On Wednesday morning, I received a text from an epoxy flooring company about a spill on a resident’s driveway (first photo). The spill involved “Part A” of a urethane flooring solution, though I wasn’t provided with the exact product details. I couldn’t get to the site until the afternoon, a few hours after the spill occurred, and ongoing work in the area limited what I could do at that time. I applied Oil-Dri, crushed/brushed it in (second photo), and hoped it would absorb as much of the resin as possible.
On Saturday, I returned to the site after the workers had cleared out. While faint lines from the spill were still visible—likely because I knew where to look—rinsing off the driveway to remove the Oil-Dri (third photo) helped the lines blend in a bit better, probably because the surface was still wet.
At the company’s request, I cleaned the entire driveway. After pressure washing (fourth photo), the remaining stain became fully visible. It’s still quite prominent, even once fully dried (fifth photo). In hindsight, leaving it as-is might have hidden the stain better temporarily, but since the homeowner plans to seal the driveway in the spring, any residual staining would show through then regardless.
Although the result is an improvement from the original spill, and I had set clear expectations with both the company and the homeowner that the stain would only be lightened not completely removed, I’m not fully satisfied with the outcome.
I’ll be returning once the dumpster, portajohn, and building materials are removed from the other side of the driveway to clean those areas, so I’m looking for recommendations on how to further lift the stain before my next visit. Hot water or steam aren’t options currently. I’ve heard xylene or
maybe even vinegar might work for resin, or possibly a strong degreaser, sodium hydroxide?, or possibly OneRestore. Any thoughts or alternative suggestions? I’d like to pre-treat the area in advance for better results.
I think you did just about everything you could. That is what happens when you put a dumpster on a drive, don’t lay down cardboard or tarps and some knuckle head drips the whole way to the dumpster.
It is possible that the sds will shed some light on the chemical makeup, and you could further attack the stain that way, but without it you are throwing darts. Maybe check the f9 forum or call them to see what they have to say. Poulticing is the only way to pull it out and I think you are beyond that now. Poulticing doesn’t always work.
Maybe @Racer knows, or maybe @Historic if he still pops on here. He used to pop on with all kinds of useful tidbits.
Yeah, I think you might be right. I went back today, scrubbed in some degreaser, and reapplied absorbent pellets. I left them there to sit. It’ll probably be another week or two before all the work is done and the dumpster is removed, so we’ll see what time and weather do in the meantime and if anything else gets pulled out.
I use a fair amount of urethane sealers. Think you’ve done a good job so far. Putting more pellets on it not going to do squat. After 4-5 hours that stuff is dry and after 24 it’s impregnable. There’s a reason the epoxy guys use.
I’d do what Mike suggested and call manf. That’s usually my first move on something I’m not sure about. Most are really helpful.
Unless manufacturer has some ideas, which they may. Problem is a lot of the remedies get a ton harder once it’s been sitting. I think you may have done all you can. Good news is that in 7-8 years will start to wear away.
That is always one of my first questions. What caused the stain and how long has it been there. This time though that information was withheld (trade-secret? not sure) but the best I got was “part a” of an epoxy urethane system.
I’d tell the homeowner that you’d be able to attack it best by knowing what the actual product was. And then I’d encourage him to call the epoxy floor company and get answers.
I really am not a fan of these companies that charge tens of thousands of dollars for installation of epoxy or stone driveway/patio/garage and then say that the warranty is void if you don’t buy directly from them the product to use.
I’ve run into this a few times in the last year alone. I don’t mind if I can go buy it from them locally. I’ll deal with that and pass it on to the customer. But when they have to ship it and it’s 3x as much, they’re just taking advantage of the customer.
I had a job where the customer called the installer to come seal it since it had to be sealed by them. No calls return. Only distributor in the area. He calls me. I start making calls (I want the job and want to learn) and finally have to email a guy in Hawaii. He gets me in contact with the actual distribution company. After telling him the local distributor won’t return calls and these people just want to protect their investment, he lets me know that any good brand solvent-based surface sealer will work.
And I just looked at one on Saturday. Same issue. Super fancy stone. The customer probably paid around $75k for their back patio. It’s amazing. But the company says you can only use their products on it. I’m going to call later today and see what I can find out.
I haven’t spoken directly with the homeowner. Like I mentioned, the husband just happened to drive by while I was finishing up, so he stopped to chat. The company that did the garage floor is local, and this is the second job they’ve sent my way. The first was a simple soft wash on newer concrete, it looks like this could lead to a decent workload in the future though. If that’s the case, I want to be better prepared next time. Hopefully, as I build more trust with them, they’ll feel comfortable sharing more about what they’re using. Honestly, I don’t care if it’s some super-special product only available from a dealer in Montana or something they grab off the shelf at a big-box store and mark up… that’s their call and business model. I just want to be ready for the next time something like this comes up because like @Racer stated, there isn’t much more to do at this point then wait and let time and the weather take care of it.
It’s just very odd to me that they call you to remove a stain that they caused but won’t give you all the info. At that point in the game, they need to give you whatever info will best help get rid of the stain. Worst case scenario should be that they call the manufacturer themselves and say, “Here’s what the manufacturer told us.”
I agree, I feel like my point of contact was just the middle man and communication broke down. I’ll see if I can get more info, especially if this becomes commonplace.
