Tree sap on a pearl white
 

I had the bright idea to park under a tree friday night cause we were going out soon after, I normaly park inside the garage. Anyways I ended up having a rough weekend and totally forgot about the car. I found it this morning with some tree sap on the hood which does not seem to want to come out. I tried tree sap remover from rain-x, nothing, clay bar and it got a little better but not much. What would be the next step guys? I will attached a picture for you all to see.
Thanks in advance guys

first i would destroy the tree.
then, i would trade my car in on a tree sap colored 370z.

no seriously dude, i have no idea, and im sorry all i have to offer is cheap humor which most likely wont make you feel any better

im sure lots of people will chime in with help soon though

dealing with this issue on my g ! Let me know if you get any better ideas versus repaint.

Try mineral spirits or nail polish remover. Those have been successful at removing tree sap. Remember to wax after applying.

Stoners Bug & Tar Remover. Let it set for a while (minute or so). It may take multiple applications though. I had some on my truck that took 10+ applications and still had to follow up with some polish to get the last bit off.

Surprised clay didnt get it out. Try soaking with an APC soaked towel?

I'll give the bug and tar remover a few more applications and see if gets any better. If needed I will then move on to the nail polish. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks

I wouldn't use either one of those. If your nail polish has acetone in it, it will take the paint off.

WD-40 will take tree sap off.....spray on, let soak for a bit, and then rub gently. Won't harm your paint either.

Don't overlook one of the simplest and least invasive methods: hot water works most of the time.

You can also try mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol. Whatever you try you will need to let the chemicals set a while and work on the tree sap.

I YouTubed, how to get tree sapp off your car. The video shows a guy using hand sanitizer. Apply hand sanitizer to the spot and rub it off with a cotton pad. Check this out. Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoTj9...e_gdata_player

Aizen, let me know how things workout.

i thought hand sanitizer's main ingredient is isopropyl alcohol... aka rubbing alcohol.

in that case, just use rubbing alcohol. :icon17:

any luck ?

Guys I tried all those methods this weekend except the nail polish with acetone and while the stain got considerably smaller and lighter there was still a hint so I had to move to a final resort. I wet sanded the affected area, which is about the size of a nickle and then polish the entire roof with Adams three step system and my pc7424. The stain is totally gone but I lost some of the pearls which I expected. This method works better on other colors that are not pearled but I did not have a choice. I am bringing it to my shop next weekend to have my painter do a spot repair on the hood. What a freaking mission, I am never again parking underneath a tree even for just 5 minutes.

what kind of tree did you park under?! i have never seen such a tree sap residue... I mostly get clear dots on the car or maybe sun baked tiny yellow ones. Yours look like rust.

Must have been a pine tree....those things ooze sap.

Thread necro! Just wanted to add that I used regular hand sanitizer just now on my car and got all the little orange sunbaked tree sap spots off. A dab of hand sanitizer and lightly rub with your finger and it comes right off!

But when u rub it, would ur finger leave microfiber scratches on the clear coat?

Nope. You dont even need to use a cloth. Just put a little bit of sanitizer on your finger, and gently rub it. No pressure or anything.

Little late to the party but Mineral Spirits has always worked the best for me. I'm really surprized it didn't for you. Probably really baked in and didn't let it soften for long enough. Sounds like you went pretty extreem resorting to color sanding the spot. BTW, keeping a coat of wax on your car can make getting crap off the paint much easier.

something i learned off autopia was to use a plastic razor blade. it'll scrape it right off, esp if you've let the car sit out in the sun for a while. I wipe off the residue with a microfiber and rubbing alcohol.