Looking for shop hand soap recommendations

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Mar 9, 2012
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We had a guy stop by the shop that recommended some soap and I got me thinking what are you guys recommend for the best hand soap in a professional shop setting? Even better if I can buy it online directly and not from a distributor. A soap that cleans well and moisturizes hands or at least doesn't dry them out would be awesome.
 
We just made the switch from a SC Johnson Professional pumice soap to ZEP pumice. Mainly due to pricing.

SC Johnson from MSC is $50.39 for 2L
ZEP is 4x1gal from Amazon for $110

If you go the ZEP route, get the right pump, ZEP D-4000, $36.99

So far no complaints in the shop, some guys have stated that they prefer it because we went with the cherry bomb scent.

This is in a machine shop, not an auto repair shop.
 
Pinerite. I came across it while at Ace Hardware. Needs very little water and really cleans up greasy grimey hands. Made in Ft. Collins Colorado and is a local company. They also sell in bulk.
 
-BEAVER NUT SCRUB-

Checks all your boxes. Stuff works GREAT and keeps your hands from drying out.

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There’s a soap intended for shooters called D-Lead that is supposed to remove lead residue from primers and cast bullets. It’s expensive but it’s also excellent for removing car grime. It also works well on ink, which is the real test of a soap IMO.

There‘s also the old-timey favorite of Boraxo powered hand soap. I found a few cans in a small rural grocery and bought them all a few years ago. Boraxo and a scrub brush will do wonders.
 
Mineral Spirits gets the heavy stuff and prevents infection on cut up hands. I learned this back in my machine shop days. It was usually followed up by original GoJo. That GoJo would dry your hands out.
Whatever you choose, lanolin should be in the ingredients. The lanolin helps keep the hands from chapping.
 
Zep Antibacterial Hand Soap is the best. It cuts grease and grime and moisturizes at the same time. Easily found at Home Depot.
 
Boraxo, but good luck ever finding any.
I'm not using it in a shop setting, but I too used Boraxo for years. Couldn't find it for a while, so just bought a box of borax powder, which I put in a big plastic herb dispenser shaker bottle, shake on hands then add some dish detergent... since boraxo is just borax powder plus soap powder.

If my hands are really greasy (and for some reason I wasn't wearing gloves) sometimes I'll use Lestoil first to get the bulk of the grease off. It's also good for pre-treating grease stains on clothing. It's gotten expensive though, I might just switch to using diesel fuel instead of buying more Lestoil, or just use a towel to get the bulk off then use more dish detergent.
 
At work we have the Algonquin Pure Power lemon 🍋 scented. It’s ok but not my preference and definitely does not moisturize or clean very well it does ok at best. At home I have a whole assortment of ones I’ve picked up. My favorite is probably Zep Cherry Bomb, followed by the Matco hand cleaner which works and smells really good. I’ve got way too many to list lol. Of course can’t go wrong with many of them. I also purchased some powdered hand cleaner from Matco believe it’s called green something and work’s amazingly well. I’ll check that name when I get home.
 
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