De-Gunking OLD concrete floor?

[BubbaKahuna]

Hi all,
Long time lurker but figured it's about time I joined the fun.

I bought a home built in 1947 that has a fairly nice 2-1/2 car cement block garage with a nice smooth concrete floor that's in really good condition except for a couple spots where 60 years of parking leaky cars have left some deeply embedded oil that actually sweats an oily film every time the temperature changes dramatically. For example, today it started out in the 50s (f) at dawn but was around 90 by noon & climbing. We went to pull the bikes out for a scoot today and I almost dropped mine because the floor was so slippery.

I've used acres of clay & other oil absorbents with no luck. Any ideas about how to get this floor really clean? I've never cleaned concrete but have heard about things like Muriatic Acid & even WD40 (as a cleaning prep solvent) but I figure some of you guys have had to deal with this before so here I am.

I'm not sure if I'll be coating the floor at some point since I'm on a very limited budget. I have no problem with elbow grease - got plenty of that, just not much cash.

If it matters, there is no drain in the garage so whatever I put down or do on or to it needs to be manually removed when the job is done.

Any help is appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[djjsr]

Lacquer thinner works for me but be careful with it. VERY flammable. I have a very old building that had some deeply embedded oil stains. I just did a little at a time, pour it on and let it soak. Wipe it up before it dries.

 

[gabeancounter]

Welcome,
I have a suggestion, but I have never tried it. Read this on another forum by a guy that did floors for a living. Made sense to me.

Get a red bud torch and burn it off. The torch handle is about 2 feet long and hooks to a standard propane tank. The heat actually burns the oil out of the concrete and can be scrubbed off.

 

[Wingnut65]

Welcome to GJ, BubbaKahuna. 50's to 90's is quite a temperature spread, what part of the world is your garage?

I have a concrete driveway and my car likes to mark its territory with a few drops of oil wherever I park it. I use powdered Tide laundry detergent. I have a small box and it comes with a scoop. I spread a little pile over the spots and then mist it with a water bottle or hose just enough to get the soap to work on the oil. After it dries, I brush it off or hose it off. On some occasions I may need to give a stubborn spot another dose.

This may work for you too. Spread it over the floor and a little water and you can almost watch the soap turn brown as it pulls the oil out of the concrete. It can be scraped up with a putty knife, too. For 60 years of oil, it may take a few applications.

Good Luck on your garage project.

jeff

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Everyone's got an opinion, so here's mine: Do NOT use a torch! Beyond the obvious fire danger, there are typically small air bubbles in your concrete right blow the "paste"-the smooth finish you see. If that air super heats with the torch it can pop small chunks of the paste off leaving you with divots that will require repair.

My floor is older than yours but too damaged to paint. Hands & knees with a scrub brush and a gallon of heav duty degreaser; probably several times and then Muriatic acid oughta do it.

 

[FANTASY FACTORY]

Off to Rent A Rama for you, time for a good ole fashioned "steam jenny"
Only way to open the crete and get that **** to float up, then a good scrubbing with the cheapest powdered dish washer detergent you can find and a tampico brush,

This is a annual ritual here at work for our 250 spot underground garage.

 

[John R.]

Welcome,


Get a red bud torch and burn it off. The torch handle is about 2 feet long and hooks to a standard propane tank. The heat actually burns the oil out of the concrete and can be scrubbed off.

I'd be extremely careful if you try this method, have you very welded or cut with oxy/act near a concrete floor it will pop and spit concrete back at you in a hurry. While propane might not get as hot as fast who's to judge where that point it. It will make a mess of the surface finish as already posted.

Again as already posted a steam jenny will do wonders at drawing grease and oil stains out of concrete.

 

[thegarageguy]

Go to your local mason supply house or janitorial supply house and ask for Poultice. It's a paste that gets gooped on, wait till it's completely dry, scrape and wah-lah!!!
It's a bit expensive but it's the only thing that has worked for us. No smelly fumes and no mixing. Let us know how it works.

 

[95M3r]

I know you said you've tried different types of oil absorbents already, but have you tried using a product called Pour-N-Restore? I have had nothing but great success with this stuff. It literally makes your concrete look new without making it look too new. Simple to use...just pour it on, let it sit for 24 hours, and sweep up....just needs to be used in 60*+ weather. The spot then looks like bright/new concrete, but will soon change to the shade of the rest of the concrete floor. Great stuff and fairly affordable. Try Pegasus Auto Racing for great prices and QUICK shipping.....that's where I go at least. Good luck!!

 

[bobabuee]

http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/html/Products_Degreaser.html

i use this straight cheap from $1.00 to $3.00 12oz to 40oz dollar store
it totaly awsome, let soak in scrape ,add more then brush put more then pressure wash ,dont know what is in it but it kicks *** on everthing.

 

[jdub63]

Use Charlie's Soap All purpose cleaner. It cleans everything from false teeth to diesel engines.

http://www.charliesoap.com/products.asp?cartID=2F299B5CEE2B4B708BC9A9E774C8DE98

 

[BubbaKahuna]

Thanks everyone - lots of things to try now! lol

I'm in Wisconsin so the detached garage temps can easily range over a 100 degree F spread over the year. Summer nights can be in the 50s and daytime temps can get into the 90s or above. Some nights/days it's even more of a spread but that's rare, normal summer night/day temperature spread is about 20~30 degrees F. Makes pretty much anything a challenge at times from cleaning to working.

I've welded on concrete before - not fun getting blasted with chunks of hot concrete, especially if they make it under a welding helmet. I've heard of propane burnoff for oil but have been hesitant to try it because of the amount of oil I think is in the floor. When it gets really hot outside in the summers here (90s)+ the cool floor sweats oil & condensed humidity really bad and it's downright slimy.

There's a dollar store about 1 mile from me so I think I'll start with some UberCheapo detergent and see how that flies. If that doesn't do it I might try the Poultice stuff mentioned by thegarageguy - or the Pour-and-Restore mentioned by 95M3r. Since I have neither running water, drain or anywhere to wash product off the floor, scraping everything up in a pile I can dispose of during one of our city "Hazmat Recycle" days is appealing.

Cheers

 

[regguy1]

Welcome,
I have a suggestion, but I have never tried it. Read this on another forum by a guy that did floors for a living. Made sense to me.

Get a red bud torch and burn it off. The torch handle is about 2 feet long and hooks to a standard propane tank. The heat actually burns the oil out of the concrete and can be scrubbed off.

Heat will cause the surface concrete to expand and pop off in chunks...I don't think I'd do that. If you're going to try it test an area that's not in a visible spot before you proceed.

You might try saturating and scrubbing the oil stains with paint thinner, then coat them with floor dry and let stand for a couple days. The thinner might emulsify the oil and allow the absorbent to pick it up...Just a thought