Jump to content
  • 0
Sign in to follow this  
john@AEC

Mechanic makes more work for me

Question

One of the mechanics I know got in trouble recently by not putting the dip-stick in properley. By the time the owner got home and parked the car the sump was empty and the underside of the car was covered in oil that fell onto the concrete floor.

P1000016.JPG

P1000017.JPG

This is the before I clean it, but still 3 weeks after the incident and the owner soaking up the surface oil and degreasing the remainder... plus all the old oil stains.

And this is after.

P1000018.JPG

P1000019.JPG

Of course this is inside the garage/storage area which is full of cardboard boxes and stuff.... so after moving some stuff I had enough room to walk around the stain without tripping over, but certainly not enough room to get the pressure washer out (even if I did bring the vacuum). My initial information was, of course, that the stain was on the "driveway". At least I didn't have to clean the whole driveway.

This was simply cleaned with ReKrete CAAPS - mix up a strong batch and scrub into the stain, keeping it wet for 10 minutes, then squeegee off the mess and repeat several times. For lasting effect I left it damp with the CAAPS. Probably spent no more than an hour on site including explaining the process to the owner and chatting about bikes & mud, paintless dent repair, vehicle reliability...

Another happy customer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

12 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
Get some F9 on those rust stains, and it will look nearly brand new. The oil clean up looks excellent.

No F9 available in Australia, we don't have access to half the goodies that you guys do in the US.

I am afraid we have to put up with using Phosphoric or oxalic.

High John, we spoke on the phone a number of years ago.

Cheers

Greg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0

Hi Mick, things are looking up as we could almost get an entire ozzie thread going here.

I have had no experience with Hydrofluoric acid but what I have read on the Net scares me. post-3861-13777245319_thumb.png Hydrofluoric acid burn.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0

Heh heh heh, ''Tis but a scratch''. That would be the worst case senario me thinks. The stuff I use is made by Henkle, which is 8% + some phosphoric as well. Just ned to get a poisons license to buy & store. Contact your local health dept for the requirements. I use it for bore stain removal. Absolutely brilliant.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0
Get some F9 on those rust stains, and it will look nearly brand new. The oil clean up looks excellent.

G'day Scott, thanks. It would have been a great job if it was the whole 4 bay garage as there are a lot of old oil and rust stains, but alas, it was just clean up the oil spill. Plus, as mentioned, we don't get the job specific acid cleaners that you have, so make do with oxalic, hydrochloric, automotive rust converters, aluminium & s/steel brighteners and even h/duty bathroom cleaners.

John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0
G'day Scott, thanks. It would have been a great job if it was the whole 4 bay garage as there are a lot of old oil and rust stains, but alas, it was just clean up the oil spill. Plus, as mentioned, we don't get the job specific acid cleaners that you have, so make do with oxalic, hydrochloric, automotive rust converters, aluminium & s/steel brighteners and even h/duty bathroom cleaners.

John

Looks great John and if the customer is happy that's what counts.

As for the hydrofluoric acid there's no job that's important enough for me to use that nasty stuff on. Hydrofluoric burns from the inside out from what I was told so you could get it on your skin and not even know it's attacking you yet before it starts burning you up. At that point your pretty much screwed.

Besides that I hear Hydrofluoric acid is great to use but to me it's not worth the "Danger" factor.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0

I'm sure greg has a great product. But, I've been doing just fine for years getting rid of rust and other stains with other products and the same products. It's weird seeing all the hype about getting rid of rust !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0

And the same mechanic makes more work for me….

 

Same story - dipstick doesn't replace dipstick properly and underside of car gets covered in oil on trip home, oil then drips onto the garage floor.

 

DSC_0075.jpg

 

DSC_0077.jpg

 

DSC_0078.jpg

 

This one was worse as the owner did nothing to clean it up - not even news paper over the top, and it was a couple of weeks before he could arrange a time for me to clean it.

 

I didn't bring the vacuum this time as it is in pieces for (pre-sale) maintenance, so it was out with the bucket and broom.

 

DSC_0081.jpg

 

DSC_0082.jpg

 

DSC_0083.jpg

 

It'll look a lot better when the concrete dries.

 

The owner was very happy, which will make the mechanic/service manager happy which makes me happy (and paid).

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 0

No F9 available in Australia, we don't have access to half the goodies that you guys do in the US.

I am afraid we have to put up with using Phosphoric or oxalic.

High John, we spoke on the phone a number of years ago.

Cheers

Greg

Hi Greg, sorry about the delay in responding…. yes I remember, how's the late night mall cleaning? John

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Sign in to follow this  

×