Hello to you all!

Today somehow my Private Reserve 'Ultra Black' filled Waterman 'Carene' pen started leaking and when I removed the cap my hands became literally drenched with ink.

To wash my hand I treid detergent, hand soap, alcohol, acetone, WD-40, turpentine but nothing helped.

So here is my first question: How to clean spilled ink from your hands?

Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated !

Water & soap and plenty of determined scrubbing. It won't come out in the first attempt. It will take two or three. But it does work.

Do not use bleach. I tried some recently, 10% household bleach in water. It removed the ink ok, but it woke up the worst case of hives I have ever had. The chlorine in the bleach sank into my skin, made them stink for nearly a day, and gave me the above-mentioned hives.

Use the rough side of a dishwashing sponge with plenty of soap. It'll get most of it out.

Shampoo is still one of the best remedies. A gentle pumice soap works well, too. And of course, there's all the specialized ink removal solutions. Since you don't have those around, though, try the shampoo first since you should have some in the house already. Works pretty well.

Fabric stain remover works well for me. Just apply to the stains, rub it in, and wait 10 or so minutes, then wash it off. The best part is, stain removers aren't drying to the skin because they are made to go on fabric, so your hands won't end up super dry.

Lava soap with a harsh scrub brush. If that doesn't work, I use pure bleach.

Well, on a more serious note:

I use two different methods, and neither involves scrubbing away your skin or dangerous chemicals.

1. InkNix. Richard Binder sells it, amongst others. http://www.richardspens.com/accessories.htm (just scroll to the bottom of the page)
2. Washing your hair. Very effective in removing ink from your hands and fingers.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

I don't know whether you have the 'Astonish' range of cleaning products....they have a cream cleaner with a very mild bleach in it and I find it's brilliant for removing ink but not the skin!

I wouldn't use it frequently because I'm sure it won't benefit your skin in the long-term! But I have a quite sensitive skin and ahave used it occasionally without problems.

Take a shower!

Well, seriously, any ink stains that I cannot get off my fingers are gone after the shower next morning. Shower includes Wims method no 2: washing my hair.

I'd avoid the bleach. I'd second getting a supply of either InkNix or Amodex, both of which are used like
a waterless hand cleaner. (Amodex can also be used on clothes. InkNix has an abrasive in it,
like the pumice soaps.)

Of the household items mentioned, shampoo is most likely to be in stock. If you find one that
works, you could get one of the tiny travel bottles to keep at work. However, most people
report that it's when you shampoo your hair that it really takes off the ink. (so, at least you'd
look better the next day)

You could also try the lanolin-based waterless hand cleaner used for removing paint or printers ink
from your skin or in garages.

Acetone would do no good, as the inks are water-based. WD-40 is oil-based. Also, solvents like
acetone are absorbed through your skin and are toxic. Sometimes rubbing alcohol has worked for
me, or the waterless hand sanitizer (disinfectant) stuff, but that might vary with the particular
colorant in the ink. At least the rubbing alcohol & hand sanitizer are milder than the solvents.

In a pinch, a very effective technique you can practise nearly anywhere is to rub your hands vigorously on a carpet. Wipe off excess ink first; preferably wash your hands. Not recommended practise on a carpet anyone cares about. Do be careful if you try this, as you can get rope-burn before you know it if you start rubbing hard right away -- listen to your nerve endings. This will even do under your fingernails...

Use normal household washing powder. Wet your hands, then rub some of the powder into it, then simply wash away. Leaves your hands smelling nice aswell as being clean.

I filled some pens yesterday and ended up with rainbow fingers. Ink-Nix took it all off.

A good ol' bar of Lava Soap.

Dish soap and elbow grease then warm water to rinse.

Time.

I use time.

I am a bit short of experience with fountain pen stains in particular, but acrylic artist ink, grease, paint, etc can't stand up to Fast Orange or GoJo hand cleaner. Plus, they are great if you ever work on your own car or household appliances.