Hand oils on wood

[jgs795]

When I've been working on some projects, specifically with poplar, I've found that the oils from my hands will stay on the wood and I have to put on gloves and try to sand out the darker areas when I'm finishing. I've started working with more oak so I don't know if this will still be a problem. Question is, are there any suggestions for getting these oils out when I'm finishing a project other than just sanding as many places as I can. For example, bleaching wood?...some kind of liquid sander?

Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks.

[BobT]

Use simple green. Wood will look new. It sort of bleaches it. It looks much better than new. Wet the carving, then spray on simple green. Scrub away. I learned that from Mark Akers. If it is good enough for him, it surely is good enough for me. It is the only thing I have found that takes off ALL of the pencil marks too.

[jgs795]

Does it work down in the detail work such as feathers? Just wet, spray, scrub then rinse? Almost sounds too easy...

[Robson Valley]

My shop is cold and my fingers get stiff. The steel shanks of my gouges are cold. I wear a $5.99 pair of leather work gloves to keep my hands warm BUT, above all, to keep my hand oils off the wood. They're a loose fit and some thin padding inside which really soaks up the vibration of an hour's mallet work. I felt sort of clumsy at first but wear them for practically all carving now.

[pallin]

Yellow cedar seems to show hand oils from any contact, so I've used gloves in the final stages of carving. Some marks are very hard to remove by sanding.

[Buffalo Bif]

I'm a knife only whittler, so I get to use warm water and hand soap, scrubbed with a toothbrush then rinsed. Power carving tools and sanding might give you some raised grain this way.

[Robson Valley]

Now December. I just changed gloves to a new pair. Got a year from the last pair, holes worn in the lining and so grimy now I can use each one for a strop! These are the gray-colored ("chrome-tanned?) ones, no oily feel to them at all.
16C/60F in the shop when I open it up. The wood is cold, the tool shanks are cold and my skinny fingers get cold & stiff. I learned the basic of carving without gloves, the hand oil grime was disappointing. So we were taught to carve it all off with a fishtail like a 3F8. Not my idea of a good time. I guess it's what you get used to.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Ajax Liquid Soap works real good. Similar to Liquid Green. It's also good for washing down after working out in the bushes to get any posion ivy oils off your skin.

[Dileon]

I worked in hospital for awhile, you learn fast to wash and wash your hands often.....as this is how virus and all kinds of really bad things you can pick up. I never have oily hands, in fact the major washing keeps them on the dry side, plus with the arthritis, that hot water feels great.