Best Hand Cleaner for Mechanics: Grip Clean vs Fast Orange, Zep and GOJO
Fast Orange, Zep Cherry Bomb, GOJO Natural Orange and Grip Clean all promise to cut shop grease. They do not work the same way. Here is what is actually in each one, how it cleans, and what it does to your hands over a full work week, with every claim sourced.
There is no single best. It comes down to two things: how the cleaner breaks grease loose, and what it does to your skin over a week of washing.
1How a mechanic's hand cleaner actually works
Every shop hand cleaner does two jobs: break the grease loose from your skin, then scrub it off. They all use grit for the scrubbing. Where they differ is how they break the grease loose, and that split is the whole story.
The solvent route. A solvent dissolves the oil so it rinses or wipes away. Fast Orange cleans with d-limonene, a solvent extracted from oranges, and the maker says it contains no petroleum solvents.[1] GOJO Natural Orange, despite the name, lists a petroleum solvent on its safety data sheet, a C11-15 alkane and cycloalkane at 5 to 10 percent, plus a smaller amount of limonene at 0.1 to 1 percent.[2]
The clay route. Grip Clean skips the solvent. Its scrubs use industrial-grade bentonite clay that the maker says binds to heavy grease and motor oil and lifts it off the skin.[5] No solvent dissolves the oil; the clay grabs it and the grit carries it away.
The grit. That part is similar across the board. Fast Orange uses a fine pumice.[1] Zep Cherry Bomb and GOJO Natural Orange are pumice cleaners.[3][2] Grip Clean sells both a pumice soap and a crushed walnut shell scrub.[5] Pumice is ground volcanic rock; walnut shell is crushed nut shell and tends to scrub harder.
Solvent cleaners dissolve grease. Clay and grit cleaners grab it and pull it off. Both get your hands clean. They do not treat your skin the same way.
2The four, side by side
Here is what each one is, from the makers' own data sheets and safety sheets. Where a detail is the company's marketing claim rather than a sourced fact, it is noted.
| Cleaner | Grit | How it cuts grease | Skin conditioners | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Orange (Permatex) |
Fine pumice[1] | d-limonene citrus solvent, no petroleum solvents[1] | Aloe, lanolin, glycerin, jojoba[1] | Works without water[1] |
| Zep Cherry Bomb | Pumice[3] | Low-odor solvent, not named[3] | Emollients, not named[3] | Rinse with water[3] |
| GOJO Natural Orange | Pumice[2] | Petroleum solvent (C11-15) plus limonene[2] | None listed on the SDS[2] | Rinse with water |
| Grip Clean | Pumice or walnut shell[5] | Bentonite clay binds grease, no solvent[5] | Coconut oil, olive oil, glycerin[5] | Rinse with water |
A note on GOJO: its safety data sheet does not list pumice, because pumice is not a hazardous ingredient and only hazards have to appear there. The pumice is in the product name and marketing. The same sheet is where the petroleum solvent and the limonene show up.[2]
3Cleaning power, what each is built for
All four handle everyday shop grease. The differences show up at the extremes, on tar, cured paint, ink and adhesive.
A solvent plus pumice is hard to beat on the nastiest buildup, because the solvent dissolves what the grit then lifts. Zep lists its targets as grease, tar, carbon, inks, resins, paints and adhesives, and claims it neutralizes harsh petroleum odors like diesel and fuel.[3] Fast Orange and GOJO work the same way, dissolving the oil with citrus or petroleum solvent before the pumice scrubs.[1][2]
On the clay side, Grip Clean's answer to heavy grime is the walnut scrub. The maker describes crushed walnut shell scrubbers that deliver aggressive exfoliation, with bentonite clay doing the grease binding, and positions the pumice soap as the lighter daily option.[5] The honest read: for the worst tar-and-adhesive jobs a solvent cleaner has an edge on raw dissolving speed, and for everyday grease the clay-and-grit cleaners keep right up without a solvent in the mix.
4What it does to your hands over a week
This is the part that matters if you wash ten times a day. A solvent cuts grease by dissolving oil, and it does not stop at the grease. It takes some of your skin's own oil with it.
d-limonene is effective, but it is also a known occupational skin sensitizer. A study of workers with contact allergy to it concluded that limonene is a frequent occupational sensitizer in hand cleansers and cleaning products.[4] Petroleum hydrocarbon solvents like the one in GOJO Natural Orange carry their own safety-sheet note that repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking.[2]
That is exactly why the solvent cleaners add conditioners to offset the stripping. Fast Orange adds aloe, lanolin, glycerin and jojoba oil for skin conditioning.[1] Zep is enriched with emollients to replenish skin oils and prevent dryness.[3]
Grip Clean's approach is to avoid the solvent in the first place and lean on bentonite clay plus oils. The maker says its pumice soap contains no harsh chemicals, carries no Prop 65 warning label, and uses cold-pressed coconut oil and olive oil so it will not dry your skin.[5] Those are the company's own claims, but there is no solvent in the formula to strip skin in the first place.
One thing holds for all four. No hand cleaner is a moisturizer. Whatever you run, a hand cream after the last wash of the day does more for cracked hands than any single soap.
5Scent, water and the fine print
Scent. Fast Orange and GOJO are citrus and orange. Zep Cherry Bomb is a mild cherry.[3] Grip Clean's pumice soap is a mild lime.[5]
Water. Only Fast Orange is built to clean without water, which is the one to keep in a truck or a field rig.[1] The others rinse with water.
California. Zep Cherry Bomb is not available for sale in California, which is usually a sign of solvent or VOC content that runs into the state's air rules.[3] Grip Clean's pumice soap carries no Prop 65 warning label.[5]
6So which should you run?
Match the cleaner to the work and to your skin, not to the loudest label.
7Frequently asked questions
The best mechanic's hand cleaner is the one that gets your hands clean without wrecking them by Friday. Fast Orange and GOJO dissolve grease fast with solvents. Zep adds pumice and emollients but skips California. Grip Clean trades the solvent for bentonite clay and natural grit. Match the cleaner to your grime and your skin, not to the label.
Sources
- Permatex, Fast Orange hand cleaner technical data sheet (cleans with d-limonene extracted from oranges, fine pumice, aloe, lanolin, glycerin and jojoba for skin conditioning, no petroleum solvents, cleans without water, biodegradable). permatex.com data sheet
- GOJO Natural Orange Pumice Hand Cleaner, Safety Data Sheet, GOJO Industries (C11-15 alkane and cycloalkane 5 to 10 percent, limonene 0.1 to 1 percent, pH 6.0 to 8.0, limonene skin-irritation result, C11-15 repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking). GOJO SDS
- Zep, Cherry Bomb Hand Cleaner product page (formulated with pumice scrubbing particles, low-odor solvent formula, enriched with emollients to replenish skin oils and prevent dryness, mild cherry scent, rinse with water, removes grease, tar, carbon, inks, resins, paints and adhesives, not available for sale in California). zep.com
- Bergstrom et al., occupational contact allergy to oxidized limonene, PubMed (limonene is a frequent occupational sensitizer in hand cleansers and cleaning products). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Grip Clean, Ultra HD Walnut Scrub and Natural Pumice Soap product pages (crushed walnut shell scrubbers, fine volcanic pumice, industrial-grade bentonite clay binds grease and motor oil, glycerin, cold-pressed coconut oil and olive oil, contains no harsh chemicals, no Prop 65 warning label, will not dry your skin). gripclean.com
