How do you attack a car full of tar~

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rauljimenez

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How do you attack a car full of tar... other than claying hardcore??? is there anything that basically melts all the little tar dotss that u can see when u get close to the paint???

if I do a good claying, do I risk marring the paint if I compound with some tar spots or will compounding remove the tar in the process??

Thanks
 
Stoners Tarminator .... perhaps P21S Total Wash as a presoak too ???
 
I've done small areas then washed and waxed. Dont know about a whole car.
 
I would take a trip to your local DIY wash during non-peak hours. At that point I would saturate the infected areas with a product such as tarminator and let it dwell. I would then come back and saturate another time or two and then blast it down the drain. Try to avoid letting a product such as tarminator dwell on your rubber seals if at all possile

Hope this made sense to you and good luck :props:

Regards,

Been down that road before
 
rauljimenez said:
Can I apply it to the whole car , let it sit for 2-3 minutes remove it then wax it without any damage to the paint??
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Had a roofing co. for 23 yrs. and did that all the time. No it will not damage the paint, but it will leave a film, so you will need to wash.
 
Meguiar's Body Solvent, while works wonders, similarly leaves some stuff you will want to wash off.

Basically most any solvent will help break it down and release it from the surface. Gasoline, Kerosene, Solvent based cleaners such as, well, Body Solvent or FK1 #1119 will work to chemically weaken the tar and make it much easier to remove. Just using clay could cause more marring and scratches than you bargain for if rubbing intensively trying to remove so much contamination. I would definitely start with a solvent before claying. Then, use the clay and a post clay wash to remove the solvents.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
What are you working on?

How bad is the tar? That is how much of the car does it cover?

Is this your car or a customer's car?


:)
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Haha mike, pretty much the whole car, specially the lower sections oh my lord full of black tar spots and then when I was claying I saw mini little dots of tar that can be removed by claying hardcore.

It is my car indeed so I am getting as meticulous as possible and want to have a good clean paint in order to start my compounding, my question is that in the future oh my god I will need something easier to remove all that stuff.

I'm new here Mike but I've pretty much read all your articles except the sanding ones and you've been of invaluable help, so thanks!!!! :props:
 
I would say kerosene, and it works pretty good for me, just be CAREFUL with trim if you get some there, there is a good chance it will turn white. Get a towel or rag that you are willing to sacrifice and pour some kerosene on it and wipe the tar away. I do whole cars sometimes and leave it to soak just make sure its not dripping wet cause you might get some on the trim. Tar in our place is really hard to tackle that is why I tend to resort to this method when I encounter vehicles with tons of tar, never had a problem to date aside from the trim issue. Wash- Dry- Kerosene- Wash- Clay- and whatever you want to do. Hope that helps.

:xyxthumbs:
 
Kerosene to remove from paint is the best way. Not only will it disolve it quickly, but it's cost effective. Compare the cost of a gallon of Kerosene to other tar removers.
 
I have a funny story involving a car covered in road tar if anyone wants to here it
 
sydster said:
I would say kerosene, and it works pretty good for me, just be CAREFUL with trim if you get some there, there is a good chance it will turn white. Get a towel or rag that you are willing to sacrifice and pour some kerosene on it and wipe the tar away. I do whole cars sometimes and leave it to soak just make sure its not dripping wet cause you might get some on the trim. Tar in our place is really hard to tackle that is why I tend to resort to this method when I encounter vehicles with tons of tar, never had a problem to date aside from the trim issue. Wash- Dry- Kerosene- Wash- Clay- and whatever you want to do. Hope that helps.

:xyxthumbs:
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I will look into that KEROSENE for sure since a lot of people are recommending it. Tar is nasty in Puerto Rico and since the climate in here is hot as hell that stuff is so hard to remove once it sets it!
 
The tar removers are just a weak version of kerosene and all of them will remove your LSP.

Kerosene is cheaper and works better.
Any stories about it doing harm is just internet BS

I have been using it on my cars for 60 years just wash it off with soap and water then polish and apply your LSP
 
Black Bart said:
The tar removers are just a weak version of kerosene and all of them will remove your LSP.

Kerosene is cheaper and works better.
Any stories about it doing harm is just internet BS

I have been using it on my cars for 60 years just wash it off with soap and water then polish and apply your LSP
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I'm with you, but not for 60 years.:xyxthumbs:
 
A4 1.8tqm said:
I do :)
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Well, it was funny to me anyway. Here goes...

One of my first paying jobs involved a 1970's era Buick Electra 225. White in color. The lady that owned this car got in contact with me via a neighbor who I had recentally worked for. < lesson learned > referrals are your best freind

Anyway, the entire right side of the car was covered in tar. Even the windows and vinyl top. I remember this as if it was yesterday. I picked the car up on a Saturday morning around 8:00am. The lady pointed out all of the tar and asked if this would be a problem. Of course being young and green I replied "Oh, no mame, I have handled situations like this before" < lesson learned> don't be a liar

I got the car to my house and began to try to wash this junk off. It wasn't budging one iotta. I decided I would go to my local detail supply house a.k.a. TG&Y. I found a product in a metal can called Bug-n-Tar remover. I thought to myself "Oh great, just what I needed". I commensed to ask the advice of the check-out lady if this stuff would do the trick. She replied, "Sure Kid, now beat it" Back to the house I go to get this job knocked out with the quickness. < lesson learned > Wrong

After reading the intructions I realized I would need a towel or two to wipe this mess onto the infected area so I grab about 1/2 of the supply out of my familys linen closet. < lesson learned > very bad idea. My Father liked to have had a heart attack

To make a long story short, I ended up working on this car for 12+ hours and never thought to call the woman and let her know how I was progressing. I ended up having to purchase 3 or 4 cans of this bug-n-tar remover plus I had moved my location to the DIY where the machine was eating quarters quicker the Sherman Klump eats M & M's. I had only quoted the woman $35 for the entire job. My total expenditures were probally $22. So I had a net profit of $12 for 12 hours of hard labor. Not to mention the horendous headache I had aquired using that Bug-n-Tar remover < lesson learned > never tell a client that has a specialty issue that there problem is no problem

When I finally arrived back to this ladys house it was pitch black dark. She claimed she was 15 minutes away from reporting her car had been stolen. < lesson learned > always be truthful with a potential client (and keep in contact) and never claim you have expeirence in something that you have no expierence in
 
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