Removing engine oil stain from floor

[randomrun]

I placed a 15" compass decal over mine and due to its location, it looks great.

[ventura 38]

try the kitty litter first spreed it over the stain work it in with a twisting action with your foot all over the stain let it sit over night if some still remain repeat. it worked for me.

[patprice]

Originally Posted by Peregrine1983

I am so bummed. A careless mistake has left me with a used engine oil stain on my teak and holly floor next to my engine. My boat is hauled for the winter and I just noticed that this used (very black) engine oil has been sitting now on my floor for a month or two. I did not notice it until today is it must have leaked from the container it was sitting in and pooled underneath.

I wiped down the area with a rag and got all the wet oil off. My next approach is going to be to use Dawn dish soap. It is getting lighter, but there is still a darkened, stained area in the wood. I'm dreading my wife finding this because she loves the old floors on our boat........ Ugh....

Any ideas on how to get the oil out of the wood without hurting the finish??

My thought is that it is not the oil being the real problem. It is the carbon and other muck in the oil that is the real culprit. A remedy for that is beyond me.

[Tikka]

we used to use shellite ..pure benzin. for oily stains.

[northwestsailor]

I think Zeehag has the right solution. Don’t potentially make the situation worse. Oil will disperse over time. When working on my engine I put a moving blanket down to absorb the inevitable spills but also is easier on my knees. Easy to wash when it gets too disgusting.
Throw rugs are cheap and virtually throw away items that can hide a world of issues

[Lodbrog1]

K2r is a great product for stains and spills and blood on a teak deck if caught QUICKLY. And that is why many pay me the big bucks to fix/cure/hide ops f-ups

[chris95040]

Maybe I misunderstood, but generally a teak + holly sole is finished - I don't think the oil got into the wood pores, I think the oil stained the varnish, yeah?

So one option almost certain to work is just getting a sharp flat blade scraper + heat gun to remove the finish (stopping at convenient demarcation lines), that should be about 10 minutes of work, but then the real work will be the refinishing and feathering into everything else.

If it were me I'd take Zeehag's approach - clean it as best you can and then see if you can just get used to it.

[sandiegoskipper]

Sorry to hear about your oil stain but there is hope. First, mix a powder of 1 part baking soda (or other absorbent) and 1 part TSP powder. Sprinkle it over the stain and cover it with plastic taped down around the edges - then cover the plastic with a heavy rug. Let it sit for a few days. The TSP will dissolve the oil and the baking soda will wick it up. Vacuum up the powder after a week then re-oil the now dry teak with a small amount of linseed oil so it retains its "high oil" nature.

Skip

[hellosailor]

Skip-
Linseed oil, even boiled linseed oil, is a plant oil and always oxidizes and turns dark as it ages. Might be better to use "teak oil" or Scott's Liquid Gold, products that won't oxidize and cause darkening later. Linseed oil is best used for window putty.(G)

[RaymondR]

One of the tricks they taught me when I worked in a garage was the rub in clean engine oil to take up and dilute the dirty oil in the stain before attempting to remove it with soap and water.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Zeehag, perhaps you could hire a good local woodworker to inlay a veneer design. Mother-of-pearl, rare woods, you know, make a real Persian rug inlaid with veneer instead of cloth?

there is no way in HELL i would mess with my full thickness non veneered sole.
the color is gone now. all is good and my sole VIRGIN not geeked chopped nor befouled.
there is nothing so ugly as a patchworked botch job on teak and holly sole.
i will save awesome woodworking skillZ for mast creation and tables in form of marquetry top.