Tree Sap! help!

[Sstamand87]

Where I live right now the only parking is under a pine tree, and I've been so busy I kind of let my e36 go as far as looks. And now this year has been especially bad as far as sap drops, like a lot... scraped at least 15 off my windshield, and now there are ten more. I've done all the googling about the subject but where it's not just one or two drops I wanted to see if anyone has some tricks. soak the whole car in wd40? I want to clean it up and I'm buying a house Monday where this won't be an issue anymore.

[Sstamand87]

Still taking ideas

[JohnZ3MC]

A plastic razor blade or the edge of a credit card can be used to chip away a lot of the sap. Don't go all the way down to the clearcoat with the plastic razor blade though.
Isopropyl alcohol or Stoner's Tarminator can be used on the remaining sap and if you can, let the fluids dwell for a while on the sap. your WD-40 works too of course.

Try a forum search for 'tree sap' or 'sap removal' and you'll find a ton of other suggestions. I even found one about using vodka, whisky, rum, tequila to remove sap. Ethanol is chemically close to IPA so those should work too but I hate to share my stock of single malts with the car.

[kathmorgan12]

In my case, it's rare for a tree sap to drop on our car but still it happens. A simple rubbing with a wet cloth will do its job of removing the sap. In your case, since there could be more droppings, you may need something that would totally remove all that amount of sap. Yes, I think I read somewhere that you can use ethanol for completely removing the sap.

[pottsalot]

Pm David325e. He has had experience in this field. His credentials are high.

[jc43089]

Hand sanitizer, the alcohol type, get the clear cheap stuff without dyes/fragrance. It will dissolve the sap. I use a blue disposable shop towel and a pump bottle about the size of a bathroom soap dispenser of the sanitizer. Works great and won't damage anything.

[tdekany]

Just use 70 or 90% ipa from the store.

[Sstamand87]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm going to try the sanitizer and vodka this weekend, followed by a good buff job. A co-worker pulled in a car the other day with less sap than mine and proclaimed that the paint was ruined, so now I'm determined!

[Sstamand87]

So, the vodka never made it onto the car, hand sanitizer took way too long got my patience. After an hour with nail polish remover, and a couple hours doing the buffer and wax thing, it did come back. Thanks for the replies!

[speedster]

ive had good luck with carpro tarx

[MasterC17]

Lacquer thinner or Tarx

[rbelton]

The hand sanitizer trick does work really well for pine sap. But not for really old sap that has been dried-on for years. DIY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf4a_4ykUlQ

[flyfishvt]

Hand sanitizer, the alcohol type, get the clear cheap stuff without dyes/fragrance. It will dissolve the sap. I use a blue disposable shop towel and a pump bottle about the size of a bathroom soap dispenser of the sanitizer. Works great and won't damage anything.

No need to buy hand sanitizer. They are 60-90% IPA. The rest is just skin softeners and gel agents. Buy a bottle of IPA

I've gad good luck with most bug and tar removers. On really old sap you'll have to do multiple applications. Resist the temptation to pick away at it with anything. Let the chemicals do their job.