Can't put fine plastic beads in hand cleaner nowadays, as after passing through the sewage works, they end up in the ocean. The whole point of using plastic was that it is neutral bouyancy so didn't settle out in U bends in sinks etc. like sand does, and therefore it didn't settle out at the sewage works either, passing straight through into the river. They tend to use pumice dust nowadays.

In my work as an engineering consultant I have visited many industrial premises and therefore used many different hand cleaners supplied on site. One was a paste that needed a little water added before rubbing, but it worked well. No idea of the name, but it needed its own unique dispensers (pull a lever sideways). My railway now uses the best gel I have ever used, tiny quantities needed, and it is called Cherry Bomb. I suspect it of being a USA product?

Didn't that ex B movie actor who went on to become a B movie president advertise something called Boraxo? Never saw it in the UK. Was that any good?

When I was about 3 (1957 or so), I used to "help" my dad fix engines, cars etc. We didn't even have Swarfega then. Used to use scouring powder (Vim or Ajax) and he would rub one of my little hands between his great shovels of appendages and rub till I scarcely had any skin left. Alternatively, it was a petrol (I believe an alternative term may be "gasoline") bath.

And if you think steelworks mill oil is evil, get yourself a locomotive. Steam oil is typically 680 or 100 centistokes, and there is ash, soot & coal dust everywhere. Alternatively, if your thing is main line Diesel electric locos, the traction motor gear cases are lubricated with something even worse, that needs warming to dispense it. It used to be called Motak or Regent made a product called Crater. Leaks would hang down in strings underneath and if you were walking along a pit, the only remedy to walking into one was to cut off the affected hair. Of course, a less carcinogenic product is now substituted, as those were full of asphaltenes.

Eddie

------ Original Message ------ From: "Rangelov" <rangelov@...> To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, 10 Mar, 23 At 16:21 Subject: Re: [SouthBendLathe] OT Maybe? Hand cleaners Nick, It might been Kimberly-Clark (or Scott, same company now). Kimberly-Clark Professional Super Duty Hand Cleaner with Grit (no. 91388). The grit was fine plastic beads. The stuff WAS excellent hand cleaner. It really dissolves grease. Rub into hands, rinse with a bit if water, keep rubbing, repeat. Your hands look like you are an office worker when done. Especially if you use a toothbrush, it is softer, gentler and gets at all the dirt. It is no longer available. It had something in it that Californias law concerning cancer causing chemicals was identified. 91388 was used at Ford, where I worked at one time. I got some thru the rep that supplied Ford and from a local industrial supply house that was swallowed up by Grainger (and now I cannot buy from them). I used to buy it in 4 one gallon cases (with pump on each gallon). I still have a gallon or two left. I use it sparingly, since there is no more left, anywhere else. Regards, Dimitar 1a. OT Maybe? Hand cleaners From: Nick Andrews Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2023 14:54:31 PST A while back, okay almost 20 years ago, a friend worked at Jorgenson Steel in Denver. You know how that mill oil on steel is... He and I and a roommate started a floor cleaning business and did the floors there at night. They had a hand cleaner in the locker rooms that from what I recall was a green powder, not a liquid, and it worked with or without water and did not leave your hands slippery, greasy or stinky at all. I'd forgotten about it until recently and cannot recall the name but it was amazing. Anyone have any ideas on what it might be and if it's even still made? It was not a typical household brand, more like an industrial supply type product you'd never see on a store shelf.