?...removing oil stains from driveway?

I've had good result using a product called Pour N Restore. Picked it up from Ace Hardware. You pour it over the stain and let it dry over a day or so. It has always worked for me taking oil stains out of our pavers. Good luck! David

 

Try some degreaser.

Spray it on, hose it off.

 

I have used Brake Kleen, but TSP(tri sodium phosphate) in a paste solution with a hard bristle brush seems to work the best. Just scrub it with force.
I also usually use a pressure washer before and after this process by running HOT water through the system.
It takes all the oil out unless it has been saturated into the concrete or paving stone for years.

 

Do yourself a favor and buy some of the Pour and Restore. The stuff is magic. We have concrete pavers and have had quite a few oil spots to deal with. All you do is pour the stuff on the spot and let it dry. Brush away the dried spot and oil stain is gone. No scrubbing, etc. It take a lot to surprise me and sell me on an item, but this one did it. Good luck! David

 

I've done this.

Spray it onto the patch, agitate it a bit with a brush, then spray it with a pressure washer.

There were no residual marks and it blended in perfectly with the surrounding pavement.

 

spray on degreaser liberally to stain...something like ZEP concrete cleaner, or purple power works. agitate and scrub, then rinse off

 

I've had a concrete paving stone driveway for 16 years and just about every time I drive the 308 I get a few oil drips on the pavement. I keep a gallon jug of turpentine and a wire brush handy. A little splash of turpentine and a few scrubs and the oil is generally gone in the first application. It's a lot cheaper than those fancy cleaners and works fine.
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Pour gas on it . . . set it on fire. It all burns away.

 

Dear Ferraristi,

I've used all of the above on a very stubborn deep oil stain on my concrete driveway. I finally had to use muriatic acid on the stain. It got it completely out but it ate away slightly at the concrete surface. It also left a super clean spot. So.....this weekend, I have to power wash the whole driveway to match the clean spot and then Thompson's water seal it all over again.

...yes, sometimes, I overdo it....


Shamile

Freeze...Miami Vice !

 

Do not use muriatic acid even if diluted with water, it is dangerous to you and your concrete!! You can quickly destroy your concrete surface.

Power washers work well or if you can get the paver out, it is possible to flip it over. This will depend in the type of paver, the gaps and the amount of sand used to lock the pavers in place.

 

I never thought of doing this, and there are no left over marks?

The amount of smoke form the oil burning may raise some eyebrows with the neighbors but they will get over it.

I have also heard of people using kitty litter except you don't simply leave the kitty litter on the stain and assume it will absorb all of the oil, you have to grind it into the oil spot with your foot but supposedly it works. After doing this for about 10 or 20 minutes, sweep up the kitty litter, spray off what you could sweep up and you may need to wash the spot once more to get the last bit of kitty litter up.

 

Dear Ferraristi,

I had no choice. I have used everything over and over. This was a very deep stubborn oil stain. Muriatic acid is dangerous but used with the proper safety gear and precautions, it will do the job. I poured it on pure and scrubbed for 5 minutes, washed off with water and the stain was gone....after a few years of trying. It did dissolve some of the lime in the concrete and left a few pits....small trade off for a perfectly white driveway with one stubborn stain.


Shamile

Freeze...Miami Vice !

 

The easiest way to remove oil stains from your driveway................park your Ferrari on cardboard, hee hee hee, that's what I do, mostly mine leaks antifreeze, after a run, it just dumps a bit, but that doesn't evaporate, seems it sits forever. I did absorb it with sawdust from a construction site, same as kitty litter I suppose. I more or less meant this to be a joke post, but I actually have a few small stains on my garage concrete floor from antifreeze, no oil leaks! Cheers, Dino

 

For a quick solution if you don't have any of the above - take some powdered laundry detergent, mix it with a little of water (you want it a little thick like pouridge as opposed tow watery like soup) and simply brush it on the oil stain. Leave it there for a day and then wash it off the next day. I have a brick driveway, this is what I have been doing for years and it works fine (my dad taught me this trick).

 

I have heard Coke does it too. it gets rid of rust and pesky corroded wires too so why not a try?

 

Much safer than Shoemile.

 

This sounds very similar to the Pour N Restore I've purchased at ACE Hardware. Definitely low exertion for great results.

 

Most of the time I use paint thinner and kitty litter. Just pour some thinner on the stain. Let sit a few minutes. Then put kitty litter on to soak up the thinner. Cleans up easy and no work. Pavement looks new again. Been doing this for years. Works good on driveways and garages. Bad for grass though. Most old cars seem to leak some. On real stubborn stains that have been there awhile I spray on some cheap oven cleaner. Let soak for a while and hose off. If all this fails I use carb cleaner.

 

Yes, good point.

 

I suppose I've never had to deal with this issue. I do; however, remember as a kid, my friend's dad would pour ether on the oil stain then immediately wipe behind the pour and it was removed like magic.

For a safer, and easier method, I would recommend a commercial power washer meant for concrete surfaces. Seems to work for commercial property so why not the house?

I know not everyone may obtain one, but there are companies that do this fairly inexpensively.

 

Kitty Litter works best after having been blessed by the kitty

Actually, it does soak up the oil but isn't great at stain removal.

Cheers, Hank

 

This is what we do, and it works well.

 

Ronsonol (Zippo) lighter fluid and an old toothbrush is an alternative to gasoline (plus it's probably cheaper than gas, too!!)