Removing Tree Sap & Gunk From Paint - Here's What Works

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dacheat

dacheat

..is grounded.
so i don't have a garage to park in where i live right now, just an offstreet spot under a messy tree that drops all kinds of sap or sticky covered pods. i flicked off as many as i could but eventually, there were some that had stuck around on my black car in the sun for the better part of a week. 80mph for 2 hrs daily didn't budge 'em. pressure washing, scrub sponges - nothing budged these. i knew i needed something but i wasn't sure what. this stuff came highly recommended:
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and i give it :thumbsup: because it did a lot more than anything else i'd tried so far, but holy crap did it take some elbow grease and a long time. i used over half the bottle just to get about 8 of these sap spots off my hood - and there was still the whole car left to do. at this point i about gave up, because i'd read on the interwebs that once it chrystalizes, you have to sand it off and repaint. but last night i tried one more thing and it worked like crazy, earning :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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and
Cotton%20Balls.jpg

yeah, a 99 cent bottle of rubbing alcohol (40%) and a bag of cotton balls did the whole car in an hour. i bet if i coulda found a more concentrated bottle it woulda gone faster too.

you should be warned though - this may not be the best thing for your car's finish - mine was already swirled up from before i bought it so i didn't mind a few more swirls, and i waxed my car immediately afterwards. but if you want sticky tree crap off your car, this gets my vote.
 
I removed a sticker from my bike with a heat gun and goo gone, don't recommend though for plastic parts. The goo gone worked but took a lot of elbow grease, too
 
wikedeye said:
Was the sap really cooked on and hard or was it still a little sticky?
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cooked on hard like cement :(. took about 30 seconds a spot, with the alcohol. took like 10 minutes of constant rubbing and lots of juice, with the turtle wax stuff.
 
That is so cool...I have been tyring to get some off my car for two years...I was considering just getting a new paint job because I havent been able to get rid of any of it...I am going to try it and I will let you know.
 
hope it works for you! i'd say the sap was about a month old by the time i took the alcohol to it. i think once sap/organic matter cures/chrystalizes/gets hard it doesn't change much, so it should work for ya. i'd try to find something more concentrated than 40% if you can (i saw pics of bottles that were 90% on the web). for the bigger spots, i doused the spot pretty good and let it soak for a bit while i scrubbed on another one, then when i got back to that spot it rubbed out really quickly.

lemme know how it goes!
:popcorn:
 
You are my new favorite person!!! Everything came off except the one really big spot, but I think it will come off with a bit more work. Like I said the sap on my car has been there for 2 yrs, and it came off like it was just dirt. Thank you.
 
woot!! so glad it worked for you too. i thought i was seeing things when it came off so easy, and then i was just grinning like an idiot, scrubbing on my car. i'm pretty sure the neighbors had fun with that.
 
Claybar works well too! I usually do what I can with a power washer and scrubbing. Then clay the bugs,tar,marks etc.. off.
 
Turbo&Auto said:
Claybar works well too! I usually do what I can with a power washer and scrubbing. Then clay the bugs,tar,marks etc.. off.
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yeah, prior to my sap experience i had no complaints about my mother's clay bar. but it didn't budge this sap. :shrug2:
 
Im gunna have too try that tomorrow :D i gots sap spots all over my car... it makes me sad :(
Like when you P.I.M.P. cup falls out of your hand and breaks!
 
i hear you on the sad; nothing says 'beater' like shit all over your car, and if you're not ready for beaterhood, it can be a sad, sad thing. :( i can't fix your pimp cup but your car will look good again :D.
 
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