I parked in the shade of some pine trees early in the morning when it was cool (70*). By the time I got back late in the evening, it had hit 90+* and some little drops of pine sap had annointed the Vette. I wasn't directly under the trees, but the sap was magnetically attracted to the car.

I used some Detailer's Pride Bug & Tar Remover...and on most of the spots, it only left a slight ring, like those from water spots.

However, on two large blobs of tree sap, there's a slight depression where the sap was. Does acid tree sap eat away the clear coat? Or was the clear coat softened by the tree sap and I rubbed it off with the Remover?

I presume once the clear coat is gone, it's gone. Waxing won't level the surface, will it?

Thanks for any advice, beside "Don't park under pine trees."

 

Don't park under pine trees.

LOL I would take it to the detail shop rather than mess with it and make it worse. Tree sap can permenantly damage the paint in some cases, especially if you take it off the wrong way.

 

Rubbing alcohol will take care of it, just use it sparingly.

 

Happens here all the time.

Spray WD-40 on it. Let it puddle and sit for a minute. Then take your thumb nail and run it back and forth.

If you get it early enough just spray and wipe it off. After the outside hardens , when you remove the glob it leaves a ring as you describe. The WD-40 and thunb nail will get rid of that.

 

 

same problem here, someone told me Rubbing Alcohol today also, if that don't work Zaino clay bar should do the trick....

 

goo-gone worked for me

 

 

Believe it or not, mayonnaise will actually remove tree sap without harming the finish. Mineral oil will also work.

 

Careful with the thumb nail. Your nails will scratch the heck out of your paint.

I'd try a clay bar with plenty of the lube. Rub lightly over the spot.

If that doesn't do it. Maybe try some 3M swirl mark remover.

If that doesn't touch it, have a good body shop look at it. Maybe they could do some magic with a light wet sand and buff of the area.


To remove the sap itself, I've had good luck with a product called SEMSOLV. Its made by SEM and most pro body shop suppliers carry it.
It's a bug, tar, overspray remover.

If they don't carry that brand, they probably have similar stuff in a different brand. But the professional paint shops carry the good stuff.

WD-40 works too. But I'd use that real sparingly and rewax right away.

 

i did same thing! sap! used wd 40 then cut the damn tree down!

 

don't park under trees....
a clay bar will work and I wouldn't use wd40 because I am chicken

 

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I got most of the 'rings' off using Meguiars Scratch Remover very sparingly. By the way, that stuff will make a skipping-from-a-scratch CD play fine! It leaves scary swirl marks on the CD, but it reads perfectly.

I have a clay bar and lube; I'll try that on the stubborn rings.

Mayo! I hate tuna salad, so maybe I'll wipe my next lunchbox surprise on them first.

The depression in the clear coat is something I'll leave to a detail shop to advise, as per C6Harley and MichRider.

Thanks everybody. You rock!

 

As I said we have an on going problem with tree sap here, pine tree in particular and the WD-40 always works. What puzzles me are people who will boo hoo a suggestion from someone who has a solution that they use all the time and then turn right around and say "you might try this and if tht doesn't work you could try this other".

Everyone has an opinion but I'll follow the guy who has walked the walk rather than one who has a theory.

 

 

I remember the first time my '33 Ford 3-window, which has a very expensive House of Kolor paint job on it, got the tree sap treatment. I immediately got out my car polish and started laboriously rubbing the heck out of it. It took a lot of effort to get it off and I figured I had a major polishing job ahead of me. Then one of my street rod buddies told me I was going to a lot of trouble for nothing. He took a damp cloth and proceeded to wipe it right off.

This was in Big Bear Lake in California and possibly our tree sap is different from your tree sap. But just plain water works wonders for me.

 

pine tree sap will come off with soap and water if not left on too long to bake in the hot sun

 

WD40 works for not only tree sap but anything sticky on the car. It worked wonders for me.

 

What do you do for convertible tops?

 

How to Remove Tree Sap - from BMW World:

"To remove the tree sap from your vehicle's surface, you can use finger nail polish remover on a cotton ball. After the sap is removed, make a paste of water and baking soda to wash the affected area, then apply wax.

Another method to remove the sap is to use mineral sprits (it will also remove tar). Use a soft, terry towel, or wash cloth dampened with mineral sprits. After removal, wash the car and apply wax to the affected area.

Tree sap can also be removed by using a water-soluble paint brush cleaner. A common household solution is bacon grease or lard. Just rub it on, and off comes the sap. To get tree sap off of your hands, simply rub mayonnaise on them and wash it off. To remove tree sap and other substances, you can use common solvents like lighter fluid, rubbing alcohol, WD-40 or even Skin-So-Soft bath oil.

The way to use those materials is to let them do their work of dissolving (in the case of alcohol) or softening (in the case of oils), enough to rub off the remaining sap. If you use the oil, wash the car afterwards to remove it.

You can also use commercial wax and grease-removing products available at auto supply stores. Be sure to wash and dry the car before applying the wax and grease remover. Then dampen a clean cloth with the solvent and rub the affected area. It may require several attempts if the sap is very thick or extremely hard. The surface may appear hazy after the solvent evaporates, but a good wax application will eliminate the haze and complete the job.

Removing tree sap from a car's finish is a bit more difficult than tar, as hardened sap can scratch your paint. I've found that by hand-rubbing the sap spots with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol, I'm able to easily remove the sap without damaging the finish. Mineral spirits and denatured alcohol acts as a solvent to break up and dissolve the sap.

If there is a large amount of sap on the car, or if the sap has been left on the finish for an extended period of time, it can be a lot of work to remove. For these cases, you can try hitting the affected areas with a light-duty buffing compound to remove the hardened surface on the sap spots. Then you can use mineral spirits or a similar solvent to remove it. The light duty buffing compound softens the sap so the solvent can do its job. The goal is to use the least pressure possible to reduce the risk of scratching the paint. After removing heavy sap, always buff the treated areas with a good polish to clean up any marks created during hand-rubbing with solvent. The treated area must also be re-waxed.

Another technique is to use orange based solvents and children's molding clay. Apply a bit of the solvent and rub with the clay. It is abrasive enough to scrub off the sap which has been broken down by the solvent.

The chemicals used to remove road stains can also remove your wax or sealants. After removing tar, sap or bugs, plan to spot wax or re-wax your vehicle. If you don't have time to wax right away, use a quick detailing spray that contains wax. A quick spray wax is great for this kind of spot waxing, too.

Old tar, tree sap, and paint over-spray can be easily removed with a miraculous new product called automotive clay. As you rub it across any type of surface (paint, glass, plastic, metal, rubber, vinyl) it instantly sticks-to and pulls-off all contamination that is stuck to the surface. Here's how to use an automotive clay bar:

To use the automotive clay, spray a water-based lubricant on a small area of your car and rub the bar back and forth with light to medium pressure. If the lubricant begins to dry, you'll need to spray more. Clay bars are fairly sticky, and they cannot be used dry.

After a few passes with the clay bar, rub your hand over the area to feel if the surface contamination was removed. Keep rubbing until all contamination bumps are gone. Finally, wipe the clay residue off with a soft terry cloth towel, and buff to a nice luster. Just like waxing, work in small areas.

Check the clay bar frequently for hard particles. When found, pick them off. Make it a habit to occasionally knead and reform the bar so that a fresh portion of the bar contacts your car's paint.

When you're finished claying your car, you should go over it with a pre-wax cleaner to finish cleaning the paint and restore essential oils. Then, protect your newly cleaned finish with one or more coats of rich Carnauba wax."