Jump to content

Cleaning concrete driveway

firecadet613

By firecadet613
in The Off-Topic Bar

Recommended Posts

firecadet613 Enthusiast

firecadet613

Posted
Posted

I picked up some concrete cleaner at Menards yesterday, but it didn't work to well. Oil and tranny fluid is what I'm trying to get out. Some of the oil spots are old, they were here when my brother bought his house. The stuff I have you put on when its dry, scrub it in, let it sit for 10 minutes and rinse. I have scrubbed a ton and it helped a little, but it's still there. There was something I picked up in Denver that worked great but I forget the name of it. Anyone have any good product recommendations?

 

Thanks!

 

Joe

Jug Enthusiast

Jug

Posted
Posted

The problem with oil seepage on concrete is that oil seeps into the pores of the concrete and no matter how hard you try there will always be a shadow of a stain.

 

I recommend renting/borrowing a 3000-4000 psi cold water pressure washer and getting the 0° rotating tip. What that will do is create a concentrated pencil thin stream of high pressure water that will rotate in the nozzle to create about a 4-6 inch wide cleaning path. This stream is poweful enough to remove the top layer off the concrete including any stains, etc. Just be careful as small bits of concrete will be removed and splatter. Wear your goggles, gloves, boots, etc.

Machine Enthusiast

Machine

Posted
Posted

The additional problem with using a 0% stream is if you do a bad job the concrete will look real bad. Proceed with caution, and depending on the size of the driveway, get ready to spend several hours doing it.

blackburb Enthusiast

blackburb

Posted
Posted

 

:lol: The "best" concrete cleaner is Tidy. Yes the laundry detergint. Wet the concrete real good. Sprinkle the powdered Tide on the concrete. Using a push broom scrub the Tide into the concrete. Make sure you keep it moist at all times. DO NOT let it dry. Let it set undisturbed for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then hose it off. Results are an almost new looking driveway. This is an old shop trick. This is how we cleaned our bays in the tranny and raditor shop years ago. I still use this on my current driveway today when someone parks a leaking vehicle on my clean concrete. :jester:

Wingnut Senior Enthusiast

Wingnut

Posted
Posted

Muratic acid is what I have used in the past, as well as a pressure washer....Those are about your best choices.

 

Just be careful with the pressure washer, it can really mess up the concrete if it's a good one.

blackburb Enthusiast

blackburb

Posted
Posted

 

:lol: The problem with using muratic acid is that is etches the concrete, making it more porous than when you started. Anything that drips on it after will soak in faster and further. Muratic acid is great if you are going to paint right after. don't do it! :jester:

99silveradoz71 Senior Enthusiast

99silveradoz71

Posted
Posted

I've used the pressure washer and Behr concrete cleaner or such from Home Depot in the past. The older stains are tough to get out unless you really narrow that spray. Dishwashing liquid will do well on fresh stains, but that's not the case here unfortunately.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Atlas
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By Atlas · Posted

      "Teardown" is complete. Head surfaces are clean and ready, new intake is prepped and ready. Coolant drained and water pump is removed, radiator is removed, new hoses and pump are ready.   The replacement intake is also from a '95 (with I think 260k, the odometer said). Noticeably less pitting where it covers the rear coolant passages. I'm not sure if that's a tribute to more frequent use, more frequent coolant changes/upkeep, or if the intake was machined at some point. But it appears I found a good one.   My coolant hoses were original, and the lower hose still retained the factory spring inside. It's not really rusty, but it's got deposits all over it. Unsure if I should re-install it (will thoroughly clean it first). Someone said hose technology has gotten better since 1995 (has it?) and I don't need the spring. I think modern EPDM is what made those hoses last from 1995-2026, so it's a question of how much suction can the water pump really pull, and will it collapse the hose without a spring?   I'm stopped and waiting for parts, however.   When I first brought the truck home, the fan was intermittently hitting the radiator shroud. I could see someone had monkeyed with the shroud (put a bunch of cardboard as a spacer between the upper/lower shroud halves. Someone said the motor mounts have likely failed and the engine has sagged. I wasn't sure I believed that. The engine is really solid in its mounts: To remove the old intake I *just* nearly permanently welded to the heads with freshly cured RTV and gasket snot two weeks ago, I literally had to use the arms on my lift and a chain with a bolt attached to the intake to pull it loose. It almost picked the front of the truck off the ground before ....scuuuuuuuuuuup.... I could actually hear the gaskets tearing and it broke loose and the whole truck settled back down. Motor barely moved.   SO, those parts I'm waiting on... The lower radiator mounts/bushings had completely failed. The radiator needs to be insulated from the rad support, and the bushings help the rad stand at the correct height. The plastic "baffle" was also destroyed at some point. Someone had attached the shroud to it incorrectly, overlapping a joint that should have been underlapped, creating another suspect issue potentially causing things to hit the fan. Broken tabs, side is busted off, and it's perma-formed/bent where it was jimmied incorrectly.   The baffle? Unobtainum. Long since discontinued from GM, of course. Aftermarket/capa/chinese? Also unobtanium. In GM's infinite wisdom, it appears there are at least two different variations whether the Blazer is 2 or 4 door, and I can't yet tell if they shared the same part with the S-pickups. Plan B, if I can't find a viable used one, will be to create a bracket to re-assemble the critical joint I need to seal a gap with the shroud. But that will bug me, it won't be...perfect.   The water pump bolts appear to have been installed with...plumber's putty. I guess, sure, if it works...? I've found a few "backyard fixes" like that. Someone's been here before....   If I can't find someone to jam bamboo under my fingernails to fill my free time this week I think I'll install the driver's power window motor and replace the rear door speaker that's inop. I've got a genuine GM "9.5" ohm working replacement. Why GM used a non-standard resistance....nevermind. Of course they did, you can get more sound from a cheap factory amp that way.   And the saga goes on...
    • glenn27
      Different requirements for oil filters?

      By glenn27 · Posted

      // Thank you, also for your  response. More information is always good. This 2013 GMC is most likely my 'forever truck"-I'm 77 and retired...and truck only has 42K on it-very clean-so I try to keep it that way.  Tks again for your  response- glenn
    • smooth68
      Alternate wiring for Kicker sub with Bose system. (DO THIS)

      By smooth68 · Posted

      I started my install this weekend. Everything was pretty straight forward but I ran into one issue with running power through the firewall. The nipple grommet on my High Country already has a small harness running through it - has anyone else ran into this issue? And on the engine bay side, does the wire basically just penetrate the factory wiring boot? I did this on my '22 Trail Boss and it seems much easier but thats been a few years. My other thought would be possibly drilling a new hole adding a rubber grommet just to the lower left of the factory hole. Thoughts?   Has anyone used a T-harness off the Bose amp and obtained power from there? It seems a little odd that such a small amp needs 3 power leads
    • glenn27
      Different requirements for oil filters?

      By glenn27 · Posted

      ///// Ok--Thanks for that info--I could not find yesterday when I looked for the specs on that NAPA filter what I wanted. Their website is not very user friendly. I buy all teh filters for  our three vehicles once or twice a year. Have always run NAPA Gold on everything I own....I buy it thru my Son's account for his business-which he has a Heavy Equipment repair shop-one reason he uses NAPA so much-they have such a full line of coverage for just about anything/anywhere- He gets s  good discount because of volume bought. Anyway-Thank you -Sir for your response.   glenn
    • PhilB
      No 12v outlets in 2026 gmc Sierra

      By PhilB · Posted

      It is possible to add your own 12v outlet to your truck.  Check out this video:   I verified via GM Upfitters that pin 31 is the same on the 1500 trucks.  The wire is GM part number 84779405.   You can get the GM 12v outlet from Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Accessory-Receptacle-25774623-13549530/dp/B0F1H9YRGF EWAY 12 Volt Power Adapter for GM   https://www.amazon.com/EWAY-Chevrolet-Silverado-Cigarette-Ignition/dp/B0915RRW6Q/ref=sr_1_1?   I just haven't figured out a good place to put the 12v outlet in my truck.   Some people are getting USB-C to 12V adapters  https://www.amazon.com/WYMECT-Cigarette-Lighter-Socket-Adapter/dp/B0F87WNQKB/ref=sr_1_1_sspa? Not sure if they provide the correct amperage that a device like a tire inflator would need.  

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...