Tree Sap Woes

[CARTfan]

In another thread I mentioned the issues I`ve been having with gooey blobs of tree sap on my car. Well my OCD kicked in and I took Goof Off with a Q-tip and rubbed only the part with the hardened sap. Well, after a while the sap seemed to be dissolving, but no, it was the clearcoat. :angry I didn`t know it at the time because the clearcoat dissolving took the same exact shape as the sap blob so I thought the sap was just being eaten away. I then saw blue on the Q-tip and my heart sank. I have no idea what happened. You could clearly see and feel the sap upraised from the paint, but it seems the sap degraded the clearcoat and made the paint swell. :dunno Man, sometimes I wish I didn`t care about my cars. You can see the outline of the blob below. This is before I took the Goof Off to it. See how shiny the blob is? I`m thinking its not sap anymore, but swollen paint. Does that happen?

[Beemerboy]

That is really looks like its etched more than anything threw the clear coat. Sap could do that but I`ve not seen it here in NO CA where I live.

Wet sanding from what I can see is not an answer. I would clean that area and try and refill with clear coat, wait to dry and wet sand and then rebuff to see if you can raise that area back up the level of the paint.

This is not for the newbie so I would give caution. Outside that I`m not sure what you could do.

Next time you are using Goo Gone for tree sap removal I would do this at the wash stages only. I also use a tree sap and tar remover its allot easier on the paint will not etch the clear.

Good luck

[CARTfan]

Actually that circled spot is the upraised before photo. It felt like a lump when I slid my finger over it, so I assumed it was just hardened sap. Now the upraised surface is still there, minus the clearcoat. I tried lots of less caustic things, but nothing worked, so a few folks here recommended Goof Off and I gave it a shot. I`ll just try Langka with clear coat and live with it I guess.

[norahcrv]

:wait You are saying that you used "Goof Off" and what Beemerboy & I have spoken of is "Goo Gone". Despite the similarity in their names, they are two very different products!!!

"Goo Gone" http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml is made with relatively safe "citrus oils" & is usually safe for removing sticky residues including tree sap.
whereas "Goof Off" http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov...ds&prodcat=all contains xlylene & is used as a paint stripper .

At this point, I think your best bet is to find a good "paint person" & tell them what you have done & used, and let them advise you on your best course of action.

[JaredPointer]

That`s not the clearest pic, so my eyes may be decieving me, but to me it looks like there are streaks (not only blobs) in the paint. Maybe it`s wetsanding marks from before you owned the car?? Maybe it`s some kind of residue from a QD or something?? I would definitely check with the dealership/previous owner to see if the car has been repainted. It could possibly be a bad paint job that has decided to start coming off. It might also be in your best interest to research and see if you have a single stage paint or a paint without a clearcoat. If so, that might explain why you have the color on your Q-tip.

[CARTfan]

^ Those streaks are in fact QD streaks. Yeah, I confused the two products. What a moron. I`m still clueless though as to why there seems to be sap still there, but yet I went through the clearcoat. It should be going in next week for a professional buffing anyway. Okay, I`m going to go sulk now.

[Koop]

Do not dispare CARTfan. Hope is not lost. A pro with a rotory could really clear that up. Even if the clear has broken if it is slight enough it can come out with being hardley notcied if at all. Just make sure you keep 5 layers of UPP on it! Just learn from your mistake and take head to change your ways. Sapp is one of the hardest things for a detailer to deal with! Relax. it will be ok.

[CARTfan]

Thanks Koop. I hit it with some Nanowax just until I get the car buffed and it really is hardly noticable. I`m just mad at my OCD.

[derek37]

RainX works great for tree sap.

[CARTfan]

I`ve heard that. Is it because of the alcohol content or something else?

[NYV6Coupe]

Sorry you shot yourself in the foot trying to do the right thing ... don`t despair `cause we`ve all done something similar.

My first exposure to claying was removing some tree sap from my deck lid. I washed with warm soapy water, let the cotton sloth sit on the sap hoping to soften it & removed some but not all the sap.

I tried claying & it removed the sap .... I was really impressed, so impressed I did the whole car. I called my gf out to see (actually feel) what claying had done & she looked at me like I had 3 heads.

The results may vary based on age & condition of the surface, type of tree, how long the sap has been on the surface, and so on but it`s worth it to try the least aggressive approach first.

[4x4K1500]

not to dig this post, but besides goo gone and claying what else is done for sap? I`ve tried paint thinner and mineral spirits. I thought about trying a heat gun.

Does anyone have any tips?

[black bart]

The time that the sap is left on the car must be the problem.

Last summer at a car show I parked under a tree and at the end of the day I had bumps of sap all over my car.

I drove it home and the next morning used a car wash soap and water as warm as was comfortable to put my hand in and washed it off.

The sap washed off completely NO problems I`m curious as to how long you left it on before trying to remove it.

Maybe it depends on the kind of tree but I have never had a problem with removing sap I just wash it off.

[autofind]

I park under trees everyday, and clean fresh sap everday off my new MX5. I just get it when it`s fresh with BUG & TAR remover, it works great. Keep a good coat of SUPERGLAZE on you car, and it will come off with no problem.

[GearHead_1]

I park under trees everyday, and clean fresh sap everday off my new MX5. I just get it when it`s fresh with BUG & TAR remover, it works great. Keep a good coat of SUPERGLAZE on you car, and it will come off with no problem.

I can certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for a product that you like (SuperGlaze) but 4 of your 5 posts speak directly to this product. That`s a little bit odd when not all of your posts are in one thread. As a new member maybe you could tell us about a little bit about yourself and what you`ve used to compare this product to. If the product is now discontinued what do you see yourself using in the future? My first thought when seeing all these posts made me wonder if you held all of the product being auctioned on Ebay.