So..... what gets motor oil out of clothing?

I changed my oil in the garage this weekend, instead of the usual driveway, due to my aversion to cold and snow. I also left a long-sleeve t-shirt on.

I managed to get quite a few stains on the left sleeve laying on my side, normally it's summer time and regular t-shirt = just shower already you greaseball. But didn't think about the sleeves.

What gets motor oil out? Tried a generic spray stain remover and no luck.

Soak in Simple Green? Seemed to work pretty well on my jeans that I got oily crap on...

Purple Power worked like a champ on my white work shirt. It had a big pen stain on it so I wore the shirt to change my oil. The shirt was completely covered in dirt and oil. I threw it in the wash with the rest of the garage rags and some Purple Power. It removed all the stains and the pen marks, I actually wear that shirt to work again.

My mother used to rub lard into the oil stains, then wash as normal. I was the cleanest farmboy in the county...

don't wear a shirt (or pants.. or socks.. or shoes) that you aren't willing to use as a shop rag when working on your car..

Brake cleaner works like a charm on pen stains and smaller oil marks. Dunno about big ugly oil stains though.

I flew old radial engines and doing the preflight always got dripped on. The mech's said to use crisco

Shotgun?

Fire.

I soaked a pant leg from the knee down in oil when the line to the aftermarket pressure gauge hanging under the dash split open. Those pants are still discolored.

novaderrik wrote: don't wear a shirt (or pants.. or socks.. or shoes) that you aren't willing to use as a shop rag when working on your car..

So you wear a shop rag as a loin cloth while working on your car?

I've never had luck getting dirty motor oil out of cloths. Take a Magic Marker and write Oil Change Shirt across the front. As long as you remember to put it on before an oil change, you will never ruin another shirt. Problem solved.

Ojala wrote:

novaderrik wrote: don't wear a shirt (or pants.. or socks.. or shoes) that you aren't willing to use as a shop rag when working on your car..

So you wear a shop rag as a loin cloth while working on your car?

Wait, wait. You're saying you don't wear a shop rag as a loin cloth while working on your car? What kind of weirdo are you?

Goop. Says so right on the label.

Buy new clothes and have these as your new "work on cars clothes". Has worked for me since my first wrench turning.

Ojala wrote:

novaderrik wrote: don't wear a shirt (or pants.. or socks.. or shoes) that you aren't willing to use as a shop rag when working on your car..

So you wear a shop rag as a loin cloth while working on your car?

will that keep it off your hootis?

I'm fortunate enough to have fifteen years worth of old uniforms.

Jerry wrote: What gets motor oil out?

Your wife, when she does the laundry

Ojala wrote:

novaderrik wrote: don't wear a shirt (or pants.. or socks.. or shoes) that you aren't willing to use as a shop rag when working on your car..

So you wear a shop rag as a loin cloth while working on your car?

i don't need to.. all of my regular clothes work as rags.. well, that's not totally true.. i do own one shirt that doesn't have some sort of an oil/grease stain on it, but that's only because it's too small to actually wear.

Dawn dish washing liquid.

Best surfactant going.

motomoron wrote: Dawn dish washing liquid. Best surfactant going.

it's what they use to clean up birds and seals and stuff that get caught in oil slicks before releasing them back into the oil slick..

Lesley wrote: Brake cleaner works like a charm on pen stains and smaller oil marks. Dunno about big ugly oil stains though.

If the stain is relatively fresh, Brake Kleen works awesome! You'll want it to evaporate outside overnight though. It'll stink up the laundry room.

Woody wrote: Fire.

I thought this was the only answer until I read this thread.

Wow, overwhelmed with (mostly) helpful input! Luckily it's just a grey long sleeve t-shirt with a pocket, but I like long sleeve t-shirts in winter and only have a couple so I'm a little annoyed I didn't change into something more disposable like normal.

Fire and wife seem the most useful and non-useful at the same time.

I usually put a little simple green in the washing machine with my greasy clothes and it at least helps keep the washer clean. I don't bother seeing if it gets out the oil spots since I have dedicated "car work" clothes. But they do seem to be remarkably free of oil spots for as dirty as they get when working on the car.