Projects Oil stained garage floor

Try kitty litter pile on it for a couple of days... sweep up and reapply.
Then use some engine degreaser (I use this stuff called engine brite.. maybe a Meguire product). Then clean up with a dripping rag of dawn soap and water, then final rinse with clean water...
If stains on the garage floor are an issue for you there is a kit to put down an epoxy floor that start around $250... spills and leaks just wipe up off that stuff.
Or, replace your wifes old cookie sheets with new and take the old ones to the garage.
Chappy

 

Oil dry and a block of wood. A little labor intensive but it works.

 

I have had great success by scrubbing in gasoline then pour diatomaceous earth absorbent (the stuff you get at the auto parts store) and grind it in with your foot while the gas is still wet, enough to have dry powder left. Let that set overnight. Next day stain is gone.

 

spilled petro products get soaked up to control mess and slip danger.....fuels and other flash-off stuff gets paid attention to until it,well, flashes off.....grinding dust and slag gets swept up.....nuts , bolts, and small parts get swore at cause ya can't find the S.O.B and JEEZUS!!!! I" just" dropped it!!!! ......It all gets to be part of yer shop's story. Stay safe out there folks , it's a strange new world

 

The fumes from the Muratic Acid will rust every piece of bare steel around the shop. Did it once, came in the next day to the results

 

Varsol and floor dry little safer than gasoline

 

I use kitty litter and rub it on the stain with my shoe works for me.

 

Do not use muriatic acid.
It will eat the concrete.

 

I have the opposite problem, I have a small patch on my floor where there are no stains at all.

 

I use a good dose of paint thinner on the stain, use an old brush to work it in, then slightly wet the are
with a hose and sprinkle well with Tide or another POWDERED detergent. Use the brush to work it
in again very well and then hose it off. Try to keep the area moist after applying the detergent until you
have had time to hose it off. After it dries, it looks like new.

 

be careful when mixing too many chemicals together - never know what the mix will do to your skin, eyes, etc - Brother-In-Law was cleaning his boat, and was taking too long - "more is better" took over and mixed up a batch of cleaners that burned holes in his arm when he accidentally splashed some -

 

Brake cleaner, followed immediately with floor dry/ or kitty litter. Brake clean instantly breaks up the oil, the floor dry absorbs the liquid out of the concrete. Make sure not to let the brake clean dry. It needs to be liquid for this to work. You will now have a “clean stain” where there was a dark stain. Works instantly and seems almost magical. Sweep away the stain. Nothing works better or is easier to do.
Take it from someone who has owned diesels, harleys and a wife that is intolerant of oil stains.

 

HA HA !

 

I have used Gunk Engine Cleaner and it works good. It did bleach the concrete a little bit. There is no scrubbing. Just let it stand for a while and rinse it off. Good luck.

 

My pal Dave recently did this and the shop floor looks like it was recently pored, I was blown away with the results, I'm waiting for warmer & drier weather where I can move everything outside and do the same. HRP

 

Fresca

 

Last night I was sitting down taking a little break reading your post and looking at ring stain from the edge of drain pan. I said well I’m going to try this. The stain is not fresh maybe 10 months old. It didn’t work for me.
1/2 can of brake cleaner and immediately kitty litter. Like magic that stain remains unchanged.

I think I might just get a pan of drain oil and a roller to make the whole floor covered in color. Seems easier and probably look kinda neat. These are acid stained and clear sealer but you get the idea


they paid big money for that.
We can do oil stained garage floors for cheap

 

Soooo, just wondering......are ya gonna fix the oil leak first, or ya just like cleanin' floors.....?

 

Not Shute if it was mentioned here but Palmolive works way better than dawn , pour it on , scrub with a broom and hose

 

If U use kitty litter U must have an inside cat. I like the sand idea, she lives outside!! She went in the garage once & spent 2 days. She doesn't go there any more!!

 

My boss, Al Milo had me doing this on the garage floors when I was a teen working for him, been doing it even since.

Another thing is dry laundry soap and a mop and bucket. Clean and rinse down.

Cliff Ramsdell

 

Yes cat litter or floor dry or oil dry it’s sometimes called.

Apply a lite covering over the spot, then scrub it vigorously by rubbing your feet/shoes/boots in it until you’ve pulverized the granules and forced them into the pores of the concrete.

 

I didn’t say an incantation .
Wearever brand is what I have around here

 

Dry Portland cement....let it sit, Sweep it around several days later. Let it sit....repeat

 

Concrete is a porous material. If oil has soaked in it, it is no longer just at the surface and most techniques will only temporarily make it look better. After a while residual amounts of oil will seep up. An epoxy coating will seal the surface, but is best placed over new concrete. You might want to consider an epoxy coating or covering the floor with interlocking (urethane (?)) tiles. I did a white epoxy coat on my shop floor when I built it fifteen years ago. I use diatomaceous earth on oil spots and it does a pretty good job of cleanup, but after fifteen years of use I still have stains and discoloration from all the chemicals spilled. If it bothered me a lot, I would recoat it with epoxy again.

 

Get a concrete sanding block from Home Depot. It's a rectangular chunk of rock with a handle on it. I used it to remove small oil stains from my new driveway with success.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/ANVIL-6-in-x-3-in-20-Grit-Rub-Brick-57457/300976865

 

I wholly agree. Your permanent solution is to put an epoxy floor down.

I had the same issue you are having in my last garage, and when I was building my shop I vowed that that wouldn't happen again. I used ArmorPoxy, a company right here in NJ that was honestly one of the nicest ever to deal with. Their 100% solids product was easy to use and apply, and I ground the floor myself with a grinder I rented from Home Depot. Is it more labor intensive than just cleaning up an oil stain? Sure. But the finished product is well worth it. Now, oil, PS fluid, god knows what else, can lay on the floor for weeks. I come by with a mop bucket and brush, and wipe it right up good as new.

Here's a shot from this winter after a quick mopping. 4 years of hard use on this floor.

 

Some of these methods are pretty involved, damaging or down-right dangerous. There is a product you can use that is probably on your shelf right now that is simple --> good old-fashioned, common, household WD-40. Spray it on the stain, let it sit for 5 minutes. A small amount of elbow grease and wipe up with a rag or paper towel. Done.

 

I use 30 grit sand and work it with my shoe round and round works like a eraser
Works good for me