Black Stuff on Fingers

[HappyHammer]

Don't know if you guys have this problem but I have this black stuff on my fingers that won't wash off. Someone asked me if I'd been working with timber I said yes and they suggested it was caused by sap in the wood.

Someone else then suggested sugar soap to get it off, do you guys get this and what do you use to get it off.

And no it's nothing to do with baths and being a pom.:no:

HH.

[Carry Pine]

You must be working with green timber?
For when i get that or if I've been working with metal I use Locktite brand 'Fast orange'. You rub your hands before washing. ($32 for a 2.5 litre pump pack- will last you forever) Supposed to contain no solvents which are going to ruin your hands in the long run. Claims to use lemon and pumice.

Carry Pine

[IanW]

Someone else then suggested sugar soap to get it off, do you guys get this and what do you use to get it off.
HH.

Yes.
It gradually disappears with normal shedding of the outer layers of your skin - 3-4 days and it should be gone. Sugar soap isn't the kindest thing on your skin, & probably won't remove it. If you want to be heroic - try bleach! :o

Look on it as the badge of honest labour, H.H... (Not so good if you're in an occupation where grubby-looking hands would give a very poor image. Since I usually don't have to deal with the public, I don't worry too much.) :U

Cheers,

[Cliff Rogers]

Caused by a reaction between tannin in the timber & metal tools, work harder, it will wear off. :D

[Cruzi]

Lemon juice gets rid of it, lime & orange work as well.

[HappyHammer]

I've been working with some re-cycled hardwood fence pailings. Someone told me they were yellow gum. I'm pretty sure they were in the fence for 10 plus years so shouldn't be green.

I was putting them over the jointer and through the thicknesser so Cliffs theory sounds right.

I use Lanox on the bed of the jointer when I'm not using it and I thought that might be a contributor. Obvioulsy I wiped the jointer down with a rag before I used it but there is always a tiny bit left.

Not too worried about it being seen and if people ask I can always work the conversation around to my favourite subject.:U

HH.

[wheelinround]

:doh: at least yours will wash off HH my psoriasis on my right thumb and left wrist is giving me hell working with the White Ash not much more to go till finished

Sanding is going to be hell

I am using antibactrial wash and lanolin with Lavander oil mixed to help before and after working with it.

[Wood Borer]

Like Cruzi said, use lemon, I understand the chemical from the timber is an alkali and the acidic lemon juice neutralises it but it can come back after half a day - another dose of lemon juice makes it disappear again quick smart.

Are you sure it is not fingerprint ink?:o

[kman-oz]

I get this a lot. Citrus based hand cleaner with grit (mechanics hand cleaner, typically used for disolving oils and grease from working on cars), rinse, followed by a Solvol bar and water. Sometime when it's really bad I have to wait a day or so for the rest to wear off.

If it really bugs you and you want to get it off immediately I find that a couple of loads of dishes helps too.

[HappyHammer]

If it really bugs you and you want to get it off immediately I find that a couple of loads of dishes helps too.
Mate, that's what the dish washer's for....:U

HH.

[KeithP]

I remember when my son was apprentice wood machinist, he would have stained hands from handling European Oak.
Then one of the older guys at his work told him to cut a lemon in half and rub the juice onto his hands.
From then on, no more stained hands.

Pedro

[AlexS]

Mate, that's what the dish washer's for....:U

HH.

But she doesn't do have black hands.:?

[kman-oz]

Mmmm... must give the lemon a try, sounds a lot easier.

[Alastair]

Wot Cliff sed!

I get this often working with oak, or willow, or any other timber rich in tannin. Long been said never to use steel screws or nails in oak for this reason

Often worse when turning green timber, particularly when using 'black' P&N tools

regards

[Sawdust Maker]

The fast orange works for me
picked it up from an auto spares shop - has a bit of grit in it
'tis good stuff

[tea lady]

:doh: at least yours will wash off HH my psoriasis on my right thumb and left wrist is giving me hell working with the White Ash not much more to go till finished

Sanding is going to be hell

I am using antibactrial wash and lanolin with Lavander oil mixed to help before and after working with it.
Gee Wheelin' Looks realy painful!!:oo: I sometimes get sore skin doing to much glaze work with the pottery. I use silicon barrier cream on the hands before work. Works a bit like very thin rubber gloves, and doesn't put oil or grease on places you don't want. But should help much more than lanolin to keep it under control. Available from chemists.

[Wood Borer]

.....I use silicon barrier cream on the hands .....

Careful using silicon because it makes finishing a challenge to say the very least.

[tea lady]

I use the silicon with ceramics because it doesn't leave any residue on pottery that I can't glaze over, so I don't think it would be a problem with wood either. Testing required I guess. Silicon barrier cream is not like normal barrier cream as it sort of drys on your hands and is not oily.

[BobL]

I use the silicon with ceramics because it doesn't leave any residue on pottery that I can't glaze over, so I don't think it would be a problem with wood either. Testing required I guess. Silicon barrier cream is not like normal barrier cream as it sort of drys on your hands and is not oily.

There is a difference between silicon and silicone. If you use sand paper or wet and dry in your shed you almost certainly have a small amount of very fine silicon (carbide in the case of wet and dry) particles everywhere - these don't do much to timber.
Silicone (or polysiloxanes) are what you need to keep away from timber (especially near to finished timber) since it affects gluing and final finishes. About 6 years ago I used car polish (containing silicone) to finish a jarrah desk since it can produced a fantastic hard finish. Unfortunately a cloth used to apply the silicone polish ended up back in my shed and sat on a couple of near to finished boards for a day or so and only a very small amount would have transfered to the boards but the timber would not take a finish properly. I tried wiping it but that only spread it further.

[tea lady]

Oh! Probably "my bad" then. No spelling expert, but maybe I mean silocone. Nut stuff in car polish that left residue on the boards was probably not the silocon(e? Now I'm really confused) bit.It probably had super fine particals of silica to do the polishing and a carrier to ----carry it(?). The silicone in the barrier cream, as I said, dries on your hands and really does act as a barrier much better that lanolin that probably will leave a residue behind. Is not the same stuff as "barrier cream" which is oily and smelly and gives me psoriasis.

Anyway, will get some to test now. Left the last lot at place of employment.

[wheelinround]

Gee Wheelin' Looks realy painful!!:oo: I sometimes get sore skin doing to much glaze work with the pottery. I use silicon barrier cream on the hands before work. Works a bit like very thin rubber gloves, and doesn't put oil or grease on places you don't want. But should help much more than lanolin to keep it under control. Available from chemists.

TY it has been the last few days an antibacterial surgical handwash and the lanolin mixed with lavender is working

Tea Lady TY the silicon I can't use it used to years ago when in the workshop working with diesel its since then the problem started.

[tea lady]

Oh! Too bad. I know some things that are meant to help make things worse. Me, I can't use anything that recons its for sensitive skin. Just have to keep looking for one that does not make me sneeze when I smell it. Then skin may still get itchy instead of soothed after a little while anyway.:doh:

Glad to hear you have hit on a formula that works for you.

[jerryc]

Wheelin, (Off the thread a bit I know)
I'm hesitant to offer advice without having experience but it might be an idea to investigate tee tree oil for you psoriasis. I suffered from Acne Rosacia -red nose- and dermatologists said "tough mate, there's lot of folk have that. Have this tube of cream and here's my bill." I tried tee tree oil and it cleared up. It's anti bacterialogical and I've used it on athlete's foot with success. I know I sound like a Goon Show advert "It even cures ingrowing toenails folks." but it might just be worth a try.

Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion

[tea lady]

What was the Question?

Oh, yes-- Black stuff. Silicone barrier cream may keep that at bay too.:D

[wheelinround]

HH try using the Lanolin before and after it creates a barrier apply about 15 minutes prior working after that no problem with transfer to wood etc

inlaws had same trouble with green fingers as market gardeners

[tea lady]

Aren't green fingers an advantage if you are a gardener?:D

[rrich]

HH,
My suggestion is to wear some latex gloves for about an hour. Work up a good sweat. When you take the gloves off, the stains on your fingers should be gone.

[Toyboy]

For my money, it's got to be bleach. Rinse well after. I have played with a lot of Cypress and it's a mongrel for staining hands. As a paramedic, I can't afford to have my hands looking grubby and that's where the bleach is handy. It works a treat.