Fairy liquid + sugar - chemistry or physics?
Discussion
So we all know after an afternoon in the engine bay of something or other, mechanics gloves or not, the best way of getting rid of the grease etc from our hands is a couple of teaspoons of sugar and some fairy liquid. Now is this because there is some sort of reaction between the two which helps cleaning, or is it purely that the sugar gives the soap something to bite on?
I'm suspecting the latter but would be interested if anybody knows....
I'm suspecting the latter but would be interested if anybody knows....
GTIR said:
Not good for your girly hands. 
Or soap powder.
Forget Swarfega - they're (allegedly) only good at having a big marketing budget.
Best stuff is Manista, lemon or Orange.
On a related note, those disposable gloves that Halfords sell are utter tripe. Like paper.
£8!
Manista is the one!Or soap powder.
Forget Swarfega - they're (allegedly) only good at having a big marketing budget.
Best stuff is Manista, lemon or Orange.
On a related note, those disposable gloves that Halfords sell are utter tripe. Like paper.
£8!
and proper mechanics use the thick black tattooists gloves
Normally gloves are a fail imo, but these are really good.
http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/Product/Microflex_smal...
http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/Product/Microflex_smal...
As above, I spent years knackering the skin on my hands whilst spannering, and then tested lots of different hand cleaners. Despite this - even if I got my hands and nails clean, and then used a moisturiser, my skin and nail beds looked like crap and I often had dry skin cracking on knuckles etc.
Then one day I thought 'why not wear some gloves?'
I tried lots of different gloves. Eventually I found that you need to get a box of 'Nitrile' disposables. These seem to resist oil and petrol the best before disintegrating.
A box of 100 gloves is about £6 from Screwfix. If I'm spending a day spannering on the cars, the damage / melting ratio is about 3 pairs to an average day of mechanics.
But even once one of the fingers gets torn / damaged, generally the gloves are still protecting the rest very well. So all I do is wait until the gloves are looking a bit 'holey' and then go back into the garage for a new pair.
This is fine for light / general spannering, but if you get into some heavy work like removing axles / boxes / engines, you need to supplement them with something a bit more robust.
So for these tasks, I use another Screwfix supply - gloves from 'Caterpiller' or 'DeWalt'. These gloves are stretchy cotton based gloves, with a heavy rubber coating over the inside of the fingers and palms. These gloves are about a fiver a pair, and I reckon I get through maybe two pairs a year. I put them on over the top of a new pair of Nitriles. That way, even if you get a leakage of fluid onto the gloves - your hands still stay free of contamination below.
They grip and protect your hands well, on any jobs that are a bit more 'robust' on the car - but still give you enough tactility to feel what you're doing.
Trust me - since using gloves to work on cars, I've never had to use a hand cleaner of any sort - and my skin and nails always look as good as new. Give it a go!
Then one day I thought 'why not wear some gloves?'
I tried lots of different gloves. Eventually I found that you need to get a box of 'Nitrile' disposables. These seem to resist oil and petrol the best before disintegrating.
A box of 100 gloves is about £6 from Screwfix. If I'm spending a day spannering on the cars, the damage / melting ratio is about 3 pairs to an average day of mechanics.
But even once one of the fingers gets torn / damaged, generally the gloves are still protecting the rest very well. So all I do is wait until the gloves are looking a bit 'holey' and then go back into the garage for a new pair.
This is fine for light / general spannering, but if you get into some heavy work like removing axles / boxes / engines, you need to supplement them with something a bit more robust.
So for these tasks, I use another Screwfix supply - gloves from 'Caterpiller' or 'DeWalt'. These gloves are stretchy cotton based gloves, with a heavy rubber coating over the inside of the fingers and palms. These gloves are about a fiver a pair, and I reckon I get through maybe two pairs a year. I put them on over the top of a new pair of Nitriles. That way, even if you get a leakage of fluid onto the gloves - your hands still stay free of contamination below.
They grip and protect your hands well, on any jobs that are a bit more 'robust' on the car - but still give you enough tactility to feel what you're doing.
Trust me - since using gloves to work on cars, I've never had to use a hand cleaner of any sort - and my skin and nails always look as good as new. Give it a go!
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