tar on sealed car... best way to get it off without stripping the sealant?

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Guitarist302008

New member
I was washing my car today .. I have just bought some grout sponges (which worked great for me and didn't leave any marring) but it's DEFINITELY not abrasive because it didn't get some tar off of the bumper area. Do I want to use bug and tar remover and strip the wax (FK1000)



On a side note, 3 layers or more seems to be the magic number. All bugs, stains etc came right off on the areas that had 3 layers, but the ones with 2 didn't (i'm working my way back every few days due to shoulder pain).



Anyway... suggestions?
 
I just use very mild clay (e.g., Sonus SFX). That's the way I remove 99.999% of the tar/etc. that gets on my vehicles, but yeah..it does go through the clay pretty fast. Still, the clay takes the stuff off without stripping the sealant, whereas (most) solvents will take the sealant off along with the tar.
 
Guitarist302008 said:
all I have is the clay magic... good enough? Perhaps I could use some Klasse AIO too?
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Yeah, the ClayMagic oughta work fine, but try to be as gentle as possible with it so you don't "clay away your LSP", which will be easier to do with that than with something *really* gentle like the Sonus SFX.



The KAIO will take the tar off, but will also remove LSP, so if you go that route you'll have to redo your FK1000P. I'd rather not do that myself, hence my preference for the clay approach.
 
The tar itself will eat away at your sealant. I wouldn't count on clay, because of abrasion, not taking away some measure of protection as well.



I think it's best to focus on the least abrasive way to remove the tar and plan on reapplying protection after.



The nice thing about KAIO is that it will leave behind some measure of protection, however mild. It will at least buy you some time until you can do it properly.
 
MichaelM said:
The tar itself will eat away at your sealant. I wouldn't count on clay, because of abrasion, not taking away some measure of protection as well...
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There are sooo many variables with claying! Just because I can "clay my LSP clean" with very gentle clay doesn't mean that everybody can clay their LSP without messing it up.



I think it's best to focus on the least abrasive way to remove the tar and plan on reapplying protection after.
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My only argument against that (and again, what works for me...etc. etc.) is that once I build up many layers of sealant I don't want to have to start over with reapplying it.

The nice thing about KAIO is that it will leave behind some measure of protection, however mild. It will at least buy you some time until you can do it properly.
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Yeah, and if you're only doing one coat or so of the LSP that'd only take a few minutes anyhow.



While we approach this one differently, I don't think it's a right/wrong sort of thing.
 
Scottwax said:
Clay should work. So will a cleaner wax. Then just build the layers of FK1000 up...
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I never know what FK1000P might have issues going on top of :confused: Never tried it over a cleaner wax, just over various AIOs and bare paint.
 
just in case anyone was interested... I actually went ahead with my FK and applied it to the tar spots... some of the spots needed a little elbow grease, but it did take them off... the thinner ones rather quickly... so apparently I don't need clay or Klasse AIO.. if only the fly sh!t would come off the same way ...
 
Accumulator said:
While we approach this one differently, I don't think it's a right/wrong sort of thing.
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Agreed. Nearly all of the vehicles I touch aren't cared for to our standards so my thought process isn't geared towards preserving LSP.
 
I almost bought some collinite 845 today... the place was out of the 915.. which I think is 886 for boats.. but still the same thing is what I was told anyway?



I actually had read some of your comments on the 845 Scott and decided against it.. I figured i'd go with the 915 since it's supposed to be very durable for a wax as well as it may fill a few scratches I have seen on the car.



I also was close to buying some of the FK pink wax... would I be better off with the 915 or the Pink wax over the FK1000?
 
Guitarist302008 said:
I almost bought some collinite 845 today... the place was out of the 915.. which I think is 886 for boats.. but still the same thing is what I was told anyway?
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Do you mean 855 Fleetwax?



The 885 is the same as their 476S, not the 915. The 915 is sorta the "beauty wax" of the Collinite line; the 476S/885 is geared towards durability. But this is splitting hairs.



I actually had read some of your comments on the 845 Scott and decided against it.. I figured i'd go with the 915 since it's supposed to be very durable for a wax as well as it may fill a few scratches I have seen on the car.
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All Collinte waxes are durable and all do come concealing. But yeah, the 915 probably does more concealing than 845.



I also was close to buying some of the FK pink wax... would I be better off with the 915 or the Pink wax over the FK1000?
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Coke vs. Pepsi, though the Collinite will almost certainly be more durable. I myself would rather have Collinite on the shelf.
 
Guitarist302008- I've never used the 915, but yeah...thin, and if the label says to use a damp applicator instead of a dry one I'd follow those directions. I'd use foam applicators, as I do with all LSPs.
 
As you have discovered, the solvents and/or mechanical abrasives in many of the sealants will remove the tar.
 
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