Despite my best efforts, the tree-sap ain't budging.

D

DougNew

New member
Well, today I started the big detailing project I've been planning and it has been largely successful, but to my great chagrin victory over several pin-point spots of tree-sap was only marginal.



I gave the wash to end all washes with a new bottle of Dawn.



I diligently clayed with my Clay Magic blue bar (and damn that stuff's impressive!).



Sprayed 3M's General Adhesive Remover on all the sap.



Washed 'er again, stuck a Lake Country Manufacturer Yellow Pad on the Porter and did the full Meguiar's Bodyshop Professional Dual Action Cleaner treatment.



On the strength of these steps alone the paint was beautifully preped, EVERYTHING cleaned off…except the most stubborn of tree-sap dots, about half as initially had been there.



Now I'm stuck. I've got P21S Paint Cleansing Lotion and then P21S wax left to apply and then I'm done, but these damn little sap-dots remain.



Do I go ahead and ignore the imperfections, finish the detailing and plan to use a more aggressive cleaning compound next time? Would waiting another three months to attend to what's left of the sap issue have deleterious effects on my paint-job? Should I defer to a good bodyshop?



Is there anything else I can do (given that I need to drive this car tomorrow and don't want to do so without a proper waxing on it)?



I really wanted to nail this first detailing of the new car the first time out, and now I'm rather dejected…
 
I've had the same experience!!! But on a van!!!

I couldn't get the "stains" out.



I have THOUGHT of using an orbital and buffing them out using the Bug & Tar remover, but then i'm afraid it will ruin the finish.



Maybe buffing with a light abrasive will do?
 
I would def. think clay would take them out.



I would first try laying a paper towel soaked in Adhesive remover or bug and tar remover on the spots for about 10 mins. and then see if you can get them up. If that doesn't work i'd guess you'd have to go with some a little more abrasive. Or try claying harder.
 
Not to rain on your parade, but you may have to live with them. My daughter had a used car purchased with the condition that quite a few spots of tree sap be removed prior to her taking delivery. Two weeks and three detail shops later, they were still there. She didn't buy the car, so I don't know if anyone ever got them off or they just had to live with them. You have been about as thorough as seems needed with your efforts.

Good luck.



Charles
 
Have you thought about using the edge of a knife? I've got a knife that I take with me on jobs that has a tanto point on it. I just use the corner of the blade to very carefully pop the sap spots up. Sap is really hard stuff. I mean, its the same stuff that we call 'amber' now that petrified bugs and stuff prehistoricaly. Let it sit on a car for a year or two and see how hard that stuff gets. Using a sharp corner of a knife may be the only way to get it off.
 
two words: GOO GONE



i just took off a few HARD sap spots from my car that i had been stressing about for months in maybe 15 seconds.



i guess this stuff uses citrus oil to do its magic.
 
You might want to put a blob of some cheap, solventy cleaner wax and let it sit. Maybe the chemicals will dissolve it.



Also try isopropyl alcohol. Pour some onto a MF towel and RUB! Be sure to SMR any swirls you might have created...



Good luck!

~bw
 
Just treat the sap as you would a blob of clear touch up paint- wet sand it off with 2000 grit backed by a piece of hard plastic then compound/smr/glaze to get it back to shiny.
 
Plenty of good ideas here but I'll add a few:



3M Adhesive, Tar, and Wax remover

Prepsol or any body shop prep product

Concentrated d-limolene

Mineral Spirits



I'd experiment with chemicals before I started grinding off my paint with sandpaper or some aggressive polish. Jngr's idea of the knife is good so try that too.



I've said it before but I've removed huge blobs of pine sap hardened for years with a little bit of the 3M remover. Worked great.
 
CharlesW, I disagree. Any strong solvent like the ones mentioned above will make real short work of sap droppings. If there are a few very large sap droppings, you might want to consider getting them really hard and brittle by placing an ice-cube on it for about 30 seconds and then picking them off with your fingernail (carguy's method). But using a strong solvent is by far the easiest way to get them off. Abrasive polishes aren't that effective in this situation.



If the sap droppings are relatively new, then yes....leaving them on for another three months will be the worst thing you can do as they will leave etch-marks in your clear-coat (assuming your paint is clearcoated).
 
Thanks to all for their input; between this thread and running a search on "tree sap," I've netted some very useful information.



I'm a little concerned about the aggressiveness of wetsanding at this point, and I think popping the tree-sap off with a knife-edge or thumbnail, though probably effective, runs the risk of popping some of the clearcoat right off with it.



Too, I agree with Intermezzo, polishes seem fairly ineffective with this stuff.



I went ahead and finished my detailing (had to, didn't want to drive around waxless), but went back after my search here and tried both the 3M and the ispropyl alcohol again, this time saturating a small tissue with the stuff and letting it sit on top of a test spot of sap for about five minutes. Though stripping the wax (of course), it also got most, if not all, of the test sap spot out (yes, there did seem to be a little bit of etching in my clearcoat).:mad:



So now I have a beautifully detailed car with only the most stubborn of the tree-sap spots remaining (all the newer ones came off with the clay) underneath a fresh coat of P21S wax, and (I think, now) the right method to remove them (might also get a hold of some Turtle Wax Bug & Tar and Porsche Tequipment, both come highly recommended).



Not sure if I should strip the whole car and start over, this time removing all the tree sap (hopefully); do it spot by spot (by spot by spot); strip only the hood, roof, and trunk, where it's the worst (how would I best do this?); or wait about a month until it would be time to apply another coat of wax anyway and then redo the entire car.



Suggestions?
 
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