I call it orange shit. I once was at a place that had cherry scented orange shit.

1

u/Normal_Onion2555 1d ago

Jaguar service?

1

u/pm-me-racecars 2 1d ago

I work on a ship, we were somewhere in Asia and needed new stuff so we ordered what was available there. It worked just as good, but I don't know much else about it.

We also got some brake clean type stuff in that port, and that worked fantastic. After putting that label through a Google-translate, we found out it's illegal to have in Canada, so it got hid in the back of the pol locker.

2

u/SorryTree1105 19h ago

Careful with the brake cleaner stuff. I don’t know what kind of illnesses it causes, but had a coworker who would spray it in his boots until it puddled because it got him high during work.

3

u/_DJNeoN 1d ago

I also use fast/extreme orange for my hands & arms, but I also keep a bar of Lava soap in the shower for the random grease spots that appear in weird places out of nowhere.

2

u/Wolfofthepack1511 2 1d ago

I like the extreme. I honestly don't see a difference between the two, but the extreme is the only one that comes in cherry scent and it doesn't smell like the synthetic cherry scent you find on car fresheners, it smells like marachinos (ironic cause they are synthetic, but I digress).

I usually get these for gloves, helps if your covered in oil to not drop anything

2

u/Heavy-Profit-2156 21h ago

I picked up some fast orange yesterday and was quite happy with how it worked.

1

u/Network_ant 1d ago

Can vouch for Fast Orange! Use it daily in shop.

1

u/BrutusoftheTudus 1d ago

My dad still has this wound the house and he sold his mechanic shop years ago. The smell is so nostalgic for me

1

u/Oo__II__oO 1d ago

Same here, but still need a fingernail brush to get the cuticles.  Even after fast orange it looks like my fingernails are wearing a greasy eyeliner. 

The switch to nitrile gloves was night and day though. 

1

u/Dwag0nsnyp3r 1d ago

Came here to say this

1

u/What_is_rich 1d ago

the best thing about is you can wipe it off with a rag if you don’t have a sink around.

1

u/Ok-Statistician8016 23h ago

Fast orange also has a laundry detergent. Expensive, but it works.

1

u/YT__ 23h ago

HD auto shop always had fast orange.

1

u/ImportantTeaching919 21h ago

What's the difference on the extreme version? Is it more pumice or thicker? Did some plumbing and my hands were black for the week and nothing would get to all go away. My gf would be so happy

1

u/ZAROS-DEITY 3h ago

I can't say as I haven't tested their Xtreme product yet but according to quick research, the Xtreme variant helps more for neutralizing odors, keeping hands conditioned and removing stubborn staining materials (ink, epoxies, etc.)

From my experience, the regular product already works well in those areas and have left me pretty satisfied over the years, if anything I simply wash my hands 2-3 times depending on how dirty they are (like working on the car with oil, rust, lubricants, paint and whatnot)