How to remove tree sap

dieselfan1 said:
Just use straight alcohol.
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I don't know I'd go that route - I've read/heard about people damaging clearcoat by using too high an alcohol content.

You could try a (premade) paint prep spray as well and see if that works.
 
While searching for an article by Mike, I did review his book and Sap is listed in his chapter regarding detailers clay, as an above surface contaminant. I realize in a previous post that you tried a clay mitt, and while those are great, you would have to check the strength of the mitt. Is it light, med or moderate? Most are light unless specified.

Everyone has a different opinion as to what they would apply to their own car or a customers car, I have always been leery of using harsh chemicals not designed by the car-care industry for removing blems. Typically a good amount of R&D goes into car care products. Some off the shelf solvents that were designed for typical household applications not car-care, may have worked for one person, and may cause harm or damage to another vehicle. Not all paint systems are the same. Patients and dwell time has always been my cure.

If it were my car, I would ensure I was in a cool dry place with the sheet metal being cool (not have had sat under sunlight) and give it a good drenching of a waterless wash solution and let it dwell. Go grab a beverage, come back and then drench it some more and let it dwell. Drench and Dwell is a great tactic and will release most above bonded contaminants, requiring only light agitation to remove the remaining stubborn spots.

Next, applying the principle that if I am going to use clay, I better be prepared to polish after, I would then again saturate the surface with waterless wash solution and use a medium to heavy grade clay (not light). Use one that is rated for getting overspray such as road contaminants, paint overspray, etc. You will certainly know the difference in the feel of the clay. The medium-heavy feels much thicker and has a bit of grit to it. Clay, then inspect.... There is a good chance you will need to follow up with a few section passes with a DA and polish.

One key consideration is how long the sap has bonded to the surface. Pine sap will eat into clear coat, so you should be keen to identify the difference in what your clay can remove (above bonded contaminant) and what may be a permanent fixture in the paint.

Patients and dwell time are your friends. Good luck and happy detailing! :)
 
dcjredline said:
My method is HEAT GUN. Warm it back up and it just comes off but its a sticky mess lol
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This ^^^^^ with a plastic razor blade. Have not tried tree sap but worked on sticker residue.


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I used a bunch of old towels and dunked them in the hottest water From the sink mixed with some decent car wash soap. I spread the towels out and let them cover the entire area that had sap on it (the hood and roof in this case)
I let the wet towels sit and got more hot water and reapplied it to the towels.
After 20 minutes I washed the areas that had the hot towels on them.
It did a good job but not perfect.

I really need to get the tree over my driveway trimmed. I will try the brake cleaner method once the tree is trimmed.


This isn’t my thread but thank you to everyone who made serious replies- very cool of you.
 
I've always been lucky enough to catch it early, even a quick detailer was enough to remove it, but a 2B wash was better/safer. It could be the sap is different over here as well, it's mostly from eucalyptus trees.
 
I have found it you warm it up and then let the product air on the effected area for a minute or two it will come right off with no damage, my 0.02$
 
I would try a straight IPA wipe first, but if that didn't work, I would use (odorless) mineral spirits, that's what I use to remove tar, it's safe on factory paint. It should work on the sap, also.

I should point out a couple of things, use some caution with the mineral spirits if you are soaking a cloth and letting it dwell on the paint...it may be fine but I've never done that. It also may be that if the sap is dried and hard that any solvent method (IPA, mineral spirits) is not going to dissolve it.

Optimum has a product called T.A.R (tar, adhesive, rubber) that is a soy-based product. I have only used it a couple of times to remove adhesive residue in non-automotive applications. I guess it's similar to GooGone, it's slow, but it does say it's safe for all exterior automotive surfaces. Not sure if they recommend it for sap.
 
It may depend on the sap. A friend of my wife's recently came by with her car covered in droplets of pine sap after my wife told her, "he knows about this stuff and can fix it..."

I ended up just using a little of Stoner's Tarminator sprayed liberally into a corner of a MF towel and went around spot by spot. The Tarminator knocked it right out. Fortunately, the spots were big drops and not a fine mist. That would have been much harder. As it was it took me at least an hour to get them all.
 
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