When oil painting, sometimes I get paint all over my hands, can I use the paint thinner to get it off?

Or is that not good practive becasue it is bad for your skin? Does it cause cancer or anything else?When oil painting, sometimes I get paint all over my hands, can I use the paint thinner to get it off?
I am a university painting professor and our Health and Safety office requires that I make the students wear gloves. Prolonged exposure to thinner can cause cancer-it's a petrochemical. First hit on paint thinner and cancer: http://www.trueart.info/paints.htm





';Solvents are some of the most dangerous chemicals used in painting. Details of their hazards are available from the Union Health and Safety Officer.';





And turpentine is absorbed even more by the skin and lungs.





Some swear by orange based solvents but I have developed a sensitivity to even those. Gamsol--made by Gamblin--is the least smelly.When oil painting, sometimes I get paint all over my hands, can I use the paint thinner to get it off?
It will not give you any serious health issues, but it isn't good for your skin and it could lead to some irritation from prolonged use. What works best for me is plain dishwasher soap. Since many of these soaps are aimed at removing oil and grease from dishes while being soft on the hands, these are great for washing your hands. I even often use it to give my brushes a last clean after wiping the paint of with turpentine. Regular dish soap works great. Also if you go to your local hardware store, they sell some creams for cleaning oil, these are aimed at removing car oil so this cannot fail at removing oil paints and a small bucket costs from a couple to a few dollars. Another option is soap made specifically to remove oil paints which they sell at art store, one popular brand is Original B %26amp; J, which i think a bar costs a about a couple dollars.
hot soapy water does the trick?
Bad for the skin. Try something like swarfega heavy duty skin cleaner, or what works quite well are baby wipes, believe it or not.
Sometimes you can remove oil based paints from your skin using vegetable oil! I use it often, it works, but it takes a bit longer. Just pour some in your hands and start rubbing like soap. Scrub it in. If the paint isn't coming off, try adding a little more oil with some salt or sugar as an abrasive, and go crazy. When you've gotten most of the paint off, use dishwashing soap like Dawn to wash the oil off.





I don't think Paint thinner causes cancer, but it will dry your skin out and eventually your skin may become sensitive to it. I feel it's better to use something milder to get the job done, and if plain old veggie oil does the trick... yippie!
15 years I use only warm water and soap.
I would avoid thinners as a hand cleaner myself, while I think the risk is low compared to many other things, its just as easy and safer to use laundry soap, a hand soap thats made for oil painter (oil based), an auto mechnics soap (that stuff gets anything off), or just soap and water and a lil extra elbow grease.
YES you can!.


If it is strong and drys out your skin just use a hand or body Lotion on your hands afterwards.





The best Thinner I like is ';Grumtine'; by Grumbacher.....it has a 'Orange' scent as compared to Regular 'Turpentine' thinners. and is still a GOOD thinner!





NO, it cannot cause Cancer!
Try baby oil, which is really just mineral oil. It isn't as toxic as turpentine or other solvents and it will soften the skin, which is sometime necessary after dealing with paint all day. It works for me. Also, when cleaning brushes, soak them in Murphy's Oil Soap. I would never have believed it, but I have used it with oil and acrylics and it manages to soften even hardened paint. Since I have classes full of kids that would rather die than clean brushes and since brushes can be costly, this is a godsend.
mupheys wood soap is good, we use it to get paint off our hands,brushes and clothes in art class