Cleaning motor oil off wall?

[willbrown82]

I screwed up today and made a huge mess in my garage. I was pulling my wifes car in and ran over a 5qt jug of used motor oil I had on the floor. It exploded all over the floor, work bench, wall and everything in between. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to clean the wall with? After cleaning what kind of primer should I use before painting?

Immediately after of the wall and bench area

Floor

Wall after wiping everything down

 

[Jbizzle]

Uh... Nice workbench... I got nothing except that would ****!

 

[yhprum]

I am thinking oil based primer after cleanup.

 

[larry_g]

That wall space looks to be the perfect place to have some pegboard . Is there a finish on there now, or is it the paper covering of the wall board? Either way I would probably just cover it with a cabinet or slatwall or whatever.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[ctgoodman]

Is your wall sheetrock? You'll either have to have some heavy primer or cover it up. If it where me I would highly consider cutting out the sheetrock and putting in another piece. My luck would be I'd spend big $$ on primer and paint and then have it bleed back through.

 

[willbrown82]

The wall is drywall with texture and paint on it. I may try some simple green and see what happens from there. If I have eventually replace it I may as well try to clean it first. Keep the ideas coming guys.

 

[p_mori7]

I laughed out loud...sorry !

I would have been so ticked off...I am sure the neighbors would have called the cops thinking I was having a fight with somebody in the garage !

You reminded of something though !

When my brother & I were kids...maybe 4 and 5...1967/1968~ish...our Dad had done an oil change in the garage...and left the oil in the drain pan...we found it...along with a couple of paint brushes...and proceeded to start 'painting' the white stucco on the outside of the house...the side facing the street no less...man was he pissed when he got home !

We laugh about it now...but back then he had to chip off all the 'painted' stucco and then have redone...thankfully our neighbor was Mexican...and that was his trade !

In my opinion...don't even mess with it...cut it out...new piece...mud...paint...done.

 

[BC1]

Holy **** that *****. I would imagine anything potent enough to really get the oil off will jack the wall up even worse. I'm also going with the cut it out idea.

If it makes you feel any better, I had a 5gallon pail of waste oil burst in the back of my truck...like the Exxon Valdez all over my street!

 

[Low50s]

Sell the house buy new bigger garage

 

[bczygan]

Spectacular job!

I was only able to let 10 quarts of used oil seep out of a stored drain tank by leaving it on it's side and accidentally undoing the vent.
It does stain the concrete floor a beautiful deep rich color.

 

[jeff000]

You have to admit that's kind of funny.
I'd try brake clean maybe?

I got a few drops of oil on my painted drywall in the garage, and thought I cleaned it off, even put a thin layer of mud over it, 3 months later the two half inch spots that I thought I cleaned up looked like 6" stains that wouldn't wash off. I ended up cutting them out.

I spilled a 2 gallon thing of ATF in my old mans garage when I was about 12. My fix was to put a sheet of 3/4 solid oak (bunch of 3" strips jointed together somehow that my dad was making a poker table from) on it and run away.
The good news is the oak soaked it up surprisingly well, and that part of the garage still has a little sheen on it 19 years later. lol

 

[burke753]

That's impressive honestly. Haha. You can try purple power or brake clean, maybe dawn dish soap. But you're probably going to have to try and paint over it with some heavy duty stuff. If it doesn't bleed through you're good. If it does. Id put a poster up haha. That's almost as bad as when I ran over a 15 gallon drain pan with a 25,000 pound winch truck and oil shot everywhere. Actually no. Yours will never be that bad haha.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nicksnothereman]

I screwed up today and made a huge mess in my garage. I was pulling my wifes car in and ran over a 5qt jug of used motor oil I had on the floor. It exploded all over the floor, work bench, wall and everything in between. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to clean the wall with? After cleaning what kind of primer should I use before painting?

Try one of those magic sponge cloths. They usually have them at the dollar stores. Otherwise maybe ammonia dipped paper towel blotted but it will take many moons.

 

[Norcal]

Scrub the wall(s) down w/ soap & water, then prime with Bullseye 123, have had very good results w/ that product.

That reminds me that I have close to 10 gallons of used motor oil to get rid of, fills up quick when you have a 5.9 Cummins & a 7.3 Powerstroke.

 

[tomshep]

Thanks for the laugh---sorry for your situation.

Being it is drywall, even though painted, I wouldn't waste time or money trying to fix it. Pegboard, Pre-Fab Cabinet, Shelf with backing or cut it out and replace.

Tom

 

[ADSR]

Good luck, bro. That's a big task you have ahead of yourself. The reason i laughed is, i can see myself doing the exact same thing.

 

[75gmck25]

I have found that Dawn dishwashing liquid (which is advertised to cut grease) does a good job of getting the majority of the 1st layer of oil off the walls and cement. However, it will usually still have discoloration from oil that has been absorbed.

On concrete or other relatively non-porous surfaces (toolboxes, etc.) you can then follow up with spray engine cleaner and get most of the remaining stain off. However, in most cases engine cleaner would be absorbed by painted drywall and it wouldn't work well for the walls.

Most decent paints should have limited the amount that was absorbed from a splash of oil. If you are lucky, in a garage they might have used a durable paint that sets up with a hard finish like kitchen or bathroom paint. But if it has absorbed the oil it might be better to cut out that piece of drywall.

Bruce

 

[jethro29]

I thought this kind of stuff only happened to me! LOL.

 

[vjlobel]

Looks like a great spot for a toolbox bikini girl poster to me!

 

[DIC]

Only thing that could have been worse would have been if your wife was standing there

 

[cdestuck]

Well nothing there will ever rust.

 

[sberry]

Soap and water then cover it. If I was stuck in suburbia I would be finding a place to do the oil drop on occasion, its about the 1 thing I would farm out, that and the disposal and the cost of the materials make having it done a deal.
I still spill on occasion but keep it to a minimum by doing things in order and move it before proceeding to other work.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

The longer you wait the harder it will come off. Put newspapers on the floor and sop it up. Wipe everything with paper towels before washing.

Most of us have done something like that at least once...

 

[kbs2244]

Another reason not to have drywall in a shop.
You will never get it out of the paper.
You need to tear off and replace or cover it with something.

 

[bad_idea]

Only thing that could have been worse would have been if your wife was standing there

Not worst, epically amazing. Absolutely amazing. If it had happened to me, I would POed, up until I saw oil dripping off of the wife's face. Then I would laugh until I pissed myself. I'm sorry it happened to you, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. Cut it out or put a cabinet up.

 

[JoeFin]

Another reason not to have drywall in a shop.
You will never get it out of the paper.

While it does stain the paint on the Dry Wall and will need an alcohol primer to cover in 1 coat

IT SOAKS INTO OSB PERMENENTLY

but thanks for playing anywsay

 

[JoeFin]

Should clean up fairly well off the walls and work bench with Simple Green diluted 50/50 in a spray bottle applicator. I clean off grimy machine oil with it all the time and it lifts it fairly easily.

The concrete is another story being that concrete is just porous enough to stain pretty good. Muriatic Acid is about the only thing I know of that will lift oil stains like that

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

So how many did you have before entering the lane Capt. Hazelwood?



Sorry had to say it. I would try some prep sol, oil grease remover from the local auto paint supply. Will take off the oil and should not damage the paint.

 

[smokem2020]

I'd use "Super Clean" from walmart. Cleans concrete well. I use it in a spray bottle. I use it undiluted.

 

[MGUY]

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1858947

 

[MagnumForce]

4.9 gallon jug... if you spilled 5 gallons you need to call the epa. Lol

 

[d.mcfarland]

Wall ... it's already in there if it's not gone. Floor ... this stuff called L.A.'s Totally Awesome Orange cleaner available at Dollar General (i believe) is a really good cleaner that might give you good results.

 

[J.A.Varela]

I recommend an oil based paint

That reminds me. You are warned !

 

[MagnumForce]

Screw it, tear the whole thing down and start over.

 

[ctgoodman]

This also reminds me of a place where I worked. It was in a building that was previously an auto repair shop that had been converted into some office spaces. We had to constantly keep having the carpet cleaned where the bays where. Seems the padding and carpet where put down directly over the concrete and the oil kept wicking up from the concrete though the padding and carpet. there was two 3' oblong spots in the lobby area that would yearly become very noticeably darker than the rest of the carpet.

 

[southalabama]

Clean with cleaner the kilz oil based primer.

 

[InPrimer]

I covered my garage walls with a tempered hardboard similar to cheap shower stalls (with a plastic finish) it's 4X8 sheets with a "H" trim to hide the seams. it's not bullet proof but, ez to clean with Simple green or $1 store furniture polish. I also used it as a backsplash around the sink and behind my parts washer. Instead of adhesives I screwed trim washers 32" on center to hold the panels on

 

[Rod N]

Over 1,400 views! Don't we love to share in each others misery! lol

I feel your pain as I went in for dinner last week letting the oil drain from my car. You get the picture.

But seriously if you want to clean the wall it will be a life long mission. Great place for a car poster!

 

[6768rogues]

I had a similar situation when a hose on my Bobcat gave out. My walls are heavily painted OSB so it cleaned off well. If that is drywall, I would cut out a sheet and replace it.

 

[RPH]

Liquid dish soap and water on the walls. Powdered clothes soap ground into the cement for the floor. Keep the floor dry and let it wick into the soap.