Tree Sap Everywhere!
 

I just got back from a little vacation, and I was only gone for a week, and when I got home, there is sap on all parts of my car!!! I knew my neighbors pine tree would bite me in the ass one day!! I bought something called Bug and Tar Remover which is also supposed to get it out since its old tar, and I even did a car wash myself!! no luck still sticky and on my 8!!!! I called a detail place and they said its 115 dollar+ tax for buffing and the works!! :rollingla yeah riight! do you any of you guys know how to seriously get rid of old tree sap???? help wanted badly....

why are you laughing? good details costs over 100 dollars. anyways... clay bar... then 2 step polish...

If it is on the glass it comes off really easy with the Zaino glass cleaner.

claybar. remember to use a spray lubricant and in the shade.

$100.00 is well worth it, accually pretty cheap.

everyone is PMing me saying use nail polish remover!!! they said works like a charm


well he said roughly 115+ tax or more, and he was smiling when he said it so I thought it was fishy, and thats why I actually didn't trust him... but I guess if the zaino or the nail polish remover doesnt work i'll go to him....

DO NOT USE NAIL POLISH REMOVER. it has acetone... unless you want to melt your paint away... what do you mean by "zaino"? zaino has many different products... the guy was smiling because hes doing business? btw if youre gona clay. please read the instruction...

But you said the sap was everywhere. I would not recomend nail polish unless it is a small spot.

I meant all over as in like spots here and there... I counted it, it was 3 spots on my trunk, 2 on my roof, and one on my fuel door.... Nail polish only melts plastic, wood finishes.... I just looked it up

http://www.bmwworld.com/repairs/detailing/tree_sap.htm

thank you all for your help, I really appreciate it!

that's not so much. as i said before. CLAYBAR. it's less than 20 bucks at ur local autozone.

well go ahead and try acetone then. dont say i didnt warn ya.

OK everyone all gone, I just used my sisters NON-ACETONE nail polish remover hahahah :rock: all gone and the car is very nice.... agian thank you all for being good members!!

The Zaino I was talking about is called, I believe, Clear View, or something like that. It is a glass cleaner. I haven't had time to do them over the outside of all my windows but it worked great getting the residue off from that glop of sap that landed on the upper right of the back window. You can't use it on the inside IF the glass is coated (DO NOT DO THE BACK WINDOW ON THE INSIDE) or if it has an after market tint applied. Otherwise it is entirely fine and safe ot use inside and out if you so choose. Also, when doing the glass on the inside do not get it over the black dots on the front window. It MAY cause them to come off, but I don't know for sure. I wouldn't want to try it and see.

Just because it is non-acetone does not mean it didn't harm your paint or clear coat. Non-acetone still eats paint and nail polish. It will also eat the finish off furniture. What do you think nail polish is, basically? It's a type of a paint. And it still breaks down the nail polish without the acetone, although it is more effective when it contains acetone. I know someone that tried the non-acetone remover on sap (on a black car) and it looked fine immediately afterward but started to get dull spots where the remover was used because it caused damage to the paint and weakned it.

Considering you are a girl, bunny I'll take your word for it, I just turned on the garage light and it appears to be fine..... I'm pretty sure the car paints have changed and gotten stronger, but god forbid my winning blue fades i'll kill someone!!! but I don't have time to wait for zaino, I'm probably going to that wayne mazda meet, kinda far, but I need my car to be spot free and shiny...... thanks, did your friends car get damage immediately later or did it take a couple of months?

wax it now.
When I lived in Wash. State I would park under pine trees all the time.
I would just take the garden hose and rinse it off. (sap that is).

+1 . nail polish is basically paint. i have no idea where you got that idea of using acetone. shouldve used clay....

you wont notice it now... but youll notice it in the long run.

I usually park my car outside, and before I zainoed the car, the tree sap was a pain in the butt to get off when i wash it. After i Zaino-ed it, it just lifts right off as i wipe my microfibre towel over it. Definatly recommand waxing/polish/zaino if you park it under a sapping tree.. haha
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MatureBliss4U live

^ +1 you need some sort of protectoin so the sap doesnt stick as much. and it would be best if you watch your car at elast once a week if youre parked in a place full of sap. letting sap sit for too long is bad. sometimes the sap wont come off even with clay and polishing. youll need detailing plastic razorbaldes to gently scrap them off then polish the area to remove the marring.

goo gone works wonders too, and its safe on just about everything

oh just to clarify, I talked to my friends dad who owns a body shop/detailing center.... he said that zainoing it would have been better, but he said that as long as i'm positive that it was non-acetone, that it shouldn't cause a problem, so i'm happy... actually just ordered zaino for 16.95 http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...duct_Code=Z-18..... in the future def. going to use this

lol. try to say zaino z- w/e .... saying "im going to zaino it" is like saying "im going to meguiars it".

Yeah but zaino it sounds much better, kinda like saying google it rather than yahoo it.

you gotta be specific mon! :rofl:

Acetone or mineral spirits will work

I had this same issue with my 2nd car and the web says rubbing alcohol. And that shouldn't hurt your paint that I know of.

I saw an 8 at the body shop yesterday, OH THE HORROR. The tech said it was brake fluid but it looked like it was splattered with gel paint remover front left to rear right. Nasty. I was going to take photos but started to feel ill.

- :P

It wasn't evident immediately (actually a neighber that had done this). It started to become obvious more and more as time went by. There were little dull spots dotting the hood like measles.

Goo Gone would have been a good choice as someone else had said. I've heard that rubbing alcohol works (like someone else also said) but have never tried it. I do know that you need to keep it away from the plastic parts (headlights and tail lights) or it will cause little tiny cracks in them.

There is a gigantic fir tree that overhangs my driveway completely, which is why no one uses the driveway. The pine cones drip sap everywhere something awful!

Check the lcoal auto shop for something called tuff stuff it's an aerosol can. It is AWESOME for upholstry. works fantastic for getting that oily handprint out of your ceiling liner... but it also takes tree sap right off and it wont harm the paint.. Just spray it on let it soak a minute or so and then buff it off with a soft cloth and repeat if necessary...

You're right and wrong. Paints have changed, they've gotten weaker. Painting technology has been attacked by Enviro wienies. Gone are the days of really tough paints.

And its not the paint you have to worry about damaging, its the clear coat, first. And clear coat is very thin, kinda like clear NAIL POLISH for the paint.

I NEVER use petroleum based cleaning products on the finish of my car.

70% wont harm the finish. but you gotta rinse it off and re wax again.

Tree Sap. Must be the only reason I hate trees. Aside from that I love them :)

I got mine done for a $100, it feels like new again.

$100?!!!!!!!!! Dam I just did mine for $20 right down the st from where I live :)

^ and you got a shit load of swirls? and it came out worst than before>?

What! Who said that?
Them guys know me. I take my car there all the time. They do all the BMW, Audie ,Aust, Porsche, Jag, Land Rover, Bent, ect ect. And a fine job at that, If I may add?. :mdrmed:

Ja, but do they show you any Hooters?

oh.. so youre hooked up. damn you!!

Olive oil will also remove pine/tree sap, and is a lot easier on your car. (I think vegetable oil would work as well, but I'm not positive)

Olive oil???? tell me your kidding? you want me to put the stuff that my mother cooks with on my 8?

dont think olive and vegetable oil can harm a paint finish but i rather not. since it makes a big mess and requires lots of washing and re sealing. bleh.

It will remove pine sap though, and would be safe. I'd rather spend 30 minutes with hot soap and water rinsing my car than looking at where the finish has been eaten off by some automotive chemical peel.

Olive oil will chemically bond with the tree sap and neutralize it.

But yeah, if you're worried about the mess go ahead with the nail polish remover. :D:

i dont think anyone would like to try nail polsihing remover on paint... as i said before clay for the win.