Avoiding the grease, dirt and oil from getting onto the skin and under the nails?

Question

I started learning to maintain my motorcycle on my own, and cleaned the chain and lubricated it yesterday. Ended up with grease+oil smeared all over my hands and under the nails which haven't gone off entirely even until now (a bit of a nightmare, coz I'm actually a software programmer :-) ).

A Google search for how to clean it gave me these results just now:
1. Use a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of liquid dish washing soap. They also say it's better to use gloves because the grime might cause cancer. What? Really?
2. Someone uses an oil lifting spray.
3. Laundry liquid.
4. Canola oil.
5. Dig nails into a bar of soap and use a scrub brush.

Apparently the sugar/salt + dish washing soap idea is called "Mechanics soap" and the sugar/salt is meant to provide some amount of a gritty nature to the "soap".

My question is about avoiding this hassle in the first place. Apart from the "give your bike to a mechanic for servicing" option, are these good options?

1. Is it worthwhile to invest in gloves? Won't latex gloves tear quickly and won't you perspire a lot inside the gloves? After the grime gets onto the gloves, won't it get onto any other clean part of the bike you touch? At least if one isn't wearing gloves, one would instinctively wipe off the grime on a cloth or newspaper. If you tried wiping it off the gloves, the glove would slowly slip off and then you'd have to pull it back on, which can get annoying.
2. Is there some kind of viscous liquid I could rub on my palms and under the nails so that the grease/oil doesn't stick onto my skin as un-washably as earlier? Of course, the liquid shouldn't cause any problems to the motorbike's machinery either, and it should be easy to wipe it off with a cloth if it gets onto any of the clean areas of the bike. If there are any commercial products (would be too expensive), a mention is welcome, but ideally, something that can be purchased from a local store or can be prepared at home would be great.

Answer 1

Gloves.

Do not use latex gloves, they break easily. Use nitrile gloves instead, they are mechanically much more resistant. Even better: Use nitrile gloves under ordinary work gloves. The ordinary gloves will protect the nitrile gloves from mechanically influences, the nitrile keeps away the oil.

Soap

Use industrial hand wash paste. Perfect to remove oil and dirt from your skin. Comes mostly with some added abrasives (sand or sawdust). The abrasives help to remove the dirt

Brush

Should things not get as planned and dirt gets under your nails: Sorry, there is only the brush left.

Treatment

Use some beewax based hand cream to care your hands.

Answer 2

If you don't like gloves, I recommend GOJO:

GOJO contains pumice, which is ground up volcanic rock. It also contains a natural degreaser. When you combine the two, you have a cleaner that can remove grease and dirt from every part of your hand, including nails and cuticles. I recommend combining it with a nail brush:

Answer 3

My grandad run a automotive and truck repair shop for 50years, he told me when I was a kid to use Vaseline on my hands before work starts (this was before all the modern cleaners of today).
Thin layer covering the whole hand and at the end of day all the oil/grease washes away so much easier.
My brother has also used it in his shop.
I my self like mechanics gloves but wear them out like crazy and in the 100+ heat end up with dye from them on my hands.

Answer 4

I use a product called Invisible Glove, which protects your skin from getting grease-stained in the first place.

You put it on your hands before you start the messy job. It goes on like hand cream; you spread it over your skin, massage it into the crevices and folds in your knuckles, and work it into your cuticles and under your nails. Apply it all the way up to your elbows or however far you think will get dirty. Then let it dry. It dries slightly tacky, which helps you hold the wrench. Note: If it gets wet, your hands might get a little slippery. Just let them dry again.

When you're done with the job, the stuff just rinses off like soap.

I have done messy jobs like changing my oil, including getting used dirty oil all over my hands and forearms, and was able to clean up easily with no scrub brush required, even on my cuticles.

Not affiliated with the company at all, just a happy user of their product.

Answer 5

No need to repeat @Myself's recommendations.

I will add that the toughest grime to get rid of will be the crud that finds its way under your fingernails. One way to get rid of most of the crud there is to trim your fingernails after the job. Just try to avoid wrenching thereafter :)