Removing Oil stains on asphalt driveway

[paulsharvey]

No offense, but everyone saying asphalt is just oil, had no idea what they are talking about. It is made out of petroleum or oil, but so is Styrofoam, and you wouldn't put lacquer thinner/WD40, hydralic fluid, gasoline, in that.

Chipseal is Not oil, and gravel! It's either an AC or an asphalt emulsion (think hot mop roofing). Sometimes it has additional rubber binders.

Not playing like I'm a true expert, but I've been involved in inspecting asphalt for something like 16 years. I've seen what 5 gal can of hydralic does, what diesel does, what 'mild' solvents like odorless mineral spirits do.

Detergents, soaps, sand, kitty litter, saw dust, sweeping compound, won't hurt at all, and will absorb or clean the 'free' oil if any is left on the surface. Mild heat will evaporate some of it, and help blend. Adding solvents is only going to make what is Mostly a visual surface problem into a Much bigger one.

 

[Gord Baker]

Evein with a Weed Torch it is a huge job. I would try spreading the lane with dry sand ½" thick or so and just leave it. Some oil may be absorbed. Will the Homeowners Insurance cover)!) the problem? Get the Paving company involved for pro solutions.

 

[DGF]

I have had good luck with the purple DEP cleaner available at Home Dep when cleaning hydro oil off concrete. The problem will be that the oil will soak into asphault if you don't get it right away so the best you can do is get it off the surface. You might had caught most of it with the littler. The good thing is that the staining that is left will mostly weather away.

 

[MHarryE]

So many comments about using a solvent on asphalt. Even a seal coat may not make the stain invisible. Is the appearance extremely important to the customer, because the actions already taken are as good as I think you will get without damaging the long term life. My experience has been mill it up and repave, but we are talking commercial jobs with big $$$ involved.

 

[Denali94]

tell him sorry and it’s going to go away within a few years … he should understand it is not your fault, cleaning it for environmental damage i understand but you can’t loose your shirt fixing it and he has to understand that.

So if you hire me to re-roof your house and I break three windows during the tear-off, it is not my fault? Would you be so understanding? And for what it is worth, transmission fluid and most every other liquid used in a vehicle will damage asphalt - they are solvents which destroy the asphaltic bond to the aggregates. Over time it will get worse, not better.

 

[ajmuller]

Honestly, I did this at my last house with gear oil and tried everything. Dawn, simple green, Zep Driveway cleaner, etc...

Resealing after it dries a bit is the only option that covered it up. Oil just simply seems to bind with the asphalt.

 

[plowhog]

The heat blended the added oil with the asphalt oil. I wonder how much damage they did to the asphalt by heating the surface with a torch. Time will tell.

The asphalt must be heated to apply it, so why would heat damage it during an attempted repair?

 

[plowhog]

Had the misfortune of blowing a transmission oil return line down onto a customers driveway.

What is the temperamant of the customer, and what sort of relationship do you have with them to possibly work out an economic result?

 

[Indiana haymaker]

Try oil eraser or similar products sold by Tractor Supply or Ace Hardware. It’s $13-15 a gallon. Try one gallon first

 

[Rockbadchild]

So if you hire me to re-roof your house and I break three windows during the tear-off, it is not my fault? Would you be so understanding? And for what it is worth, transmission fluid and most every other liquid used in a vehicle will damage asphalt - they are solvents which destroy the asphaltic bond to the aggregates. Over time it will get worse, not better.

How is it his fault that his truck had a mechanical failure ? quite a bit different from breaking window from negligence or poor practice ... you may be right but still sound overdramatic... on highways there is oil spills nearly everyday one happen last year near my home town, oil spayed for half a mile, highways maintenance didn't even clean it up, 3 months later you can't tell the differences nether 1.5 year later.