Removing oil stains from paint work

[form_change]

Likely to be caused by years of a lack of basic care, my latest acquisition has oil stains on the (light coloured) paintwork. However, the paintwork is good enough not to warrant a repaint, so has anyone got a good method for removing or minimising the staining?
I've tried kerosene and wax & grease remover without much success - the stain lifts a little but is still there.
(Related rant)
Incredibly although I was told that this machine was used in a technical training centre, apart from the general lack of superficial cleanliness, one of the 3 gear boxes was dry (another was 1/2 way there) and grease had been pumped into the oil nipples. I would have thought that basic machine maintenance/ care should have been the first thing taught at these places. I bet the instructors or students don't keep their cars that way

Michael

[aboard_epsilon]

think you're going to have to use a cutting compound on it .

there are different grades....

if its really bad get the most course grade..

if you're not bothered use scouring powder on it ..."VIM"

all the best.markj

[justanengineer]

Sounds like its seeped into the paint. Normally I use WD40 and green scotchbrite lightly for the surface stains, and an electric buffer with some fine polishing rouge for the deeper ones. Beyond that, I either strip it or ignore it because I havent found a way of getting it out.

[Evan]

Stains in light coloured paint? Not much chance of getting it out. You could try bleach. Oil is organic while most paint pigments aren't so it may lighten the stain without lightening the paint.

[John Stevenson]

Just use the bugger, they are not made to be polished.

[Bob Fisher]

Sell it! To me at a reduced price, and look for a perfect one.Bob Fisher.

[randyjaco]

Michael,

I think you are going to have to learn to live with it or get ready to repaint. I have a white BP clone. I have tried everything possible to remove the oil stains. They run all the way down to the primer. They can only be covered up with new paint.

Randy

[form_change]

The "just use it" option is the one currently being followed but if there is a simple quick way of cleaning it up I'd do that. I'm not planning to strip the paint or cut and polish the machine (or get rid of it while waiting for a perfect one, although thanks for the offer Bob) just because of a bit of staining. Eventually some repainting may take place but there are enough functional issues to chase down before any of that takes place.

Michael

[aboard_epsilon]

back to this stuff then

[Blackadder]

Just use the bugger, they are not made to be polished.

Well said John


or do we have a concours section for machine tools ,if its got oil stains its been lubed at some stage

[Alistair Hosie]

Mark is spot on all you need is a mild abrasive like T cut or better still some pumice poweder and water with some washing liquid mixed together it is on the surface most likely so elbow grease will be required have fun .Or better still paint it green. Alistair

[Alistair Hosie]

Sir John can't talk gert tells me he's always buffing polishing his in the bath anyway one day it will be bright and shiney. Alistair and he never uses it either according to our Gert

[John Stevenson]

Sir John can't talk gert tells me he's always buffing polishing his in the bath anyway one day it will be bright and shiney. Alistair and he never uses it either according to our Gert

Well you are right on one point and wrong on the other, I'll leave you to work out which

[form_change]

Today I was draining the sludge out of the coolant tank. I'm still debating about using coolant as for occasional use it seems more trouble than it's worth. However, I did some experimenting (ok - discovered something by accident).
I had been cleaning some parts with methylated spirits and grabbed that rag to wipe up some sludge and noticed that did a very good job. I then remembered that I've stripped paint in the past with a 50:50 mix of meths and turps (mineral turpentine - commonly used as a paint thinner here in Oz), so I tried 50:50 meths and kero (kerosene - you'll pick up the language eventually). This is the result -
(this is the before)


and this is after a few seconds of rubbing with a rag.



The combination of the two even if they don't like mixing seems to do the job. I mixed some in a small dish and then dunked the rag in it to pick up both. The meths seems to soften the dried up oil/ grease which the kero can then attack. Separately the kero doesn't work well at all while with the meths (while more effective) requires a dripping rag - with this mix the rag only needs to be wet/ damp. The rag once used came away with some white on it, so I suspect as well as removing the oil residue degraded paint is being attacked slightly as well.

Michael

[jkilroy]

So what kind of mill is this? I see a powered knee, sight glass on right is empty, XLO?

Don't mess with coolant unless you don't have to, for you I would suggest a light, non-staining, cutting oil like Mobilmet 404.