How in the world do you get tree sap off the car? I parked in a wooded area of SW Houston, and a few hours later the car was COVERED in tiny sap droplets.

The car feels like sand paper now and I don't want to damage the paint trying to get it off.

 

Ahh...how 'bout a New Englander to evaluate the problem?

First of all, there are many types of "Sap".....from many different Trees.

Pine Sap usually comes in the form of a glob......the size of a pencil eraser. The fact that you say it has lots of little spots........its possibly not Pine sap.

2. questions......Do you know what type of tree you where under AND have you tried anything yet...even washing. The reason I ask is because you want to start with the least invasive ways to remove the fallout all over your car before you get the big guns out.

 

i'm not sure how great these are for the paint, but you can go to any autoparts store and buy a tar/sap removal spray. you just spray it on, wait a minute, then wipe it off. works pretty well actually. don't know what it does to wax or polymer either.

 

Meguair's #2 followed by Meguair's #9 followed by wax. Use lots of patience and lots of Meguair's on a prewashed terry towel.

http://www.meguiars.com/product_show...m_template.cfm

 

I have not washed b/c I was afraid of smearing it in. The drops are quite tiny and hard. I can flick them [the windshield] off. We don't really have many pine trees in the area, I don't what kind it is.

Should I wash it? I am leary of the sprays b/c it's bumper to bumper - windows, wheels, etc.

I am looking at the Meguires link.....

Thanks for the help.

 

My car used to be parked under an oak tree and it would cover the car in little sticky spots of sap. This was water soluable, so a quick hose down was all that was needed to remove it. Pine trees drop big globs of sap and this doesn't wash off. In fact if you leave it on it hardens into an almost impossible to remove crystal and before that it'll eat into the clear coat like bird droppings do. The easiest way to remove this sap is Goof Off, gasoline or an alcohol based sap remover. Whatever product you use, you'll want to wash off the area and re-wax it as soon as possible. My recommendation would be to use the least aggressive cleaner you can find to protect the paint finish.

Avoid pahhhking your cahhh (for our Boston members ) under trees, not only do they drop sap but birds sit in them and drop their bird stuff and squirrels like to knock pine cones and branches off too. Those can really ding up your car!

 

I'm pretty sure you have a type of pitch that is easily washed off. Doesnt sound like a problem......and definately isnt Pine pitch. Just was with a little extra "elbow grease" and all should be fine. Dont use the Bug'n tar stuff unless you really have to......its pretty potent and hard on clear coats.....and destroys any wax/polymer you may have on your paint.

 

A few easy rubs with a clay bar (lubricated w/ soapy water mix) took maple tree sap off mine. The car was covered with little sap dropletts and it took a while to get it all off but no harm done.

 

I ordered the clay bar [b4 the sap thing] I will wash it tomorrow morning and do the ful strip/clay/wash/wax/admire treatment this weekend.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Lighter Fluid or Nail polish remover should work, these won't hurt the finish of your car, and were most likely used when getting the goop off your car from the protective plastic. Also you could try Goop be Gone also. Just be sure to re-wax your car after using. I think 3M also make a sap/tar remover if you want to pay more..

 

o so thats what it is!!! i thought it was bird ****. and i was thinkin wtf how can there be so much bird **** on 1 car!!!

i just started college and the parking lot are full of trees and mt car gets bombed on horribllly

 

Meguair's Fine Cut Cleaner #2 is pretty abrasive and must be applied with a rotary buffer to used effectively. It's certainly not something you would use for tree sap, IMO. Even a "step 1 paint cleaner" in their Deep Crystal System would be a better choice, since it can be applied by hand.

 

With all this... a few days later it rained. ALL the sap came off just driving it through the rain. the three coats of wax sheet off the water and actually left the car rather clean and SMOOTH. Zero effort.

 

Gotto your Mazda dealer. The guys who work in the back that clean your car after you purchase it have this green super-glue like substance that they put on the car and wipe off to remove minor scratches and such. It should get the sap right off without hurting the paint.

 

Looks like the sap came off....otherwise I would suggest lighter fluid along with a brillo pad. Light the lighter fluid on the hood and use the brillo pad and scrub in a circular motion....1 hour of that and...poof...no more sap.

 

This just happened to my second vehicle. Got a product from "Turtle Wax" called Bug, Tar and Sap Removal. The stuff dried up pretty hard. This removal product broke down the sap, a lot of rubbing involved, it was a pain in the **** but it came out.