# Diesel soaked plywood - can I scrub and paint



## Summercamp (Mar 25, 2009)

I have marine plywood knees that support my cabin sole. Two of them also extend down to the bottom of the keel. At some point they have been soaked with diesel due to a leaky diesel tank. I can scrub them but that doesnt' get rid of all the diesel and the smell. Is there any type of paint that I could apply to cover the plywood and smell that would stick? Any other ways to get rid of the smell short of replacing the plywood?


Thanks!


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## captflood (Jan 1, 2011)

GREETINGS EARTHLING, Oh my you have a problem have you tryied to flush the deisel out useing white vinigar and lemmon jiuce that is going to be a good one GO SAFE


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

dawn dishwashing liquid also works on diesel.
I'd use an oil base paint on it once it dries.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

When I was a young man, about the same time John Paul Jones joined the Navy, my father had a 250 gallon diesel spill in our home. It was heating oil and the tank was in our finished basement. When we came home that day, the entire house smelled of diesel, and the basement was flooded with a couple inches of fuel. All of the 2X4 wall joists were saturated and the wood acted like a wick, oil soaking into the wood at least 6 inches above the floor, which was well above the actual oil level. It took two days to dry out the basement, three weeks to get rid of 80 percent of the smell, and nearly a year before it was odor-free. The 2X4s and plywood wall paneling never stopped exuding diesel oil. We scrubbed the wood using stuff that would dissolve any type of oil, including a half-dozen solvents that are no longer legal to use in the U.S. anymore. Eventually, Dad tore down the framing and paneling and replaced them. The only thing that saved the concrete floor was he had sealed it before applying tile cement and tile. 

As for the wood in your boat, I doubt that it will ever hold paint, but there may be a bright side to this. The diesel oil, stinky as it may be, could act as a preservative and prevent the wood from rotting. 

Good Luck,

Gary


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## jzk (Feb 25, 2008)

You may want to investigate cedarshield made by cedercide. It soaks into the wood and pushes out moisture. Maybe it will push out the diesel?


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Scrub the wood with varsol/paint thinner, then rinse thoroughly. Apply Kilz. Apply a second coat of Kilz. apply a third coat of Kilz.

KILZ® Brand Home

then paint.


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