Motor oil stain removal.


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Old 12-26-14, 12:31 PM
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Motor oil stain removal.

Hi,

My car recently developed an oil leak and I got some motor oil stains on my concrete driveway. I tried using BEHR concrete and masonry cleaner, but it only made them fade to a lighter shade of grey. I searched the internet for any DIY videos for removing motor oil stains from concrete driveways and seems like others get the same results as me, i.e. stains get lighter, but don't dissappear.

Is there a product or a method out there to remove them completely?
 
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Old 12-26-14, 12:42 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

Kitty litter works pretty well but it has to sit there for a while. Portland cement can do the same thing if you can keep it from getting wet.
 
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Old 12-26-14, 01:39 PM
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I use gasoline with dry seed or kitty litter on top of it. Let is sit over night, rub the back of a push broom on it, then sweep it.
 
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Old 12-26-14, 01:45 PM
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A weak solution of sulfuric acid will work, but then you'll need to retreat the area if the drive has been sealed.
 
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Old 12-26-14, 05:50 PM
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Thanks for all the replies.

Portland cement worked. For best results I cleaned the area with some commercial concrete degreaser, let it dry, then spread the cement on top and swept it almost right away. The concrete is still slightly different color where the stains were, but you have to really look for it to see it.

Now what do I do with the 47 lbs of Portland cement that came in a bag?
 
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Old 12-27-14, 07:35 AM
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Try to sell it on Ebay.
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Old 12-27-14, 08:25 AM
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Donate to Habitat for Humanity.
 
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Old 12-27-14, 08:42 AM
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Pulpo...what is "dry seed" exactly?

Rinnce...you may want to hang on to it for a while. Oil stains have a tendency to reappear. That's why you normally have to leave the absorbent on for a while.

Btw...I'm not a fan of the masonry cleaners....but there is a product called OSR (sold at Lowes I think, HD prob has something similar) that you just pour on the stain and let dry. Citrus based and it draws the oil out as it dries. Works pretty well.
 
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Old 12-27-14, 08:59 AM
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GunGuy

CactiGuide.com • View topic - Oil-Dri Premium Absorbent

It's an oil absorbent that comes under a bunch of names. That just happens to be the name that we called it. The above site has a couple of examples. I was an auto mechanic in the late 60s & early 70s. We used it in the shop to remove oil stains from the shop floor. We would pour gasoline on the stain & throw some seed over it. The longer you let it set, the better. Then we would grind it into the stain with the back of a push broom. The concrete would look new after we swept up the seed. Kitty litter will work too but the seed does a better job. Everyone is afraid to use gasoline but it works the best & you won't have a bag of cement left over that most people will never use.
 
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Old 12-27-14, 11:45 AM
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Ahhh sure, now I know what you mean. All the base auto hobby shops had bins of that stuff and we used it just as you described.
 
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Old 12-30-14, 03:59 AM
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we used a poultice of diatomaceous earth ( fuller's earth ) & vm&p naptha - allow to sit on the oil & keep it cover'd so sun doesn't dry it out too quickly - thanks for the other names, guys
 
 

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