Removing oil stains from driveways

[neb]

Hi all just wondering if anyone could give me tips for removing oil stains... i spilt a fair bit of diff oil on the driveway in my back yard in the "entertainment area" so i want to get rid of it!

i bought a bottle of clr grease and oil remover and used the whole bottle of it and scrubbed with a broom then hosed it down, which got rid of alot of it but theres still marks... anyone got some good tips for getting rid of it?

my next idea is to track down some industrial undiluted degreaser? or maybe even try some paint stripper?

[niko]

im with the last 2 ideas, i usually use this cheap stuff from supercheap 5litres of degreasa in a bottle, thought ide try soemthing different, not as potent as that can stuff, i usually just tip some on stains and dirty patches and give a scrub with a broom only works so much

[Kryton]

the best thing ive ever used (havent tried concrete though) was Nulon throttle body and carby cleaner. no shit this stuff makes degreaser look like water. its $10 a can and id suggest to give that a shot.

[rodderz]

Worse comes to worse if none of those work, try a 10:1 hydrochloric acid to water mix and rub off stain with a stiff brush, then hose clean. This acid is used to clean excess mortar off paving or housebricks after laying and sort of gives the surface a cut and polish. Careful not too strong as the acid can eat into the surface if too contentrated, maybe check on a small patch 1st

[Captain Stubing]

I've always found the hydrochloric acid is the go. Degreasers won't get the ingrained stain out. As Rodderz says, water it down, and go carefully.

[Full Noise]

I’ve tried many things to remove stubborn oil stains, however, you can’t go past a jack hammer. This seems to work every time. I’ll go and stand in the corner now.

Cheers, Danny

[XRated]

Throw all types of degreaser and kero on it... If not, the acid wash is the way to go!

[Damo]

Carby cleaner works good.

But i'd go with hydro acid. There used to be a 5 litre bottle sitting in the basement at work. My work was the old Volvo dealership on whitehorse rd. Anyways the acid dissapeared one day, i think the gronk i work with took it. I dread to think what he used it for..

[BJ]

Originally Posted by Damo

Carby cleaner works good.

But i'd go with hydro acid. There used to be a 5 litre bottle sitting in the basement at work. My work was the old Volvo dealership on whitehorse rd. Anyways the acid dissapeared one day, i think the gronk i work with took it. I dread to think what he used it for..

Do you mean Blackburn Or Nunawading Volvo?

[Damo]

Nunawading.

[Neeek]

Had to remove some oil stains from my garage when I moved out of my rental place a couple of months ago. This worked for me:

1. Hose down the area a bit.
2. Sprinkle down a fair bit of laundry detergent powder over the oil patch.
3. Let it sit for an hour or so.
4. Get a pressure washer and blast the crap out of it.

The only downside is that the pressure washer will leave the concrete looking brand new and chances are that the rest of it will still be covered in grime. So I ended up doing the whole garage and driveway. Came up a treat, though.

[lotsy]

try HiChem heavy duty Concrete cleaner with a stiff outdoor broom, costs a couple of bucks from super cheap, does the job.

[Twisted]

Another useful thing is to soak it in heavy strength/industrial cleaner and then hit it with a high pressure hose or gurney. If you can get your hands on an industrial high power hose that runs with its own little engine then that baby will blast everything right off. We just did my mates GF's house after her housemates VN dropped oil everywhere. Came up a treat.

[neb]

thanks i've got some carby cleaner sitting at home so i'll try that first... and then i might try the hichem stuff if that doesnt work... i'll report back with what ends up working best

[Peuty]

Douse the rest of the area with oil.

[WIKIDSTIX]

weve got an oil stain on the road out the front of our house, its a pretty big stain, how would i get rid of it, because the drain thats near the stain goes to the local lake. im prolly aware that the oil would go down the drain nywayz, but the less chemicals the better. so whats an environmentally friendly way?

[Kryton]

(sarcastically) do burnouts on the oil and get it smokin till its gone? then sweep up the left over rubber. wont be in the water ways then.
but if its a patch more than a stain chuck some cat litter on it for a day or 2, thatll get it up.

[Paull]

I used the hydrochloric acid last weekend. Basically, wet the whole area down and depending on how keen you are, you can either dilute it - 5:1 or 10:1 or quite simply pour it straight on. I went for the latter and it well and truly bleached the concrete. Next time will be a 5:1 mix I think.

[chippa6]

The old man hated it when me and my brother or our friends would leave oil stains on the driveway. as soon as we left he qould get out there with the $1.50 export degreaser from supercheap spray the oil stain leave it for 5 mins come back and hose it all off. It is like mose stains get it early and it saves you half the time to clean it up later.

[WIKIDSTIX]

unless you have a continuess oil leak :P which is fixed now, thank god. lol

[MotherNatureVer2]

I use Cloudy Ammonia to clean everything .......There isnt a stain I havent been able to remove with it ..... the cheaper the better it seems too ..........

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

I’ve tried many things to remove stubborn oil stains, however, you can’t go past a jack hammer. This seems to work every time. I’ll go and stand in the corner now.

Cheers, Danny

: :: : : : :
That will work every time

[Kryton]

so did you get it out yet?

[neb]

I used the hichem concrete cleaner today.. just poured it on the oil stains, scrubbed with broom and left for 5mins then hosed it off. Highly reccomend it for anyone having trouble getting rid of stains on driveways.. worked perfectly, not one sign of the stain left. Also it was cheaper then the CLR grease and oil remover which didn't work very good at all compared to the hichem stuff.