That OIL puddle [Archive] - NAXJA Forums -::- North American XJ Association

DeathByXJ

July 9th, 2003, 10:12

Landlord's not pleased with oil deposit on the garage floor-- while I change the valve cover gasket-- does anything actually work for getting oil out of the concrete-- or at least making it look like it's out?
Thanks for any help...

BenXJCA

July 9th, 2003, 10:20

I've heard that boric acid will get it out. Also what I've heard is that you get some kitty litter and sprinkle a good layer of it over the spill then you pour some cola enough to saturate the kitty litter. The phosphoric acid in the cola is supposed to take it out.
I've never tried this so its not my fault if it doesn't work.
HTH

XJTripp

July 9th, 2003, 10:24

Two prong attack:
1. Prevention : Keep a pile of "oil dry"- a granular substance available at parts stores - on the location of the puddle.
2. Treatment: Hardware stores sell a degreaser - I used one called purple something with success. Just ask the store guy for a degreaser and get yourself a stiff scrub brush or broom.

Lou

July 9th, 2003, 13:23

Two words . . . Grease Magnet (http://www.jelmar.com/CLRgrease.asp)

It works very well.

RichP

July 9th, 2003, 18:19

Amway has concrete cleaner just for that, I have not used it in years but at my parents garage when I lived home we dropped an oil pan from a buddies v6 scout. After the kitty litter treatment [my sister wouldn't let me use her cat :( ] my dad grumbled so I tried the amway stuff, worked. You can also rent a special steam cleaner just for concrete. I saw a special truck that 'Sheetz plaza' has that cleans all their stations, has some kind of fancy gizmo thats about the size of a lawn tractor for cleaning.

imma honky

July 10th, 2003, 05:11

I don't know the name of it, but I used some stuff from Autozone. It was the only brand they had (at the store I went to), so it shouldn't be hard to find. It got stains that had been sitting for almost 4 months.

AZ Jeff

July 10th, 2003, 09:53

Three steps to cleaning concrete free of grease:

1. wash area with solvent (lacquer thinner is real good, but strong and flammable, so be careful
2. wash with strong detergent and water, using scrub brush to work into pores in concrete. (Simple Green is real good here.)
3. PRESSURE WASH surface.

If you plan to PAINT the surface, then the final step is to ETCH the concrete with muriatic acid.

I did all of the above, and then painted my floor of my garage. Oil spills are now a SNAP to clean up, as the epoxy paint is NOT porous, so the oil does not soak in. It was expensive ($50/gallon), but it DOES keep the garage floor super clean.