persistent black tar (?) specs the size of pin heads

[cherzra]

Hi,



I don`t drive my car more than twice a month and make sure it`s always in perfect detailed condition. Scottwax just detailed the whole car two weeks ago.



I took it for one drive since then and noticed the following afterwards: the back and lower sides of the car now have really tiny black spots on them. They are very hard to see except up close, they aren`t larger than the size of the top of a needle. You can feel them with your fingers running across the surface though. I live in an area of a lot of new construction so I`m guessing it`s tar of some sort?



I tried removing it with quick detailing spray, then some simple green and finally turtlewax bug & tar spray but 75% of the spots still remain. No matter what I tried, they wouldn`t budge. All I did was remove the nice layer of wax the car had. Oh did I mention that I slightly scratched the car trying to remove one with my fingernail? Grrr.



How do I get rid of this, other than calling Scott or another professional detailer? None of the detailing stuff I had worked. Despite the new layer of wax, this stuff has apparently bonded with my car very tightly. Would clay work? I`ve never clayed my car so don`t know what it can do.



Thanks.

[White95Max]

Clay might work. I see that you tried Turtle Wax B&T remover, and Simple Green, but I`d give Meg`s Detailer Line APC a try. It was able to remove a lot of tar from my car when I first got it, without any real effort.



In a couple minutes, from this...



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/Tar.JPG



to this...



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/TarGone1.JPG

[imported_BigTinVA]

White95Max, Is this the APC that you used to remove all of that tar from your car?



http://www.meguiars.com/estore/products/product_D10101.jpg

[White95Max]

Yes, `tis the one.

[Mikeyc]

I`ve been meaning to buy a gallon of that stuff. Based on your pictures, it seems to be pretty effective on tar. What dilution did you use for that?

[a.k.a. Patrick]

SS1H....Good ol emulsified oil. Its used to pave new streets. And, can be a bi*** to get off. Whatever product you use will require an additional layer of protection.

[White95Max]

Um, I`m going to guess 3:1. I can`t remember exactly. You can search for "transformation Protege" and I`m sure you`d come up with my thread that I started when I got the car. I might have said the dilution in there.



I`d search for it myself, but my dial-up would take 5 minutes to load the pics on page 1... :down

[Scottwax]

sorry to hear about this, especially so soon after the detail. Where did you drive the Supra, Stefan? I`d definitely avoid that road in the future!



Have you tried using clay? I`ve had excellent results using clay then Orange Blast (diluted 1:1 with water). It will definitely remove the wax though.

[a.k.a. Patrick]

Make Scott do it! Didnt he offer you a road hazard warranty ????

:LOLOL

[Inthedetails]

I have also had some success with a small amount of mineral spirits (paint thinner). Obviously used carefully as to avoid plastic.

[aaron33]

Isn`t mineral spirits turpentine? Or do you mean methylated spirits? I`m sure turpentine will eat through the paint in no time.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Not all Bug & Tar removers work the same.



Personally I would go with Stoner`s Tarminator. I would use a soft 3M polishing pad (available at most boat supply stores) along with Meguiars #2 Fine Cut Cleaner, applied by hand. And I would highly recommend doing the work during the wash process, while the vehicle is wet.



Simply, wash the entire vehicle and leave wet. Apply some #2 Fine Cut Cleaner to the polishing pad and also spray the pad with a small amount of Tarminator. Gently begin to rub affected areas by hand using very little surface pressure, allowing the tar remover and polish to do the work. Do one section at a time, working your way from the upper portion of the vehicle first, downward to the lower areas. Rinse, re-wash and rinse again all sections where tar was removed. And remember to keep the entire vehicle wet during this cleaning process. Re-wash entire vehcile once all tar specks have been safely removed. Dry vehicle and re-wax all affected areas.

[cherzra]

Hey Scott, I didn`t realize you`d know it was me :) Not sure what road it was - but it`s definitely construction related. That leaves just about every road around my house :D It`s not actually tar I`m guessing as tar would have caused something like the pics above and I just have really really tiny specs of black, no larger than the top of a needle. I didn`t even notice until I ran my hand across the car, but looking from an angle you can definitely see them.



Anyway, I got most of one side off, but it took literally three hours to do it. I soaked it in turtle wax bug & tar remover and just kept rubbing... and rubbing... and rubbing (with microfiber). After that 75% was off, and the remainder I unfortunately had to agitate ever so carefully with my fingernail because it wouldn`t budge any other way. It had coagulated and solidified, and no amount of rubbing with microfiber and b&t remover would dissolve it. Even now there are a few spots remaining, but I`m not going to risk scratching the paint. I`ll just leave it for the final before-winter detail after which the car goes under its cover for winter :) I`m so glad the car was fully waxed just 2 weeks ago, I don`t even want to think about that stuff having hit my paint dead on.



Thanks for all the tips - Stefan

[Scottwax]

I wonder if a construction crew spilled some sort of sealer in the road. I have a customer who sealed his fence but forgot to close his garage door all the way. Took me a good 8 hours of claying, polishing, etc to remove all that stuff from his car.



I knew it was you by your name at the end of your post, that you don`t drive your car regularly and the constuction. :)