wetsanding hard tree sap marks?

jshaf

jshaf

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I have these super hard tree sap spots all over the top of my 2011 Black 2SS Camaro. I know from contacting the previous owner that it is cherry tree sap and it has been on it for a couple years. I have literally tried every thing to remove them before putting the car in storage for winter but ran out of time so just left the more severe steps til spring. my last steps are to first try to use an orange pad and ultimate compound first to see if it will do anything to it like soften the tops and then hit with a solvent if it does soften but I have a feeling that I might have to try wet sanding it out. some of the spots are faint and right on the surface like a cloud floating on the surface of the clear but very hard and very bonded. some on the very top are a bit bigger and more noticeable to the touch. just wandering if anyone has ever had to result to this step when nothing else worked. the marks seem to be calcified, very hard.
 
jshaf said:
I have these super hard tree sap spots all over the top of my 2011 Black 2SS Camaro. I know from contacting the previous owner that it is cherry tree sap and it has been on it for a couple years. I have literally tried every thing to remove them before putting the car in storage for winter but ran out of time so just left the more severe steps til spring. my last steps are to first try to use an orange pad and ultimate compound first to see if it will do anything to it like soften the tops and then hit with a solvent if it does soften but I have a feeling that I might have to try wet sanding it out. some of the spots are faint and right on the surface like a cloud floating on the surface of the clear but very hard and very bonded. some on the very top are a bit bigger and more noticeable to the touch. just wandering if anyone has ever had to result to this step when nothing else worked. the marks seem to be calcified, very hard.
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I've had to deal with this pleeeenty of times. Let that stuff dwell for a while, then use a plastic razor to remove. No need to wetsand IMO
 
I tried that flash but it was pretty cold out when I did, maybe the cold affected it, not sure but maybe I will give it a go once it warms back up. figured I have to get some fine scratches out anyway so the orange pad idea I thought might heat them up and possible soften them enough to use solvent or even a plastic razor blade.
 
jshaf said:
I tried that flash but it was pretty cold out when I did, maybe the cold affected it, not sure but maybe I will give it a go once it warms back up. figured I have to get some fine scratches out anyway so the orange pad idea I thought might heat them up and possible soften them enough to use solvent or even a plastic razor blade.
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Use a heat gun before you apply the solvent. Don't do it after unless you wanna catch the car on fire

You don't want that junk on your pad
 
Just did 2 cars with this 90% of them came off with power washer.The rest I hit with some clay lube let set for 5 mins then used a small pice of star board and they came wright off.the ones I did where from pine trees.
 
Flash Gordon said:
Use a heat gun before you apply the solvent. Don't do it after unless you wanna catch the car on fire

You don't want that junk on your pad
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Reading this on my phone, as I scrolled down, every reply I was thinking you wrote!
 
master detailer said:
Just did 2 cars with this 90% of them came off with power washer.The rest I hit with some clay lube let set for 5 mins then used a small pice of star board and they came wright off.the ones I did where from pine trees.
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What's a starboard?
 
Belair said:
What type of solvent can be used? Goo Gone, or some adhesive remover, or what?
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I use an industrial strength solvent. 3M's makes one (adhesive remover) that's readily available

Goo Gone is worthless IMO
 
I wonder if the tip shared here would work? That is wet a towel and place it on the roof, probably a couple of towels, and keep them wet for maybe a few hours or even overnight?


Tips & Tricks: How to remove dried bug spatter or bug guts



Bug Spatter can actually eat through and remove paint if left on too long...
BugBGoneTest003.jpg



Tip: Water soften the dried bug guts and splatter with water first.

Trick: Use a towel to hold water in place on a vertical panel.​

Here's a tip I posted in 2005, the idea being to use the towel to hold the moisture onto the paint and thus the bug splatter where it can go to work softening and loosening the splatter. A large beach towel works well for this...

This was my Honda Pilot in our garage where I would also wash the garage because it's pretty hard to wash a car in the desert without the dry heat or the wind drying water before you can dry your car.

Take a wash rag and saturate it with water or your car wash solution.

2WetWashRag.jpg



Place the wet wash rag on top of the dried bug splatter and allow it to sit for a few minutes. A variation of this would be to use warm/hot water.

2WetWashRag2.jpg



To speed up the process, apply some gentle pressure while drinking a cold soft drink and if need be, hum or whistle a little diddy.

2WetWashRag3.jpg




A variation of the above but for a larger area would be to use a larger cloth such as a bath towel. Saturate a clean, soft 100% cotton towel with water and place it over the affected area.

2WetTowel1.jpg


Another variation for headlights and fenders...
2WetTowel2.jpg



Big Picture
The idea being to use some type of bath towel or microfiber towel or even wash cloth or wet chamois to trap and hold water onto the dried bug splatter in order to soften and re-liquefy it so you can more easily remove it without causing damage to the delicate, scratch-sensitive clear coat finish.
 
wow, got the grand poobah of detailing to reply to my post!! :)

I tried to do what you suggest but at the time it was really cold and windy and I had no heated garage. fully intend to try this once again once the weather improves, I have a vacation week in late april that should afford me the opportunity to drive over to my brother in laws a couple towns over where he has a really nice two story garage I can use for multiple days. then I can soak the spots for hours with out weather interfering.

Have the 3M abhesive remover I picked up about a month ago along with several other solvents. I am fully intent on having to wetsand but will try the soak method first, then soften with the heat of a buffer or heat gun, then if all fails wet sand.

Thanks for the imput fellas, greatly appreciated!
 
I honestly can't express how hard these spots are, supposed to be cherry sap but it is more like superglue. lets just say the previous owner had no concept of two bucket wash or proper cleaning technique. about the only thing he did right was park it inside during our harsh winters in this area.
 
Instead of sanding, here's another option. Get a #2000 grit Unigrit Sanding Block, dress it like I show so you won't gouge the paint with the corners and then stand it on end and use this to reduce the size of your footprint while sanding the tree sap marks off the paint.


How to use Meguiar's Unigrit Sanding Blocks to remove runs and dirt nibs in paint


Here's my buddy Ben standing a Unigrit block on end as sands flat some dirt nibs.

AMX_Wetsanding_Daves_Camera022.jpg


AMX_Wetsanding_Daves_Camera023.jpg



:)
 
Warm the area slightly with a heat gun as Flash said, then wrap a cotton terry towel around the tip of your finger. Next place the towel wrapped finger tip on the opening of a can of lacquer thinner and tip the can quickly to wet the tip of the towel on your finger. Get it wet but you don't want thinner running down your arm. Go after each one of the heavy sap blobs one at a time. That'll remove them and won't hurt the paint.

I see some of these blobs more than a quarter inch thick quite frequently, and see these vehicles return for service over and over, so I'd see if there were any damage caused by this.

This is a real quick and easy solution but work one at a time and move your fingertip to e clean spot on the terry towel as needed.
 
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