Ok, I know my teener is the only one that has an oil leak. But my real problem is how to remove oil spots from my concrete driveway. Does anyone know a good way to remove oil spots.

Regars,

James

HD sells a great product. not what I use though.

I am old school.
I pour kitty litter on it and allow that to suck the oil out of the concrete for a day or two (if it rains, start over)
Put a plastic sheet over the kitty litter to keep it from getting dew on it at night.

After one or two on the final round, use less litter and use a small 2*4 about a foot long and grind the kitty litter into the concrete while using the board like a sponge...swirl it around .
You wont see the stain after that.

Once you have it cleaned up, seal the concrete so it will no longer absorb the oil.
Also, old cardboard makes a great parking spot.


Rich

pressure washer and a good degreaser

let the degreaser sit on it and do its work for a bit... scrub it real well with a scotch brite or other spongelike object.. let it sit for a bit

then take the pressure washer to it

Oil Eater (from Costco) and a wire brush. More aggressive treatment, Muriatic Acid, but it can actually bleach the concrete if used full strength.

I would avoid the Muriatic Acid just because of toxicity, but it works damn good.

"Is my teener the only one..."

I've always had really good luck using powder dishwashing detergent. Just cover the spot and leave it alone. Between dew and rain, the stain is eventually removed. But then my teener had never left a spot larger than a 50 cent coin. If you had more of a 'spill' than a 'spot', something more intensive would be in order...

Can of Brakeclean and some rags normally does the trick...

Nuke your driveway from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Zach



(I use kitty litter)

Portland cement. cover oil spot and forget it.

If someones' POS car or a delivery truck/van "spots" my driveway, I grab whatever liquid dish detergent is under the sink (Dawn, Ivory, Joy, Palmolive, etc.) and squeeze some of the soap onto the spot. I just let it sit until the next hard rain, and then it's gone. Twenty year old driveway, no oil stains, cracks yeah, but no spots.

Paul

100% oil /grease removal. (I posted this before)

Step one go to Lowes / Home Depot and in the paint section buy M.E.K
Methel Ethel Keytone. Otherwise known as Methel Ethel Badshit.

Buy rubber chemical gloves ( Required as this shit will kill you)

Go to oil spot and douse it with the MEK, wait two minutes and take a cotton rag and blot the spot. Best to step on the rag.

Pull up rag and watch the magic as it dries

Earl spot is gone,...gone...gone.

BURN the rags if all possible! As MEK can stay in the ground for twenty years or more. So, please do not throw in the trash.

If you burn the rags, doesn't that just put the chenmicals in the air that you are breathing? Seems dangerous to me???

Just leave 'that' spot for future parking........its goina happen so why fight it?

Dear Teener Brother,

Do not hold your head over the flames and huff it in

However if you are persistant.

I hope you are in heaven before the devil knows your dead

LOL.... if we only put as much effort into correcting the oil leak as we did into oil clean-up....

I'm soooo guilty of this too. =)


I thought using different valve cover gaskets would fix my leak but, in fact, it was the source of it. "An ounce of prevention..."

Tabasco sauce will do the trick on cement, but you've got to be careful with it as it will bleach it, too (and less toxically). I learned about it when cleaning up a spill at Costco in high school. I went and cleaned up a big jar that a customer dropped on the polished cement floor. I got what I could with two pieces of cardboard and a box. After I mopped up the remainder, I walked away.

An hour later (or so), I walked by the spot and had to do a double take. The floor was bleached light gray in the EXACT splatter pattern.

pete

I think I'd want to experiment with time/amount to get the Tabasco idea right for your application, but consider it another route if the above (very good) ideas don't work.

pete

Dish soap cuts oil real well. It's nice not having to go pick up something special from the hardware store.

If there's a spill, then kitty litter to soak up the excess first.

For larger spills, Zach's idea is slick. Except this one time I miscalculated the trajectory and took out the neighbor's driveway.

taught to me by my dad:

put a little gas on the oil spot as solvent

scrub if it is a old stubborn stain

immediately apply kitty litter and let sit for a few minutes

sweep up

No more stain!

Jim

I use normal degreaser kinda junk. Spray it on and let it dry. The first rain or snow will usually take care of it after that. If it doesn't the first time, it will the second time. No fuss, no muss, no scrubbing. Now that I have Oil Eater I'm trying that too. I'll let you know what happens after tomorrow'as snow storm.

I also use Dawn dishwashing detergent to clean my greasy hands and gloves after working on the greaseball. That stuff works great! So I'll have to try that on the driveway as well.

I'll definitely try the Tobasco! Plenty of that around my house.

"Muriatic Acid"

thats some bad, bad stuff. We had a large can of that explode at the dealership when I was a detailer, lucky no one was around. It sprayed everywhere and started eating through 2 cars...not very stable!

I use the purple concrete cleaner from HD, worked great in my garage, have not tried it on the driveway yet...

That's exactly what I meant when I referred to "normal degreaser kinda junk." That's what I normally use and it works fine.

This time it's Oil Eater though. I just put another coat of it on the driveway. Just in time. It's all pre-snow storm windy and gusty outside and the temp is dropping fast.

I just drive onto the kitty litter... Use the weight of the car to crush the kitty litter for a few days, and Viola....

Hardest part was working the broom.

Oh yeah, and it's not nearly as toxic as some of the other ideas

BJH

When I was a much younger pup, working as a chemist (70's), I used so much MEK for my work that I no longer have ANY brain cells! I did develope a serious taste for Tobasco shortly thereafter.

So, when I have an oil leak I sprinkle it with Tobasco, and a spridgen of saffron - gives it that Tuscan flavor. Then I just lick it all up. End of spot & dinner taken care of. I have several other variations - you should write for my recipes.
Pat

Went to CostCo to get OE and there is none available in the bay area.

Regards,

James

PS Zack, I like your thinking...

Oil eater from costco. I got mine in Santa Cruz. Works great.

+1 on muratic acid in its incredible efficiency. It will leave your driveway looking like new.

Wear a mask and neutralize with water what more could you ask for. Reseal when done. Then you can use a pressure washer in the future.

Just go to your local pool supply store and 20 bucks later your driveway looks like new.

If doesn't get it all I use a product called pour and restore. Leave on teh oil stain, let it dry and sweep up.

GO here and get this stuff

http://www.completegarage.com/Pour_N_Resto...n__P146C153.cfm


It is great. I have used it to pull out old stains.

Uhhhhhhhhhh.........

"the benefits of a liquid de-greaser with a dry absorbent to dissolve and absorb concrete oil stains."

even at $3.80 a gallon for gas and $4.00 for a 20lb bag of kitty litter I think you can save about $32.00 by using the gas and litter to lift your stain.

just my .02

Jim

engine/motor flush in a spray bottle works for me....and the cardboard deal..