I'm a little special...

**scout man** · March 19th, 2009

Alright, so due to my desire to finally finish my 1 day bed liner project on the 4th day (still not done) I dove into the painting of the bed liner with out stopping to put on gloves. According to the intructions this stuff sticks to skin and wont come off, and I think that ended up being the only truthful thing in the dang instructions. Needless to say my hand and lower arms are now black. I have tried acetone (worked on the wet stuff), agent orange hand cleaner, engine degreaser, Oxy clean, and soap, and cant get it out. The best luck I had was letting my skin get all soft in the shower then scrubbed the hell out of it with a brillow pad... it did some good, but I still look pretty bad. I was curious as to everyones "secret" hand cleaners. Seems like everyone has some little trick that they swear by and I am interested in hearing the creative approaches that are out there, whether they work in this particular instance or not. For example, one of my favorites when covered in grease is a quick squirt of carb cleaner on the hands, takes that grease right off. Any help for me and my now black limbs???

March 19th, 2009

The one thing I know that will eat off bed liner material is something you don't want to get on you either - brake fluid. I would not try it. As far as grease goes - when I'm out of GoJo I'll put a tablespoon of salt (or 2) in the palm of my hand, then cover it with dish detergent. (Dawn or Palmolive) Add a little water, lather up and clean off the crud. This will dry your hands out, so don't do it too often.

March 19th, 2009

mek

methyl ethyl ketone.... be careful this sh!t will strip steel off steel. dont want it on yer skin too long... its like alcohol but on roids with crack! dont get it on paint.

**Chris** · March 19th, 2009

Sorry I can't help but thanks for an early morning chuckle - great title. :lol:

Reminds me of my use of Purple Power w/o gloves.

March 19th, 2009

Don't have any secrets to the hand cleaning. I thought I was the only guy I know that did the Brillo/green scrubby pad in the shower routine. My wife thinks I am nuts when I do this...I tell her that I am just removing the dead and dirty layer of skin.

Bottom line...some of that stuff out there isn't going to come off...period. You might as well give it a name and live with it awhile. Spray insulation foam is one of those things...nothing gets that off...I used another product not too long ago and did the same thing you did...and ended up living with my hands looking weird for 3 weeks..Hated it..

Watch using MEK...that stuff crosses cell membranes in a heart beat. Anything you get on your hands and immediately taste in your mouth is really bad juju...

Try covering your hands with lotion and sticking them in some cheap cotton gloves before you go to sleep..it may help a bit. Wish I had more, but you have done what I would've done..

March 19th, 2009

try laquer thiner its not to harsh on the skin like mek or the others it will take the oils out of your skin tho. i am a painter in trade and do it all the time. then use a lot of hand cream . thats funny about the spray foam i did the same and it does not come off at all nor does gorilla glue. stupid me to cool to wear gloves.

March 19th, 2009

I was trying to remember the last stuff that I used that I managed to get on my hands...also being too cool to wear gloves. It was Gorilla Glue and it was on my hands for so long that I finally named it....

I have done a lot of painting, too, and am really fond of harsh chemicals to get gunk off. The harsher the better...Ditto with the 'lots of hand lotion'. I go through that stuff by the gallon..

A few other things that tend to 'stick with you', so to speak: actual lead based industrial paint, any epoxy based products, aircraft paint and most car paints...

March 19th, 2009

roofing tar is the same way. i found out the hard way also had to throw away every thing i had on including my wallet and money. i slipped on the roof. and cut my hair off.

March 19th, 2009

Ahhhh, yes...roofing tar...fits right in with synthetic stucco. Buy some garbage clothes at the local goodwill, as cheap as you can find, wear them until the project is over, then toss them. I forgot about those two items...come to think about it, there are a lot of products out there that you really don't want to get on your skin...

I like the bit about the hair...

March 19th, 2009

I have nothing to add as far as cleaning suggestions, everything I would try has been mentioned. just wanted to say good luck to you.

March 19th, 2009

The only thing I found that works on tar based products is either gasoline or diesel it softens the products base chemicals so you can wash them off after a little soaking.

**Chris** · March 19th, 2009

I would try gas too, it disolved a hotel parking lot where I pulled my gas tank last Summer in Utah. Of course the scrubbing pad will be needed but you should be able to make some progress.

Good luck!

March 19th, 2009

Brody previously posted:

**Funrover** · March 19th, 2009

I have done something similar before. comes off in about a week... I never found anything

**Pathrat** · March 19th, 2009

I am surrounded by chemicals at work but nothing like what you got plastered to yourself. 100% alcohol is a good solvent for supposedly permanent ink so with some alcohol you might be able to fade the pigment.
For afterwards I would recommend a petroleum based salve like BagBalm (green square tin). I use this before and after washing my hands and gloving. It provides a nice barrier for when my glove breaks and prevents cracks in my hands, which I DON'T want when I break a glove.

**4Runninfun** · March 19th, 2009

haha yup you're going to be living with it for about a week. i've done it too.

March 19th, 2009

try Xylene. I am not sure you can use it on your skin but it takes the stuff off of anything. Other than that have you tried the old mothers cure of baby oil. You figure that this stuff is petroleum based it might work if you let it soak couldn't hurt and will probably help the raw skin from the brillow.

**Pathrat** · March 19th, 2009

scoutfam previously posted:

**scout man** · March 20th, 2009

Pathrat previously posted:

March 20th, 2009

Try the baby oil..... I have gotten tar and handi foam off with it.......

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