Cleaning tire marks on VCT tiles

[ttod]

Soap and water doesn't seem to do a thing and solvent? That sounds a bit extreme. Any suggestions as to what has worked for you?

 

[The Cobbler]

I have sanded stains out of VCT with random orbit or DA sanders .

 

[ttod]

Thanks but since I park in that spot regularly I would eventually get a depression.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Id be afraid that you have some " Plasticizer Migration " going on there, from the tire to the tile, as in the Cobbler, may be right in it needs to be mechanically removed, by " Mils ", not chemically removed from the surface, because there has been migration literally into the tile, from the tire.

I wont pretend to know the math, but from my days of bodywork, I had to learn about this, VOCs, literally on the move from one substrate to the other. Over the decades, Ive seen all kinds of migration from tires to the surfaces they sit on ( most being painted, but anything with a petroleum base ).

This maybe one of them " chance not choice " deals. I like to call it " bad math " !

 

[Shea]

Has the tile not been waxed? The reason for the acrylic wax is that it acts as a sacrificial layer to prevent tire staining of the actual tile. Occasion stripping of the wax and then reapplication removes any staining and other contaminants that the wax holds and provides a new sacrificial layer.

 

[ttod]

Jeep: I suspect you are right, that whatever porosity remains after regular waxing (thank for the question Shea) now contains rubber compounds. I have a number of solvents I can try and will probably start with alcohol. It may be best to saturate a rag and see if some of what's there will shift into the rag.

My cars are in the garage right now for the holiday period but if anything works I'll get back here to say what it was.

 

[lolaetype]

I'm afraid you are stuck with the tire marks. I had vct in my last house's garage. Tire marks could not be removed. This is why you often see, or used to see, new cars in showrooms parked with a piece of spare VCT tile under each tire.

Solvents can damage the tiles themselves, at least I never found a solvent that removed the marks or didn't damage the tiles.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Jeep: I suspect you are right, that whatever porosity remains after regular waxing (thank for the question Shea) now contains rubber compounds. I have a number of solvents I can try and will probably start with alcohol. It may be best to saturate a rag and see if some of what's there will shift into the rag.

My cars are in the garage right now for the holiday period but if anything works I'll get back here to say what it was.

Let me clarify, my understanding of plasticizer migration, as in I think that is your problem, the solvents in the tire and the solvents in the TILE, are swapping molecules, so its molecular movement. I dont think your getting any solvent to remedy this, short of removing mils of tile with solvents, if such a thing was possible.

I dont have a good analogy, but I think it comes down to this, if you want to get rid of the visual discoloration, youll need to replace the tile, sand or grind out the mils of contamination, or cover it with something physical ( like paint ? ). You are not going to remove it, because its molecular changed the tile and now it is the new color of the tile.

Someone feel free to correct or critique my explanation..

I have not experience in this subject, just the observations, and the understanding of migration as it applies. So Id guess, with the proper amount of wax, it creates a barrier between the tire and tile, keep the molecules from moving. Guessing the solvents in the wax are not compatible with the tile and tires, creating a barrier.

I just recalled, when I was a kid, I worked in a tire store, and the show room floor was loaded with tire marks, from display tires just sitting around, so they dont even need the pressure of the car on them, to do this party trick.

YMMV, let us know if you work this out...

 

[jkuro]

Steel wool, like they do in commercial buildings.

 

[4xdog]

Have you tried SuperClean (the purple stuff)? It's a terrific cleaner and does really well on rubber.

I fear your stains have migrated into the vinyl tile, but I'd certainly give SC a shot.

 

[cb804]

Magic Eraser maybe

 

[Big Bad Dad]

VCT soaks up stuff like a sponge. Ever see what happens if a Plumber drops some of that purple primer on a VCT floor? The purple immediately goes all the way through the tiles. We had to pop up some tiles on a couple of jobsites, and there were as big a purple stain on the bottom as on the top.

 

[rexer]

Maybe change out the tiles where the tires sit with a Darker Gray or Black that way you will not notice it as much as you will be parking in the same spot all the time anyway..