Theory11. I need your advice. My dad and I want to work on classic cars and sell them. It would be an uphill battle keeping hands clean enough to actually WORK as a magician at a few events a month as well as recreate classic cars. I've been doing some research. I've tried all that orange glow.. and gojo.. and all those specialty automotive hand soaps without total success. I always have dirt inside the cracks left over no matter how long I scrub and scrub. I have been really thinking about all my options. Makeup on the hands just for events when they are dirty... (think of the added expense!) thinking about stuff like that with before and after options to keep the dirt at bay. (don't know a better way to word that.) I have heard olive oil would keep the dirt from drying, sticking, then turning my hands black. (which is the main problem). Drastically reducing the chances of it into the cracks of my hand (which is IMPOSSIBLE to get out 100%) and washing away with warm water and very little soap. So I'm thinking about modifying the olive oil idea and putting it on the arms, a little past the wrists and all the way up past elbows and wearing those nitrile gloves (nitrile is like latex only 25X stronger, I think it's 25X going off memory). I hear keeping your hands wet for a long period of time makes the skin deteriorate.. look at what happened to DB during the dive of death, I think that was the title. Seems like overkill but you can't show up to a wedding to work as a professional magician with any trace of dirt and grime on them. Huge turn offs will be the outcome. Anyone have any success with this stuff? Another option, which I choose not to take, is never working the week of prior to an even. Which I can see that becoming a MAJOR problem with all the car payments and wasted time.
Working with Cards and Cars.
- Thread starter sourboarder
- Start date
I hear you man. But i do think you're over-reacting. One of my mates and I are building a classic mini right now. Spent today working on the rear subframe actually. Now ive done little work with cars in my time, for the simple reason that i dont want my hands to get tough and thick skinned. Hands get filthy when working on cars, there is no doubt about it. But worrying that you wont get your hands clean enough to do magic? That you'll have to wear make up on your hands? Madness. There is a great product i bought in Lidl, dont think it has reached the states, but it's a very big chain of stores in europe. The product is called W5 heavy duty hand cleaner. It's just brilliant. It's sort of a yellowy-colour gritty paste, and almost feels like your washing your hands in wet sand, but the grease and filth just disappears. If they have that here, there is without a doubt an american equivalent.
Alright, here is my tip and it has worked for me in the past.
First and foremost is preventive maintenance. Make sure that your finger nails are always trimmed because if they are not, the dirt and grime will go further into your nails making it ridiculous to get out.
Next, go to work on what ever you are doing.
Once done, get brake cleaner, the spray-on stuff. This is a type of acid too, so don't let it sit for longer than a few minutes. It will also start to dry out your hands pretty good too, but I will tell you how to hand that in a second. (PS-Don't use this with cuts on your hand)
Next, Dawn (the grease fighting kind) and sugar (the sugar acts just like the pomice found in Orange-Glow and Gojo). The Dawn helps break down grease real fast while the sugar is a good abrasive for you to get deep in there. You want to use this in as hot as water that you can stand without burning yourself (this is to open the pores).
Finally, a decent hand lotion.
I know, it is complicated, but it works. You could always go the Nitrile Rubber Gloves with a set of Mechanics gloves too.
I hope that helps =)
First and foremost is preventive maintenance. Make sure that your finger nails are always trimmed because if they are not, the dirt and grime will go further into your nails making it ridiculous to get out.
Next, go to work on what ever you are doing.
Once done, get brake cleaner, the spray-on stuff. This is a type of acid too, so don't let it sit for longer than a few minutes. It will also start to dry out your hands pretty good too, but I will tell you how to hand that in a second. (PS-Don't use this with cuts on your hand)
Next, Dawn (the grease fighting kind) and sugar (the sugar acts just like the pomice found in Orange-Glow and Gojo). The Dawn helps break down grease real fast while the sugar is a good abrasive for you to get deep in there. You want to use this in as hot as water that you can stand without burning yourself (this is to open the pores).
Finally, a decent hand lotion.
I know, it is complicated, but it works. You could always go the Nitrile Rubber Gloves with a set of Mechanics gloves too.
I hope that helps =)
Thanks for your thoughts guys. The problem is I really AM worried about it. If I commit to work on just one car, I can not do a single show for 3-6 months (time it takes from start to finish) if I am wrong about getting rid of the dirt. I have heard about the dawn and sugar (or salt) with hot water. I think if I keep my arms oiled up like a masseuse and using gloves with addition to the dawn and abrasive... it may work. I will make a practice run soon so we shall see. But thanks for the input.