Tar removal: solvent or clay?

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tguil

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There are tiny flecks of road tar on the sides of my white Ram....3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner or clay to remove them? Back in the"good old days"...no question...just get out the solvent. Now I don't know which would be best. The flecks are every small. Easily removed with either process.

Tom :cool:
 
I would never clay tar. It smears everywhere and ruins your clay. Stick with something like tarminator.
 
tguil said:
There are tiny flecks of road tar on the sides of my white Ram....3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner or clay to remove them? Back in the"good old days"...no question...just get out the solvent. Now I don't know which would be best. The flecks are every small. Easily removed with either process.

Tom :cool:
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3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover is a decent road tar removal product. However CarPro TarX is far more effective and doesn't use harsh solvents like most road tar removal products. I used 1.5 liters of TarX decontaminating this BMW X5 after it was driven on a freshly paved road.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIXRt5HAN-0]Premium Automotive Detailing: Alpine White BMW X5 - Road Tar Removal (CarPro TarX) - YouTube[/video]


04Golf said:
TarX by carpro
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TarX is my go to road tar remover.
 
Bkazzle said:
The aforementioned TarX is awesome and so is Detailer's Road Kill Bug Remover.

Absolutely love this new product.
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+4 on TarX. I tried claying a white car with a bunch of tar spots and each spot was taking way too many passes to fully remove. So I went to the TarX and it just melted the spots off. Finished claying after going around the car with the TarX. Easily reduced my claying time by 30-45 minutes.
 
CriticalDetails said:
3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover is a decent road tar removal product. However CarPro TarX is far more effective and doesn't use harsh solvents like most road tar removal products. I used 1.5 liters of TarX decontaminating this BMW X5 after it was driven on a freshly paved road.

Premium Automotive Detailing: Alpine White BMW X5 - Road Tar Removal (CarPro TarX) - YouTube



TarX is my go to road tar remover.
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Id be eager to know how much you upcharged for using so much TarX!! Better to use tarx then to start polishing the car and realizing that your pads are turning to crap! Larry at Ammo NYC uses microfiber pads for tar....which imo is kinda waistful.
 
Here's some TarX removal pics on a white Milan I did a couple weeks ago:
 
Dwell time was maybe 30 seconds. The one pic where you see the drips of tar, that was about 5 seconds. No scrubbing at all. Just wiped off with microfiber towel. TarX literally melts the tar. So worth the $$. Used maybe 1/4 of the spray bottle for the entire cars lower panels and a few spots on the hood.
 
stilltipping3 said:
I have heard this is good stuff. Is it currently still top 5 in the market?
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I've never used anything better. It starts melting away on contact. I've never tried tar x because of the price tag but I like tarminator because its cheap and available at most stores locally.
 
Tarminator is it for me. Great stuff. Let it sit for about 30 seconds or so. Wash it off. Takes off sap, tar and bugs.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Sounds like a d-limonene product from the description.
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In the past I've talked a lot about d-limonene. I use a d-limonene product to remove tar.

Only problem is that I have to keep it away from plastic trim, because is seems to dry it out.

I have a feeling the most solvents, even d-limonene, is going to have somewhat of an affect on plastics.

I wonder if there have been any reports of tar x doing any weird stuff to plastic.
 
TarX turns tires green on contact, but haven't checked to see if it easily wears off or wipes off with an APC.

Will have to do a test sometime. If I have time today I'll see what happens with plastic on contact as well. I won't know the long term repercussions, but immediate effects can be somewhat helpful I guess.
 
Bkazzle said:
TarX turns tires green on contact, but haven't checked to see if it easily wears off or wipes off with an APC.

Will have to do a test sometime. If I have time today I'll see what happens with plastic on contact as well. I won't know the long term repercussions, but immediate effects can be somewhat helpful I guess.
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Do the tires stay green or just temporarily while the spray is on there? I know TarX has a neon dye for the purposes of using it on dark paint, the dye reacts when it is working. Wonder if that is what you are seeing on the tires...unless you are saying it leaves lasting green stain after you have wiped/rinsed it off?
 
statusdetailing said:
In the past I've talked a lot about d-limonene. I use a d-limonene product to remove tar.

Only problem is that I have to keep it away from plastic trim, because is seems to dry it out.

I have a feeling the most solvents, even d-limonene, is going to have somewhat of an affect on plastics.
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Wonder if this would apply to products such as: P21S Total Auto Wash...(emphasis on: "Total Auto")?

Bob
 
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