Getting floor oil stain out

[Daubs]

New to me 40x30 pole barn...tried hitting this with Zep industrial cleaner and hit it HARD with the power washer. No luck.

Likely a very old stain.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

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[6768rogues]

We used to dump old car batteries out on the stains, work it around with a floor broom, and rinse it off. Probably not considered environmentally friendly today. And sometimes that spot would be whiter than the surrounding floor.

 

[Daubs]

Hmmmm...I do have a bottle of muriatic acid. Might be worth a shot.

 

[Jackfre]

Paint a red border around it and turn it into a work of art. It is something you can build on.

 

[Wolfman6]

Pour lacquer thinner on it and then shake a generous amount of baby powder on it. The thinner will draw it to the surface and the baby powder will soak it up. It may take a couple of applications, but it is effective.

 

[Dirtydan69]

I’ve gotten good results with WD40 and oil dry/cat litter. Finish off with a good degreaser.

 

[ghnl]

I've used lacquer thinner then spread kitty litter or saw dust over it. Let it soak up into the kitty litter or saw dust then sweep it up.

 

[orangeblood]

Paint a red border around it and turn it into a work of art. It is something you can build on.

you sir, have a refined sense of humor!

 

[Shea]

You may want to try a bioremediation product on something like that. Below is an example from Amazon. They take a while to do their work, but the active enzymes actually eat away the oil.

A more aggressive approach would be to soak the stain with a strong solvent such as MEK, paint thinner, etc. You want the concrete to absorb some of it so that is loosens the oil particulate from the concrete. Obviously, you want to turn of any open flames if you do this. You then cover the soaked area with a layer of pure Portland cement (not premixed concrete or mortar mix) and let it sit for a few days to a week. The Portland cement is a fine hygroscopic powder that will do a good job of absorbing the oil. Sweep it up and check your results.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EOWDMM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[jcal]

After cleaning (regardless of any method mentioned above), will spraying a densifier and sealant afterwards still perform well?

 

[428PI]

Just put a little mineral spirits down on it with floor dry, let it soak up, spread with broom, pick back up and you're done.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Greased Lightning ! Pour is on STRAIGHT. Lightly brush in with a broom. Wait 24 hours and hose off. Let dry thoroughly. Repeat. I have removed old oil stain that bad with 2 or 3 applications.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi,
If you are looking to coat this with an epoxy, we carry a special Oil Stop Primer that is designed to adhere to concrete that has residual petroleum products embedded in it. We find this often with auto shops and such.

 

[MrDeerHunter]

Buy the floor dry and use it as intended. Not cat litter. Sweep it aggressively or grind it in with the ball of your foot. If you do it right you won't ever know there was oil there.

Source: work in an industrial environment and clean up oil multiple times a day.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[GrabberOrange69]

I've used lacquer thinner then spread kitty litter or saw dust over it. Let it soak up into the kitty litter or saw dust then sweep it up.

+1. Works for me too.

 

[02vito]

You can try Pull It Out. I have had fairly good success with newer stains.

If you use the lacquer thinner [or acetone]/cat litter approach, cover the soaked area with plastic sheeting to impede the evaporation of the solvent.

 

[Bad]

Lacquer Thinner usually does the job!!