I like the gojo orange cleaner. There are two choices one has pumice and the other doesn't. Both smell like oranges and work well.

I like the smell :D

Black Diesel crankcase oil is another story. I try to use gloves whenever I remember...

dirt, rub your hands in dirt , works great, then wash your hands

Cologne
 

I was wearing blue nitrile gloves and the diesel penetrated. I washed with hand cleaner and then bleach. Then I approached the girlfriend and she pushed me away because of the smell of diesel. SO! I went and got her favorite perfume and sprayed a little on my hands and all was again. It stinks, but smells better than diesel and I get to go to MY bed tonight. YAY!

the smell of diesel is much better than gas

cartoon found on the wall at my tire shop...

lift in background, mechanic working on things under it,
foreground, another mechanic is setting the lunch table and the caption says,

"which sandwich do you want? chicken salad with transmission fluid or pastrami on rye with axle grease?..."

I just wash my hands thoroughly with whatever soap is around. It doesn't get all the smell off, but knocks it down enough to be tolerable.

We used toothpaste to get tuna smell off of our hands back when I was a prep cook.

I've tried almost everything and the best is mineral spirits, NO WATER, then paper towels. I do this 2-3 times then finish with Dawn dish detergent though any other brand should work too. By finish the diesel smell is usually gone. I've even done this when I got diesel in my hair (don't ask!).

If you haven't gotten diesel (or ATF or my favorite, skanky hypoid gear oil) in your hair you haven't worked on cars much. Goes with the territory.

I have taken to wearing the blue gloves under mechanics gloves, it's amazing what still penetrates through those things. Inevitably I have dirt under my nails even though I have been wearing gloves the whole time.

I love the smell of diesel, so I don't try very hard to get it off

Lick it off.

ps - causes cancer...

Winmutt beat me to it -- gas & diesel are carcinogenics, hence the reason I finally broke down and wear gloves regularly.

If you can get some 100% biodiesel, it kills the diesel odor and it has very little odor itself. Also, it washes off very easily with any soap and water. It will clean anything!

Peanut butter will work in a pinch too, just wash with a mild detergent when done. (This is also great to remove label glue from glass jars)

But really, I work with dangerous chemicals all the time, and remember your skin is a semi-permeable barrier. Wear Disposable Gloves! The lanolin idea is good (especially after rock-climbing!), but really health wise nitrile gloves are best. The Raven brand are expensive, but rarely break and are thin enough to be tactile. I have found the Harbor Freight's are much thicker, and while more rugged (for greasy jobs like wheel bearings, brake fluid, etc.), but with a much reduced tactile feel. The nitrile also not a sensitizer like latex, and will not melt, with heat or chemicals, very readily.

If your skin smells like diesel, it is "drinking" it... but I do like the idea of diesel cologne...

I also like how I can get on the computer, answer the phone, change the music on my headphones, start the car, cycle the steering wheel, etc, etc, without getting what was on my hands all over the vehicle, and in a fraction of a second.

(Your opinion/mileage may vary!)



Here's some other folks' perspective:

http://www.aft.org/pdfs/healthsafety/fs_diesel0804.pdf

Skin problems in motor vehicle repair workers (mechanics). DermNet NZ

http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/Dermatitis/files/general_skin.pdf

Fuel Workers and Hematologic Malignancies