Removing oil stains?

"johnr240z" (johnr240z) 11/24/2013 at 11:47 • Filed to: None

2

27

I have a problem. I have a ratty pair of old jeans I'm supposed to wear whenever I work on the cars. However, I always forget and end up working in my good ones. So I own like 7 pairs of jeans and every one of them has an oil stain somewhere. Any tips on how to remove these stains in the wash?

I was doing valve adjustments on the 240z this weekend (see picture), wiped my hand on my pants, looked down.. FFFFFFFFUUUU I just bought these jeans! You'd think I'd learn.. nope.

GhostZ > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 11:54

0

I have no idea how to remove oil stains, but I just wanted to express how much I love that engine bay.

What year is your 240z? What kind of carburetor setup?

Nerd-Vol > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 11:56

0

No idea. You may want to invest in some work pants. All the techs at the shop wear a dark grew work pant that hides stains.

johnr240z > GhostZ 11/24/2013 at 11:58

1

Thanks! There is so much space, so easy to work on everything.

Mine is a 5/72 and has the original SU carbs. I'm doing the valve adjustments and timing now so I can rebuild and tune the carbs. I just got my rebuild kit in from ztherapy so hopefully she'll be back to 100% by the spring. I may switch to triple mikuni carbs in a couple years. I keep going back and forth on whether I want to keep it mostly original or not.

johnr240z > Nerd-Vol 11/24/2013 at 11:59

0

Thanks, I should just get those and maybe hang em up in the garage to remind me to put them on every time I walk in there.

GhostZ > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:01

0

In this day and age, its getting harder and harder to find an original 240z. But that being said, its easier and easier to modernize and update the cars too.

Do what you want. If you're worried about ruining a classic, remember that they made tons of them and there are already many clean, classic examples still for sale with low mileage. More importantly, some properly modified Zs actually command more desirability, especially if they use period parts or have a racing history.

McMike > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:02

0

Same thing happened to me. I don't touch shit without putting on other clothes or my coveralls these days.

My garage is very clean, but all it takes is putting a knee down in a drip, or leaning up against a part of the car.

Nerd-Vol > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:03

0

Lol, check out some Carhartt stuff on Amazon. I think the twill stuff is really nice and pretty cheap at $25 a pair.

wacopalypsenow > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:03

1

Rub in Dawn Dishsoap. It is petroleum based itself, that is why it so good at removing oil and grease stains.

johnr240z > GhostZ 11/24/2013 at 12:04

1

Yes definitely true. If I had a 1970 240z I'd be more concerned with keeping it completely original. Those are the real collectors ones. Since mine is a 72 it's not a big deal if I modify it a bit. I think I'll wait though, I'm happy with the car how it is and after the rebuild I'm sure it'll feel even better.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:06

0

This shit is tits

johnr240z > wacopalypsenow 11/24/2013 at 12:06

0

Awesome I have some dawn dishsoap, I'll give that a shot.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken 11/24/2013 at 12:06

0

Action Foam!

johnr240z > Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken 11/24/2013 at 12:09

0

Now with TRIPLE the enzymes! I'll give this a shot too.

Nibby > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:16

0

"oil" stains... I know what those stains really are.

I kid, I kid.

johnr240z > McMike 11/24/2013 at 12:17

0

Yeah, I really need to get in the habit of changing. I just step in the garage and think I'll do one thing quick and won't get messy.. then I forget and put my knee in something or wipe my hands on myself.

wacopalypsenow > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:18

1

One more thing: Rub it in on dry jeans. The Dawn does a better job, I guess encapsulating the grease without the presence of water.

johnr240z > Nibby 11/24/2013 at 12:21

0

What happens between a man and his car in the privacy of his garage is no one's business! Don't tell my girlfriend.

Nibby > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:23

0

Okay, Ray Wert.

VincentMalamute-Kim > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:28

0

I wear my old greasy jeans at all times - I never forget to change into them!

The Prince of Peugeot > wacopalypsenow 11/24/2013 at 12:32

1

I can vouch for this method working, I've saved a few nice shirts this way.

desertdog5051 > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 12:45

0

I spray them with BraKleen lightly and then rub Dawn on, fold it up and let it sit overnight. Wash and look at it before putting in dryer.

Frank Grimes > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 13:25

0

Try using hand cleaner that stuff that is white and creamy. You should have some of that if you dont already. Its thick and stays on the clothes and just let it sit there for a while before you wash it. It works great. I tried this one day after washing my hands and thinking I wonder if it work work on clothes if it works on my hands.

SkilletHead > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 14:03

0

Happens to me constantly. All you have to do is throw them in the washing machine with regular detergent plus a half cup or so of ZEP degreaser (or any liquid degreaser of your choice). I once took out a quart of used motor oil from a dress shirt with this method.

In my front-loader, it doesn't even leave any oily residue in the machine. Good luck!

McMike > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 16:23

0

Goddamnit, I just broke my own rule. (I know this isn't bad, but it's relevant because of my earlier post)

There I was, detailing a chainsaw for winter storage, and looks what happened on my Scuderia Ferrari sweatshirt.

I just used dirty fingers to pull a fallen sleeve back up so it wouldn't get dirty.

GRawesome > johnr240z 11/24/2013 at 23:09

0

Give them to your wife to clean…? Just kidding, I have no idea. Maybe invest in some of those dickies coveralls? I have a pair I wear when I work on my cars, they save your clothes, plus have extra pockets for holdings tools, rags, etc. They are thin enough to wear in the Florida heat, which is nice.

ilostmypants > johnr240z 11/25/2013 at 14:26

0

Try hitting them with some brake clean, or maybe engine clean then rinse?

An old tech showed me a trick to get rid of oil stains on carpet in trucks a while ago was to spray it with brake clean and the oil falls through, I assume it stayed on the floor beneath the carpet but who cares, no one got in trouble for messing up any trucks, just had to be sure you could air it out for a while because of the fumes, Now where I work we have brake clean and engine clean both kleen-flo products, the engine clean claims to be safer on plastics, rubbers and paint but has to either be wiped off or washed after, but may offer less a chance of changing the colour of your pants, If anything try it out on your old haggard ass work pants first

another option I used to do this myself when I worked as a welder and did a lot of grinding and got really dirty, was that some laundry mat's have industrial washers, usually a big ass stainless steel thing, that gets the water hotter then a normal washer and so on it worked really well for getting my dirty work pants and shirts not nearly as dirty, also pre soak and rubbing soap into the stains helps allot to break them up,

Good luck

Philbert/Phartnagle > johnr240z 11/26/2013 at 02:23

0

Years ago I went to the local dry cleaners and wheedled a gallon of their cleaning fluid from them. I cannot remember what it cost other than I thought it was expensive at the time. At that time I was a full time stationary diesel engine mechanic who WAS NOT given a uniform allowance. :(

I wore blue jeans to work and the dry cleaning fluid did an excellent job of removing most of the stains I would pick up during the workweek. I don't know if you could even find anything similar as I don't know exactly what chemical they gave me other than it was extremely flammable and I had to use it outdoors and let it dry off before I could go ahead and wash the jeans in the washer. Also it smelled terrible, but once it had dried and the clothes were washed in the machine the smell went away.

P.S. I have also tried the Dawn dish washing liquid and it does work pretty well to, BUT you need to hand wash the Dawn soap out of the clothes before putting them in a washing machine if you use very much of it or have several stains, because just a little bit of that in a machine makes copious amounts of soap foam.