Car tires leaving black marks on your concrete driveway or garage floor is an unfortunate reality. Basically, this article explains how to get tire marks off concrete and epoxy surfaces.
How to Get Tire Marks Off Concrete
Depending on where the mark is on your garage or driveway, you will need to use a different method to remove it.
How to remove tire marks from a concrete driveway
Decorative concrete coatings can be removed by following the steps below. For information on how to get burnout marks off concrete, see this page.
- Apply a cleaning product such as SunSpot, a concrete degreaser, Natural Orange (or another citrus cleaner), Simple Green, or automotive brake cleaner to the affected area.
- Let the cleaner sit on the surface for a few minutes.
- Brush the spot with a stiff brush.
- Rinse the area thoroughly with high-pressure water.
- Repeat steps 1-5 as necessary.
How to remove tire marks from an epoxy garage floor
Follow these steps to clean your garage floor if it has an epoxy finish.
- Apply a non-filming detergent such as SunKleen, 409, or Fantastic to the affected area. (You can also use a paint thinner, but only for spot cleaning.)
- After soaking in the solution, allow the area to dry.
- Scrub the area with a brush that has soft bristles.
- Using a high-pressure nozzle, thoroughly rinse the area.
- Steps 1–5 may be repeated as needed.
Caution: When searching online for how to clean tire marks off concrete, you may come across alternate remedies such as Goof Off. We have found Goof Off to be too harsh, so we don’t recommend it for removing tire marks from concrete or epoxy.
We are happy to provide you with additional information on how to remove tire marks from concrete, or if you want to try an alternate product.
Tire Marks Can Be Prevented?
Although you can’t prevent tire marks, you can prevent buildup that will make them harder to clean. Regularly hosing off and cleaning the affected area is recommended to prevent a heavy buildup.
When parked in their garage, some customers place mats on the floor where their tires rest.
What Causes It?
Chris Sullivan explains the chemical process behind tire marks if you’re wondering how they happen.
“This is a phenomenon known as plasticizer migration. Plasticizers are polymer compounds added to rubber, glue, and plastic to make them pliable. Rubber used to make car tires contains plasticizers to enhance traction. When the car is driven, the tires heat up, causing the plasticizer to soften and leach out. In certain types of sealers, when a hot tire is parked or driven on them, the plasticizer migrates into the sealer and discolors it. The better the quality of the tire, the higher the quantity of plasticizer and the greater the likelihood of hot tire marking. As low-quality tires are harder and contain less plasticizer, they usually leave less hot tire marking on sealers.”
What to Do if the Marks Won’t Go Away
Consider stripping and resealing your concrete or resurfacing with a concrete coating if your tire marks are stubborn or you cannot remove them completely.
