One of the neatest things about my 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 were the convenient repair kits that Toyota
provided. Packaged in their individual red boxes were everything you
needed to rebuild, say, a universal joint or a brake assembly or the
master clutch cylinder. I think the idea was that if you filled a
modest satchel with a bunch of these kits you really could head out
in the boonies and fix most anything on the run. I, however, worked
on our FJ40 in the driveway, used quite a few of those little red
boxes and got my hands mighty dirty. Back then I used Goop or Gunk
or Gorp, whatever, to dissolve the grease and grime, pretty nasty
products actually, maybe a step away from washing your hands in
gasoline. Took quite a while before I incidentally discovered that
most any ordinary hand or body lotion also works well as a hand
cleaner. Frankly, for myself, those expensive balms and creams that
are supposed to do magic for working hands are mostly hype.
Ever since this discovery, several
times a day, I slather lotion on generously as a hand cleaner, and
using no water (reduce cracking!) just dry my hands on paper toweling
or a terrycloth towel...works quite well. The dirt and grime transfers to the toweling. Plus your hands don't end up
marinated in petrochemicals or dried out by soap and water. Those little lotion tubes and bottles turn out to be perfect to drop in a
tool bag during installations. Alas, I've come up with a fairly lame excuse to post a couple pics of my favorite vehicle, but on the otherhand certain individuals in your life may appreciate hands that feel more
like 220 grit than 40 grit. To see all 18 previous tool tips type "tool tip" into the search this blog window. You might find something you can use in your own shop.
