Rocket
12-31-2011, 08:05 PM
I originally was going to post a review of this product but I decided against it after doing a test spot.
I had tar all along the driver side of my truck and I decided it would be a good day to test the Tar X sample I had sitting on the shelf. I decided to start on the worst section such was the bed behind the wheel. I sprayed Tar X on the paint first and let it dwell. Within a few seconds you could see the tar start to melt. I was really Impressed and excited. My truck has Xpel film on the hood, front bumper and along the rockers. I moved on to the film and sprayed it on the tar. Let it dwell a minute and agitated with my microfiber mitt. I noticed a little film or fogginess on the film. I rinsed the whole section immediately and saw the film was left looking dull and stained where I sprayed Tar X. I washed the whole panel with Blackfire car wash and dried. The paint looked fine but the film did not change in appearance. It feels like there is some kind of film on the Xpel film.
I decided to try Tar X one more time on the door. Some may think that`s dumb but I wanted to be sure it wasn`t the film that was the issue. I sprayed on and agitated immediately. Right away I saw the same issue and that spot felt the same as the bed section.
Door:
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-addc-edb4.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-adf4-6dfe.jpg
As you can see the spot almost looks dirty. In person it looked white like dirt on a panel. If I didn`t know better II would have thought I missed a spot when I washed the door.
Back to the bed- I felt the film and examined it closely to see what I might be able to do to fix the issue. It felt like there was something on the film so I decided to rub with my nail to see if it removed anything. I couldn`t make it look worse at this point. After scratching lightly on a spot I did see that the white was removed from that spot. I went inside and grabbed some Poli Seal to see what it would do. I applied with a foam applicator and it removed the white look from the film and made the film look clear once again. It did not remove the dull look though. I think I`ll need to use something more aggressive to get the film back to its original appearance.
Bed:
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-afa9-c00f.jpg
As you can see I only applied to the upper section of the film. You can see the lower section still looks white and foggy. That was actually the good section when I started and I only applied Poli Seal to the worst area.
I had plans so I had to stop there and go in. Tomorrow morning I`ll get back to work.
Conclusions:
Tar X is a great product for removing tar but if there is paint protection film this is not the product I would use. I wish it wouldn`t have had this reaction to the Xpel film as I wanted to use it further. On just painted surfaces this stuff rocks and works really well but it`s useless for my truck since I have the film everywhere. I wouldnt hesitate to use it on a car that didn`t have the film.
Once I correct the areas I will be Opticoating the film and I may try Tar X again to see if there is any change in results.
I had tar all along the driver side of my truck and I decided it would be a good day to test the Tar X sample I had sitting on the shelf. I decided to start on the worst section such was the bed behind the wheel. I sprayed Tar X on the paint first and let it dwell. Within a few seconds you could see the tar start to melt. I was really Impressed and excited. My truck has Xpel film on the hood, front bumper and along the rockers. I moved on to the film and sprayed it on the tar. Let it dwell a minute and agitated with my microfiber mitt. I noticed a little film or fogginess on the film. I rinsed the whole section immediately and saw the film was left looking dull and stained where I sprayed Tar X. I washed the whole panel with Blackfire car wash and dried. The paint looked fine but the film did not change in appearance. It feels like there is some kind of film on the Xpel film.
I decided to try Tar X one more time on the door. Some may think that`s dumb but I wanted to be sure it wasn`t the film that was the issue. I sprayed on and agitated immediately. Right away I saw the same issue and that spot felt the same as the bed section.
Door:
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-addc-edb4.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-adf4-6dfe.jpg
As you can see the spot almost looks dirty. In person it looked white like dirt on a panel. If I didn`t know better II would have thought I missed a spot when I washed the door.
Back to the bed- I felt the film and examined it closely to see what I might be able to do to fix the issue. It felt like there was something on the film so I decided to rub with my nail to see if it removed anything. I couldn`t make it look worse at this point. After scratching lightly on a spot I did see that the white was removed from that spot. I went inside and grabbed some Poli Seal to see what it would do. I applied with a foam applicator and it removed the white look from the film and made the film look clear once again. It did not remove the dull look though. I think I`ll need to use something more aggressive to get the film back to its original appearance.
Bed:
http://img.tapatalk.com/aefd487a-afa9-c00f.jpg
As you can see I only applied to the upper section of the film. You can see the lower section still looks white and foggy. That was actually the good section when I started and I only applied Poli Seal to the worst area.
I had plans so I had to stop there and go in. Tomorrow morning I`ll get back to work.
Conclusions:
Tar X is a great product for removing tar but if there is paint protection film this is not the product I would use. I wish it wouldn`t have had this reaction to the Xpel film as I wanted to use it further. On just painted surfaces this stuff rocks and works really well but it`s useless for my truck since I have the film everywhere. I wouldnt hesitate to use it on a car that didn`t have the film.
Once I correct the areas I will be Opticoating the film and I may try Tar X again to see if there is any change in results.