A neighbor's granddaughter got tung oil on her concrete porch while staining the front door. Unfortunately, it's been a few months now and I'm trying to help her find a way to remove the stain.
I tried paint thinner and mineral spirits which is what is recommended on the can for cleanup - but no dice. Yesterday I got some concrete and driveway degreaser, scrubbed it and then power washed it. Nothing so far has worked.
I suggested she might want to buy a nice outdoor carpet to put over it.
Any ideas on what might work?
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stain the whole porch– jsotolaAug 7, 2020 at 0:58
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That is an option, but since it's concrete it'd have to be painted which would require constant upkeep. We're hoping to find a way to remove it.– HoneyDoAug 7, 2020 at 2:20
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have you tried using a wire brush?– jsotolaAug 7, 2020 at 3:10
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Good suggestion - I haven't tried that. Thanks, I still think I'll need some type of solvent to break it down a bit.– HoneyDoAug 7, 2020 at 3:22
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2 Answers
Caustic soda.
Sprinkle on and dampen to a paste, cover with newspaper and plastic sheeting. allow to sit several days, sweep off, scrub, and rinse off with plenty of water.
Danger: corrosive: Keep away from aluminium, Wear water-proof gloves and eye protection. Wash with water without delay if you get any on you.
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Thanks for that idea - good suggestion. I'll suggest that to her and see if she wants to give that a try. She's also concerned about not harming her flowers with runoff from the cleaning.– HoneyDoAug 7, 2020 at 14:19
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@Jasen-Ordering the sodium hydroxide. One question: I understand covering it with plastic but why the newspaper?– HoneyDoAug 8, 2020 at 4:24
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Followed your directions but the tung oil just spread out over a larger area of the concrete. It's lighter in color but turned into big, ugly splotches. I tried a second application and power washed after 4 hours (didn't want the diluted tung oil to reabsorb) but it still didn't clean it. Now I'm thinking TSP or muriatic acid. Thoughts?– HoneyDoAug 29, 2020 at 3:35
The Sodium Hydroxide helped to break up the dried tung oil but still left mottled blotches on the concrete. I followed that up with a muriatic acid solution and that solved the problem. I applied the solution to the wet concrete, scrubbed it in with a long-handled brush and then power-washed it. It looks great!