So you think you know TAR?

[T3 AutoDetails]

Hello Geeks,

I was contacted earlier from a gentleman who said he had a serious problem..Before I could say anything he said that the guys down at the dealership told him to give me a call. (Whoa really??)

Anyway this guy said his wife drove down a freshly paved road and the whole exterior is covered in tar and wondered if I could bring it back. I said are we talking pea sized marks everywhere or are we talking like some severe splash damage type tar?

He laughed (but not a real laugh) and said it seems as if someone took a 5 gallon bucket (or a few) and threw it all over the car. He said its on the wheels,tires,doors,glass And not sure about the roof because he can't see that high.

So i'm trying to envision what he is describing to me and I thought to myself. There must have been a vehicle that his wife was kinda tailing for it to hit up on the higher surfaces of the vehicle. Everything below would have come from the kick up of the Chrysler Town & Country.

I said first and foremost I don't give any prices over the phone that a full assessment of the vehicles condition is the only way I do business and could I come look at the vehicle later this week. He agreed and I told him Friday I would come out when his wife is home and check the damage to give an accurate price.

About 20 minutes later I got a text message on my phone with the photo i'm about to show you that his wife forwarded to him on her lunch break. It is bad. I'm almost nervous to see what the rest of it looks like.

 

[Dr_Pain]

Holy Cow Tory..... I think the rocker is actually supposed to be white!!!!

Is she planning on doing an insurance claim on this? or filing against the city or parish/county?

 

[PiPUK]

That will come off, with the right product and some patience. Don't even bother trying to use a water based product.

 

[T3 AutoDetails]

Holy Cow Tory..... I think the rocker is actually supposed to be white!!!!

Is she planning on doing an insurance claim on this? or filing against the city or parish/county?

Lmao the rockers should be..!!

As far as the insurance goes i'm not sure or filing with the city i'm unsure. When I visit with them Friday I will find out more.

Until I see more i'm not even sure how to bid this I think the only way I would be comfortable while keeping profit and not eating time would be to charge by the hour.

In extreme cases like these this is what I like to consider "Specialized detailing" meaning not many people that don't do this for a living or are up to date on processes and products would know how to handle such a tragedy.

And in my world its all about making the profit on EVERYTHING I do. When "Specialized" treatment is needed it's not going to be cheap and I did let the husband know this.

I'm sure the dealership just didn't want to deal with the mess and sent it my way as a "Hey lets see you take this on" type deal.

 

[T3 AutoDetails]

That will come off, with the right product and some patience. Don't even bother trying to use a water based product.

:xyxthumbs: I'm not concerned about it coming off. Its just a lot :laughing: . I will try a few different approaches if we settle on a deal Friday. Its fresh which means it will come off easier.

Had it sat for ever and a day then it would be a different story. At times like these Tar X is your best friend along with a PW and some APC.

 

[Dr_Pain]

Lmao the rockers should be..!!

As far as the insurance goes i'm not sure or filing with the city i'm unsure. When I visit with them Friday I will find out more.

Until I see more i'm not even sure how to bid this I think the only way I would be comfortable while keeping profit and not eating time would be to charge by the hour.

In extreme cases like these this is what I like to consider "Specialized detailing" meaning not many people that don't do this for a living or are up to date on processes and products would know how to handle such a tragedy.

And in my world its all about making the profit on EVERYTHING I do. When "Specialized" treatment is needed it's not going to be cheap and I did let the husband know this.

I'm sure the dealership just didn't want to deal with the mess and sent it my way as a "Hey lets see you take this on" type deal.

Sure hope they had a fresh coat of wax on that puppy! Would definitely improve the odds. I think the idea of time and products is the only way to go with "specialized detailing"

Good luck and keep us posted! I guess you can title the thread "Back from the Jurassic era" Detailing :dblthumb2:

 

[PiPUK]

:xyxthumbs: I'm not concerned about it coming off. Its just a lot :laughing: . I will try a few different approaches if we settle on a deal Friday. Its fresh which means it will come off easier.

Had it sat for ever and a day then it would be a different story. At times like these Tar X is your best friend along with a PW and some APC.

With this level of tar you need to look to something stronger. Many on here would baulk at the use of Xylene and derived products but this really is the way forward. Contrary to some beliefs, it will not instantly damage the paint. In places like the UK, such products are 'bread and butter' and do not do notable damage (although it is worth pointing out that repeated use, contrary to UK detailing belief, is indeed unhealthy for your paint).

 

[UglyBetty]

Holy Cow Tory..... I think the rocker is actually supposed to be white!!!!

Is she planning on doing an insurance claim on this? or filing against the city or parish/county?

There are rocker panels on this car?

Wow! Good luck man, let us know how it goes!

 

[MarkD51]

You see that Pic That's what my 4 month old Tahoe looked like on every square inch, taking a ride to the "land that time forgot", East Chicago, IN, to pick up some Humes&Berg Fiber Cases that were custom made for a $10,000 Telescope Mount's Piers I just had gotten.

I spent literal weeks, there was not one square inch of my truck that survived unscathed. Even my Spare Tire was coated, and that took 3-4 hours, plus all surrounding framework, etc.

That was just a 1 block trip in lala land Indiana.

I'll probably die of cancer from that day, because Dupont Tar Remover didn't even phase this stuff. Gallons of Naptha, Gasoline, and dozens of towels and 8 packs of paper towels I went through.

I was truly heartbroken over what that dump of a town did to my vehicle. I felt like $40K just went down the toilet.

 

[Rsurfer]

:xyxthumbs: I'm not concerned about it coming off. Its just a lot :laughing: . I will try a few different approaches if we settle on a deal Friday. Its fresh which means it will come off easier.

Had it sat for ever and a day then it would be a different story. At times like these Tar X is your best friend along with a PW and some APC.

Get a gallon of Kerosene... believe me, I owned a roofing company and all my trucks were white.

 

[Detailing by M]

I've done a car like this.
I use Meg's Body solvent and a steamer on a few of the parts.
Everything came off with ease.
These look harder then they are.
Use a cold solvent and not a hot solvent.

 

[T3 AutoDetails]

Sure hope they had a fresh coat of wax on that puppy! Would definitely improve the odds. I think the idea of time and products is the only way to go with "specialized detailing"

Good luck and keep us posted! I guess you can title the thread "Back from the Jurassic era" Detailing

:iagree:

With this level of tar you need to look to something stronger. Many on here would baulk at the use of Xylene and derived products but this really is the way forward. Contrary to some beliefs, it will not instantly damage the paint. In places like the UK, such products are 'bread and butter' and do not do notable damage (although it is worth pointing out that repeated use, contrary to UK detailing belief, is indeed unhealthy for your paint).

Not sure if you were talking about Tar X or Xylene but i'm almost positive that Tar X is safe on all surfaces including paint and won't do any damage even after multiple applications. (Might have to double check) but i'm like 90% sure that its all natural solvent base allows for no harm to the finish.

If you were talking Xylene disregard I have not heard of the product and should prob google it and learn more rops:

There are rocker panels on this car?

Wow! Good luck man, let us know how it goes!

Yea there covered in black tar

You see that Pic That's what my 4 month old Tahoe looked like on every square inch, taking a ride to the "land that time forgot", East Chicago, IN, to pick up some Humes&Berg Fiber Cases that were custom made for a $10,000 Telescope Mount's Piers I just had gotten.

I spent literal weeks, there was not one square inch of my truck that survived unscathed. Even my Spare Tire was coated, and that took 3-4 hours, plus all surrounding framework, etc.

That was just a 1 block trip in lala land Indiana.

I'll probably die of cancer from that day, because Dupont Tar Remover didn't even phase this stuff. Gallons of Naptha, Gasoline, and dozens of towels and 8 packs of paper towels I went through.

I was truly heartbroken over what that dump of a town did to my vehicle. I felt like $40K just went down the toilet.

Sorry to hear that, that would suck.

Get a gallon of Kerosene... believe me, I owned a roofing company and all my trucks were white.

Although I have heard of the method, I'm almost certain I wont take that approach. Kerosene would do A lot of harm to the finish. Not saying it wouldn't work, just saying that is very risky.

I've done a car like this.
I use Meg's Body solvent and a steamer on a few of the parts.
Everything came off with ease.
These look harder then they are.
Use a cold solvent and not a hot solvent.

Thanks for the tip rops:. I have done some Tar in the past on a friends vehicle but nothing to this extent. I did however use steam that time and although I noticed the tar was gone I could still see an etching of where the tar laid (If that makes any sense). Had to go back slowly with Adhesive remover and a MF towel over my (bootleg triangle attachment) with my steamer and get them out.

Wasn't really a hard process just longer then I would have liked it to be. But on something like this I wont do the job like stated previous unless its by the hour.

 

[Rsurfer]

:i
Although I have heard of the method, I'm almost certain I wont take that approach. Kerosene would do A lot of harm to the finish. Not saying it wouldn't work, just saying that is very risky.



I've used kerosene to clean tar on both single stage and clear coat paint for many many years. I would never recommend something that might damage your paint. Do you know for a fact that kerosene will harm clear coat?

 

[T3 AutoDetails]

I've used kerosene to clean tar on both single stage and clear coat paint for many many years. I would never recommend something that might damage your paint. Do you know for a fact that kerosene will harm clear coat?

Kerosene is a Fuel, There is not a fuel in the world good for a surface of a vehicle.

Kerosene is a thing of the past (Like 30 years ago) with old SSP's (Single stage paint systems) and it would create a nice shine, No doubt. Question is was it over-all good for your finish. In Short no!

Today's modern yet very delicate finishes require extreme care and I may not have a factual basis to my understanding of kerosene vs common sense in lack of better terms. Kerosene is a Harsh solvent and wouldn't even be worth the risk (too me) to even attempt that on a clients vehicle.

Its kinda like saying just because you have bad crud you can't get off your hands that you should dump some gasoline on them and it will take it right off. Sure it will...But is it good for you? No, Not only the fumes are horrible to breathe in for your lungs. Imo kerosene is used as a fuel to light lanterns and because it is a harsh solvent regardless of its "Lubricity" properties and cleaning abilities.

Have you ever heard of kerosene being used to remove oxidation? Because that's another old school trick. That one alone for me = a no go on today's technical advances in modern day paint finishes. Nothing with that stripping ability/cleaning ability would be used as far as i'm concerned in removing contamination that is bonded to the paint.

That is just my .02 cents hope i didn't offend anyone with that but that is my opinion on the matter with some factual basis in there.

 

[acecustoms]

Kerosene is and oil and just a light version of home furnace oil.

 

[Dr Oldz]

Kero is an oil and will work just fine. I believe Rsurfer's suggestion is spot on but of course you have to do what is comfortable for you.

GL and keep us posted on how you made out.

 

[KillaCam]

10 cans of tarminator will take care of that.
But seriously, I haven't used anything that comes close to how well that stuff eats up tar.

 

[oldmodman]

I have used both kerosene and odorless mineral spirits. Both of them dissolved the tar and left the finish ready for correction.

Neither product damaged the finish in any way, with one exclusion. It removes all surface treatments. But it "may" not remove Cquartz or Opticoat2.0

 

[PiPUK]

Kerosene and other unprocessed fuels should be avoided. Kerosene in raw form is a rather general fraction, it contains any number of aromatic compounds which are what gives it the smell. What is of more concern is that some of these aromatics are notably harmful to paint. If you do your research, you will discover that many of the 'extra' compounds in kerosene will also be common elements in paint thinners and even paint strippers - are you really sure you want to risk using this?!

Industrial cleaning products will not tend to use these raw forms. In addition to the potential for harm, kerosene in this form is extremely hazardous - if it highly flammable, it will cause skin damage and the vapours are toxic. We use a much more tightly defined fraction which gives us de-odourised/de-aromatised kerosene. This removes almost all the nasty stuff. If you are using kerosene, this is the only form safe to use. If your kerosene is clear and colourless with little smell, it is safe. If your kero has a strong smell and is yellow in colour, you are risking your paint and your health by using it.

It should be noted that the potential damage is not necessarily something which will be visible at the time. The damage can manifest later thanks to external influences like UV or heat. Most of the time it happens, users fail to make the link so you very rarely read about it.

 

[BillE]

Another vote for kerosene. "Like removing like." Work safely and outdoors.

Looks like fresh seal-coat...been there done that...YUK!

Bill