A couple of years ago, the former Mrs. Chameleon got mad at me and threw a large bottle of Wesson vegetable oil at the wall near me, where it shattered. Not long after that, she got a china cabinet and it covered up the splattered oil. That is until I finally got rid of the cabinet and now I have a semi-visible oil splatter on the wall. Any suggetions for how to clean it off without ruining my paint?
If it’s corn oil, or one of the other drying oils, you are screwed. The stuff polymerizes in the presence of oxygen, and you end up with a varnish.
You’re probably SOL, but dishwashing detergent is made for washing oil. If not, alcohol might work, but will probably take off your paint too. Best bet is to prime and paint and not piss off Mrs. Chameleon ever ever again.
Prime the wall with Kilz primer, then paint the wall. Nothing I can think of will take it off without having to repaint and Kilz is the only think I can think of that won’t bleed through.
Second this, but sand lightly first, then use Kilz II (it doesn’t smell as bad as the original).
A base will attack the oil but make sure it isn’t so strong it eats the paint. Try Castrol superclean in creasingly stronger solution.
A third on Kilz. B-I-N and Z-Prime are other brands that may be available in your area.
That stuff will block just about anything. I’ve had entirely satisfactory results with using that stuff to hold in water stains, sap, nicotine and even aged-on grease on a kitchen ceiling.
You may find the finish coat of wall paint has slightly more gloss in the Kilz-ed area as the paint can’t absorb into the primer as much as it can elsewhere on the wall.
Cure for that is to either paint the entire wall with Kilz, or plan on doing at least two coats of the finish paint.
Worst-case scenario would be to cut out the affected section of wallboard and replace it.
Hmmm, I really hope a detergent or alcohol works. I might nab something from the lab…
Sigh, the previous owners did such a nice job with sponge painting there, I don’t know how I’m going to get it all to work if I have to repaint. Stupid Ex-Mrs. Chameleon! :mad:
I used a household de-greasing agent to remove horrid stains on a celing once. It game in a red bottle and damn if I can remember the name. I’d slap some Kilz on it and repaint it.
I’m so glad that the Wesson Launcher is now your ex. That’s just wrong man. So wrong.
Remember, if the new wall doesn’t match the old wall…make it boldly different and call it an ‘accent wall’
But…one and only one accent wall is allowed per room, but that’s a different thread.
Simple Green and Clear Magic are worth a shot, and if they don’t work, they’re nice to have 'round the house anyway.
Kilz comes in both water base and oil base versions. I assume the other brands do also. I would use the oil based primer on the entire wall, then repaint.
That’s a horrible thing that Mrs. C did. What a mess! And to think that bullet holes can be patched with just a little spackle.
Tell her to be more considerate next time. 
The way painters take care of this is a paint called Kilz in every hardware store.
It’s so loaded with zinc oxide pigment it will cover anything. Then put the right color over that.
To get heavy doses of oil off other surfaces, go to an auto supply and get a spray degreaser. Some are “biodegradable” but it should require you to use gloves if it’s the kind that’s strong enough.
[Elmer Fudd]It wooks wike you wearned your Wesson.[/Elmer Fudd]
People really throw stuff like that, ashtrays and Wesson oil and stuff? Wow, thought that was just in the movies. So happy to hear your situation has improved.
Man, that would have driven me ballsitic.