What happened to Gunk?

[Wittsend]

... a bit like Electric Vehicles 

[Ken]

Remember when Gordon Brown said diesel was good for the environment, better than petrol so skewed  tax in  it's favour. Now diesel's no good and it's electric cars.
Remember when we were all encouraged to burn wood to help the environment and Drax was turned over from coal to wood fire. Now Bristol council is considering fining people who use wood burners £300.
Remember when John Gummer stuffed a beef burger into his daughter's mouth and assured us you couldn't contract BSE from eating contaminated meat.
The moral I think is make your own mind up about everything, though inhaling trych' or any of the other chemicals or dust obviously isn't a good idea neither is getting 'stuff' on your hands. I wear palm gloves from toolstation, about £1.50 a pair and last for months. I only ever need to wash my hands with soap and water.
I do have an unopened ( metal) of gunk from the 70's......I'm open to offers 

[Wittsend]

I do have an unopened tin ( metal) of Gunk from the 70's......I'm open to offers 

Vintage Gunk 

Its value can only increase.
... one day on Antiques Roadshow 

By chance I noticed on the Bangers & Cash programme the other day, an unopened bottle (sold in glass bottles back in the '60s) of Castrol engine oil went for £70.

[Richard]

Remember when Gordon Brown said diesel was good for the environment, better than petrol so skewed  tax in  it's favour. Now diesel's no good and it's electric cars.
Remember when we were all encouraged to burn wood to help the environment and Drax was turned over from coal to wood fire. Now Bristol council is considering fining people who use wood burners £300.
Remember when John Gummer stuffed a beef burger into his daughter's mouth and assured us you couldn't contract BSE from eating contaminated meat.
The moral I think is make your own mind up about everything, though inhaling trych' or any of the other chemicals or dust obviously isn't a good idea neither is getting 'stuff' on your hands. I wear palm gloves from toolstation, about £1.50 a pair and last for months. I only ever need to wash my hands with soap and water.
I do have an unopened ( metal) of gunk from the 70's......I'm open to offers 

I agree. I too wear gloves and I think you'd be hard pressed these days to find a professional mechanic that doesn't. I think that is a good thing. I also think it's a bit cynical – and grumpy-old-men-like – to say that everything new is worse than everything old.
Richard

[diffwhine]

I also think it's a bit cynical – and grumpy-old-men-like – to say that everything new is worse than everything old.

Absolutely agree, but its great fun doing it!

I come from the Rick Wakeman School of grumpy people - the odd thing I have to grudgingly admit may have improved a bit.

[Richard]

Hm, where does that remind me of

Richard

[Richard]

(Finally found the way to embed the gif...)
Richard

[Beowulf]

I also have an old tin of Gunk and its almost full. For washing oily hands I liked Swarfega, but always finished off with soap to get rid of the smell. But then I found something called barrier cream, after that I never used anything else.

Call me Mr Softy, but soaking my hands in some of the chemicals mentioned in earlier posts, doesn't seem like a very good idea, because although the skin is waterproof, it is the second most common route by which occupational chemicals enter the body.

Its not uncommon for so called wonder drugs, or stuff for garage workshops, to eventually be removed/banned for health & environmental concerns. Remember Thalidomide & DDT ? About 10 years ago we were told our toothpaste, shower gels and other cosmetic products, contained microbeads (synthetic polymers/polylactic acid etc), it then took about 4 years for this crazy practice to be banned in the UK.

It seems these multinational conglomerates, with their clever scientists/chemists  , invent these things and then have us guinea pigs test them. And as Ken has said above, its happening with our food to, try to read the very small print of ingredients/additives on the packet and unless you have a degree in chemistry or the like, its not likely you`ll understand any of it 

[Richard]

I have never understood why there should be nanoparticles in car shampoo, or hand cream, or any kind of food for that matter. Are nanotubes the new asbestos?
Richard

[Eve]

I recall reading some time ago that old school car mechanics suffered a higher than normal incidence of testicular cancer.
It was thought the standard practice of keeping an oily rag (often soaked in old engine oil) in their trouser/overall pocket was the cause.
I'm careful to avoid skin contact with used engine oil and clean any off promptly that does get on my skin.
I also don't use it to protect the chassis or on the springs. I use old EP90 instead.

[Ken]

Going back to the subject of food. I live in a very rural location, surrounded by farmland. It's completely dead, there's not a living thing in the soil due to chemical farming. A lot of crops are sprayed 7 times using anti fungal, insecticide and herbicide. That's after glyphosating the field before starting. To encourage the crop they throw nitrates around and slurry which contains hormone treatment, anti worm and anti biotics.
Having seen at close quarters how food is produced we grow our own, we're lucky to have enough land to do so though it takes a lot of effort. That said we still have problems, our water supply is from a bore hole ( no mains water, sewage or gas here) and that too has been poisoned by the local farmers. The nitrate level is 5 times higher than the UK approved maximum and 25 times higher than that of the US.
Be careful over everything, your food is contaminated, don't add to your problems by being casual with our hobby.

[Exile]

Not keen on farmer-bashing.

Farmers will grow your food any way you want, if you will pay the cost.

The fact is that consumers won't - and if the price of UK food goes up, Aldi will buy it elsewhere however it is produced, just so they can say "it's cheaper than Lidl."

All politicians since the War have been committed to "cheap food" - they wouldn't get elected otherwise.

No matter that it may actually be "cheap 'n nasty food."


How many people die from agricultural-chemical poisoning, compared to alcohol poisoning?

Yet kids are allowed to pour vast quantities of alcohol direct into their bloodstream, dispensed by people with no training at all in how to handle poisons.....


Priorities?

[diffwhine]

I started this off as a mini tongue in cheek rant. Treat it with the spirit for which it was intended - just a bit of fun. It's probably not necessary to take this too seriously.

[Exile]

I agree DW.
Just couldn't let the previous post go unanswered.

So what DID happen to Gunk?

[Ken]

Not farmer bashing, my farming neighbours are good people, I get on well with them. What I said is reality. Be aware of the chemicals you are exposed to.