Oil spill on paperwork

[malmos911]

I had quart of oil behind the seats and it leaked on my reciepts for my 1974 911. I have owned this car for 26 years so there was a large number of receipts for everything ever done. All the reciepts are soaked with 20w-50. Receipts saved the carpet but how can I clean up the receipts?
Thanks

[EarlyPorsche]

You can't. But all is not lost. Those receipts don't mean as much compared to a PPI at sale time.

[GH85Carrera]

I would try some Internet searching. I bet there is a solvent that will remove the oil without removing the ink. If nothing else photograph each page with a high resolution camera.

[EarlyPorsche]

Photography is a good idea. I've had to do that before and had decent success.

[speeder]

Just wipe them as well as possible and put them in a plastic bag. You'll still have the receipts, they'll just be really oily. Whatever you do, don't throw them away. Those are valuable. I'm not even going to ask how you spilled a quart of oil in your car.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

You can't. But all is not lost. Those receipts don't mean as much compared to a PPI at sale time.

Yes they do, (mean as much). For most enthusiasts, as opposed to garden variety car buyers, records of past repairs and maintenance are very important and valuable. I can PPI a car and see that it's in good shape but that doesn't change the considerable value of actual records. Almost all Porsche ads used to say, "Books and Records", back when mostly real enthusiasts bought/sold/owned them.

[widgeon13]

I would put one receipt in a pan with kitty litter and she if some of the oil is absorbed into the litter. It may help some. Those receipts will last forever now.

[Bill Douglas]

I makes them more authentic.

[Rot 911]

Nothing is going to get all of the oil out, but try getting some plain, white paper towels and put a receipt between two sheets of paper towels and see if that might draw more of the oil out of the receipt.

[herr_oberst]

Find someone who restores old books and manuscripts like a curator of a museum and ask him or her.
I'd do a combination of the above suggestions, get photocopies or photos for your receipt file, then some individual plastic sleeves for the originals, that could then be carefully stored and not disturbed till it's time to sell the car.

[Head416]

I makes them more authentic.

Exactly! Especially if the oil is green it might up your resale value!

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Find someone who restores old books and manuscripts like a curator of a museum and ask him or her.
I'd do a combination of the above suggestions, get photocopies or photos for your receipt file, then some individual plastic sleeves for the originals, that could then be carefully stored and not disturbed till it's time to sell the car.

I don't know about putting the oil drenched papers into plastic sleeves. That appears to ensure the oil staying in the paper. How about making the papers into a stack with every other layer an old fashioned ink blotting sheet. The blotting sheets would absorb as much oils as possible. Alternatively maybe paper towels could do the trick.

[herr_oberst]

Blotter paper or paper towels could be risky. The ink from the receipt could be soaked up along with the oil, rendering the original receipt unreadable.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

If nothing else photograph each page with a high resolution camera.

This is a great idea, clean them up as best you can by wipeing them off then take photos. Photo editing software can do some amazing things

[gassy]

Cornstarch on the receipt for a while and check.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

Yes they do, (mean as much). For most enthusiasts, as opposed to garden variety car buyers, records of past repairs and maintenance are very important and valuable. I can PPI a car and see that it's in good shape but that doesn't change the considerable value of actual records. Almost all Porsche ads used to say, "Books and Records", back when mostly real enthusiasts bought/sold/owned them.

Absolutely! I put more value on receipts than a PPI. Even a good PPI can miss stuff, but a receipt for a new clutch 5,000 miles ago is pretty air tight.

[Rick V]

We need to get in touch with Un-LubeMaster

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by speeder

Yes they do, (mean as much). For most enthusiasts, as opposed to garden variety car buyers, records of past repairs and maintenance are very important and valuable. I can PPI a car and see that it's in good shape but that doesn't change the considerable value of actual records. Almost all Porsche ads used to say, "Books and Records", back when mostly real enthusiasts bought/sold/owned them.

You really think? I'm not arguing just thinking out loud. I never trust receipts because its usually just a pile of random papers. I guess a service receipt that shows clutch change is awesome but a receipt for a clutch just wouldn't impress me.

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by EarlyPorsche

Photography is a good idea. I've had to do that before and had decent success.

How about scanning the papers to PDF or JPGs. With JPGs you could adjust the pictures for optimal appearance with some photo editing software.

[Mrmerlin]

A while back I used to work with a vapor degreaser,
we would use the thing for removing oil from precision bearings,
The paper that the bearing would sit on was sometimes also dipped into the vapor,
thus the paper was also degreased,
I could not tell you if the vapor will also remove ink but it might be worth a shot,
make sure to take pictures of anything your trying to clean