removing oil patches from block paving

[Stephen]

Hello,

Sorry if you see this twice, I unsuccessfully tried to cross-post to the uk.rec.cars.maintenance group

I have some engine oil on my block-paved drive. Is there any way to remove it? I have a feeling that when this has been discussed before, the answer has been only if you replace the blocks!

I have found the uk.d-i-y faq page:

and I have also had a look around via google.

Jizer seems to be recommended, so I may pick-up a can of that. I have never used it before, but it might come in useful for other jobs, even if it does not work for this.

The above link suggests paint brush cleaner; is that the old fashioned solventy one? I think the ones I have seen recently are ecofriendly water-based ones; will they still work?

I have read suggestions of using petrol or paraffin as a solvent. I am sure petrol might work but it's flammability is a concern.

I am too young (!) to have had any experience of paraffin; I assumed it would be like diesel and not evaporate; am I wrong about this?

Am I dreaming it or was Thomson's oil patch remover recommended here once upon a time? Is it better than any of the other makes?

My pressure washer has a tank for adding detergents but I have never used it; I have only ever sprayed water. I am guessing a preparation (like the Thompson's) where you apply the solution and allow it to soak in, would be better than spraying it as it would dilute the solution and also reduce its contact time with the oil?

Thanks, Stephen.

[Capitol]

I have always used a mixture of Fairy liquid(or simila and Ajax powder, spread over the stain and left for a day before washing off. That is on a concrete drive.

[Tim Watts]

Fairy liquid and a wire brush can remove a lot - depends if that will damage your blocks too much.

[RobertL]

is it new (golden) engine oil or used (black) engine oil? My experience is that new oil can be cleaned with washing up liquid and a scrubbing brush. But old oil is full of black steel dust which is left behind as a stain eve n if you manage to remove the oil. It's the same problem if it gets into c lothes.

Robert

[Stephen]

black unfortunately ;(

[charles]

I haven't had to do this for many years, but "Gunk" was the answer then.

[DerbyBorn]

charles wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Remember the good old days when all cars leaked!

[Dave Liquorice]

Neat washing up liquid worked in a bit with a scrubbing brush then just left, rain does the rest.

[Dave Liquorice]

Splodge of washing up liquid and a scrubbing brush is all that is needed. 25p and 5 mins tops. New blocks won't match either and may never match depending on the enviorment and blocks.

An hour would get me to the nearest builders merchant who might have blocks...

[Stuart Noble]

WUL is a very inefficient surfactant for engine oil. Its HLB is all wrong. Keep the brush but use something designed to emulsify oil/tar

[Fredxxx]

I've just sprinkled washing powder on the offending oil. It's also good at socking up any excess that hasn't yet sunk in.

Then let time and the weather do it's bit. Reapply when the blocks are still damp after rain.

[Dave Liquorice]

Meh. It works and most households will have some.

A lot of people in this thread seem to be going along the lines of "I'm cleaning the blocks, must use a method that produces instantly clean blocks". Rather than just quickly applying something and letting time and rain do the rest.

[Stephen]

OP here. What's an HLB?

The oil was not a leak, it was a spill, aided by gravity as the drive is sloping. I managed to absorb the excess. All I had to hand at the time was plaster, so I threw that on!

The only other thing I had to hand was washing up liquid, so I tried to rub that in with a brush and rinse off.

I don't know if the washing up liquid helped; there was still a stain there but would it have been even worse if I had not used the washing up liquid?

I bought some of the Thompson's oil stain remover and tried that.

I got the pressure washer out and cleaned the whole drive. This seems to have shifted most of the stain. I can still see it faintly. I'm unsure whether the applications of washing up liquid or Thompson's helped or whether it was just the power of the jet.

Could it be that the blocks were so dirty the oil had stained the dirt on top rather than penetrating the blocks? I do wonder whether the pressure washer may even have taken some of the top of the block off?

I didn't think to change the blocks because the new ones would probably have been so much cleaner and lighter and stood out.

Hopefully time and weather will take car of what is left.

Thanks for all your help.

[Stephen]

I saw this in Halfords. Its main ingredient is kerosene. So does this mean that paraffin would do the same job and be much cheaper?

[Andy Burns]

I would guess

but I don't know why anyone would assume it's such a common abbreviation that it doesn't need spelling out on first use.

[PeterC]

Could we kill 2 threads? Just use Adam's pussy on the paving, FFS!

[The Natural Philosopher]

Surely I remember reading that the best way to do this was to wipe it with a cat?

[Dave Liquorice]

It's still "oily" and volatile so evaporates leaving what ever it has picked up behind... Not as cheap as washing up liquid. Your initial action on the spill with plaster and rinseing off with WUL was good. The PW and Thompsons may have done a bit but with the residual stain just work some neat WUL into it and let time and rain do the rest.

[764hho]

Only works with a freshly killed cat.

Live ones squirm too much and you can end up severely wounded and getting the blood off is MUCH harder.