Smart Shop tips!

[fried1765]

I always loved this quote:View attachment 683561

THAT is one I use frequently!

 

[Topzide]

I save those pump shampoo bottles to put my hand cleaner in. That way it doesn't take up the whole counter next to sink plus allows me to add a bit a Dawn to help cut the grease and oil!

 

[the old grind]

Here's a tip: Never, ever, ever, wash your car, truck, bike, boat, tractor, ZTR, trailer, etc with dish soap!! You might as well be de-greasing/etching/prepping it for primer/paint.

If we understand 'road grime' we know to only power-wash our truck lowers with rinse water vs soapy. Dish soaps get our stuff too squeaky-clean exacerbating surface/nick rust. I use zip-wax-type wash stuff from bucket or to pre-soak at lo-pres with the power washer before blasting. It has let me put of touch-ups that don't 'grow' so much vs my past unknowing folly of using Dawn or similar.

 

[buck12]

I read a report from a man who said he used ether to clean his hands. After a while doing this he found himself in the hospital with multiple organ failure. He attributed the problem to the ether and advised against using it in that way.

For years I paid little attention to what I got on my hands. With age comes a little wisdom and I now try to wear latex gloves when I working with most chemicals.

Kinda like there was a time I thought nothing of firing off a box of ammo with no hearing protection. Now I’m protective of the hearing I have left.

 

[the old grind]

I use reversible, knit gloves more than any other type. They catch grime and absorb oil & fuel, can be switched/reversed from hand to hand to even-out wear, and can be washed with work jeans so dexterity is improved until I wear holes in them.

That said, they can suck when gardening, planting, or most work in dry soil or sand. 'Dust' will usually soak up any oil, dry my skin, and the on/off bits lead to dry hands and hangnails between wash-ups and lotion afterward.

For their loose fit and keeping hands cool in hot weather, less burns & nicked knuckles, easy on/off, etc the suede-faced cheapo gauntlets are my usual alt to the knits. I wear gloves and earplugs to surprise most other guys. (AKA religiously, 1/4" nuts & bolts are easy for me with knits on) :2cents:

 

[bindian]

Similar story with a neighbor who used naphtha for decades. He was an industrial painter.

I used to wash my hands with Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) at work. We used in for everything back when I rebuilt helicopters. Especially cleaning up around sealed skin repairs and replacements. Sealed for corrosion preventative for salt water environments. Now, nobody in aviation uses it. Just acetone.
hugs, Brandi

 

[the old grind]

Brandi, I love it when you talk shop, but it scares me to think of you having cleaned your hands with (shudder) that MEK stuff.

Of course acetone is a great cleaner (eats PVC & paints) but it sure isn't for hand cleaning. ...

btw, best wishes from a fan in MI.

waves, jon

 

[grsthegreat]

Mek is awful stuff. I never handled without hand protection and breathing protection. The thought of washing my hands with it. Yeiks

 

[PILOON]

If you were closer, I would have doubled your money for it.

I use an old Singer 31-15 for my auto upholstery, canvas and leather. I put a 3/4 hp servo motor on it so it'll sew just about anything you can get under the foot. I was so involved in upholstery for a while, I have a walking foot attachment and all sorts of feet for it. I was going to update to a Consew Industrial right before my open heart surgery but that pretty much retired me to hobby work now. That old Singer will even sew auto carpet. The only thing it can't do is backup. But I work around that.

I got extra lucky as my $25.00 Consew has reverse on it!
LOL, still only double?

I recall I bought at a Gov't surplus sale and had basically used it as a rolling platform tor all the goods I was buying that day.

At later sales I would bring a helper simply to horde my piles of buys.
Good old days.

 

[PILOON]

Mek is awful stuff. I never handled without hand protection and breathing protection. The thought of washing my hands with it. Yeiks

And costly!
Leave the cap off and the whole gallon evaporates overnight.

BUT, if U wanted a part squeaky clean it sure did the job.

 

[duffer]

For larger jobs that use a lot of different tools, and/or especially if 2 or more people are working on the same project, using the tools at different times, I make everybody put the tools they are using in one central spot, so everybody (or just me) knows where I put the darn thing down an hour ago, and now I need it again. Sure cuts down on lost time and frustration.

 

[the old grind]

Early '90s we had a 1-1-1 Tri-Chlor 'pit' in our toolroom's heat dept. It was 10' or so deep and heavy vapors could not be smelled anywhere near or above it. Without convection evaporative loss would be next to none. We'd lower parts in a metal basket to just above the surface of the liquid vs into it and go for a coffee and a cig. On returning the parts would come back up squeaky clean, so the vapor cloud somehow did the work of cleaning. That's some strong & scary stuff.

Ten years prior, I was working in a 350 transmission plant 'wet' repair & tear-down 'stall'. We had huge tubs of tri-chlor and dipped hands and parts in it before blowing them off with compressed air. Yes, their was plenty of convection and smell. Dunno what's worse, having dipped my hands in the stuff or breathing it daily on the job for at least a year of my time in the repair dept. I'm sure neither was very good for me.

I've had farm hands that wouldn't drive a tractor so I would. Part of their job then would be to spot for me in close quarters and/or remove things from my path. I drive over & bust one hand tool and they are fired on the spot. btw, the second time I see a phone in their hand they're fired on the spot, too. They were warned. I won't pay someone to social network and watch me do what I hired them for. Operate or keep the gloves on, that's all I ask.

 

[PILOON]

Quote--
"my neighbor has lost like 60+ % of his lung function from misting spray off of impact guns when he was younger working at a car manufacturing job. those guns spray out alot of bad stuff."

Might explain my COPD, in late teens I worked at Continental Can in production.
The whole factory was one cloud of misted oil.
They sprayed everything everywhere so as to not scratch the coatings.
Also the punching presses and can rattling was enough to deafen you.

The pay was fantastic however.
At summer's end you had enough cash to purchase a new Chevy Convertible.
But payed for it later! (hearing + COPD)

 

[dragoneggs]

Brandi, I love it when you talk shop, but it scares me to think of you having cleaned your hands with (shudder) that MEK stuff.

Of course acetone is a great cleaner (eats PVC & paints) but it sure isn't for hand cleaning. ...

btw, best wishes from a fan in MI.

waves, jon

I've been occasionally handling wipes presoaked with an Acetone blend solvent knowing full well I should be wearing gloves. My justification was that I was only using my finger tips to handle them.
:newhere:

 

[Doofy]

Far to many years of chemical contact have left my hands with contact dermatitis. Dry, peeling, cracked and raw at times. Gloves are a must.

 

[the old grind]

Using fingertips to handle an 'acetone-based solvent' ..... girls using oily nail polish remover ..... gender equality?

:scratchchin:

 

[Fuddy1952]

Using fingertips to handle an 'acetone-based solvent' ..... girls using oily nail polish remover ..... gender equality?

:scratchchin:

NOW I know why my sammiches have been tastin funny

 

[Doofy]

NOW I know why my sammiches have been tastin funny

Nah, that's the ethylene glycol. :licking:

 

[the old grind]

Nah, that's the ethylene glycol. :licking:

They say you can't taste it in beer, but a lot of wives get caught anyway.

 

[stuckmotor]

Using fingertips to handle an 'acetone-based solvent' ..... girls using oily nail polish remover ..... gender equality?

:scratchchin:

There's a nail salon at the end of the registers at a store I frequent. I don't know what's in the chemical cocktail wafting out of that place but it amazes me to see people still alive in there.