how to remove tree sap?
 

i have tree sap on my paint, i can use my finger nail to get it off and the paint is good under it. i have tryed turtle wax sap and tar remover,i used wd 40, it dosent even get soft it stays hard and chips off and leaves paint un marked what else can i use . should i buff it ?:(my veh is a 1988 300 se

i use a chemical made by hi-tech called sap zapper. pro car beauty also sells a sap remover...here in pa i am unable to purchase it due to VOC laws. www.prowax.com a distributor will let you meet them at a dealer as well. i always use chemicals for what theyre designed for.


someone once told me gasoline worked. i never tried it. otherwise stop at a local dealer and go right to the detail bay. when i worked there i would always give customers stuff cuz i didnt pay for it.

Gasoline and a match are quite effective . . . . Just be careful, because it CAN damage your clear coat.

I use Meguiar's cleaner wax it works great.

getting sap off paint
 

if i wipe down the paint with rubbing alcohal will it hurt the paint it takes the sap off right away

I also recommend using Meguiar's Cleaner Wax to remove tree sap. It definitely will not harm your paint. It also works well on wheels, provided you use it regularly and don't allow a heavy accumulation of brake dust.

depending on the type of sap and the size of the droplets, paint cleaning clay might be another thing to try.

A little-known detailer's trick involves rubbing with a moistened Bounce dryer sheet. That works very effectively on splattered bugs, etc., although I have never tried it to remove sap. In any event, you will need to re-wax the treated area after using a dryer sheet. Let us know your results with whatever technique eventually works.

Edit: As Karburn advised, my first course of action would always be detailer's clay. Very few things are immune to the beneficial effects of clay.

BTW, one of the other posts suggests that rubbing alcohol hurts the paint. Not necessarily true. Using 50:50 dilution of rubbing alcohol is standard procedure when wet sanding automotive paint. Perhaps the intent was only to suggest that it removes wax, which I imagine it does, but without harming the paint itself.

De-natured alcohol not rubbing alcohol. It doesn't clean as rapidly but it also doesn't evaporate as fast leaving the "white" areas.

Its much simpler than you guys are making it. Diesel fuel, or kerosine. and remember to wax it in that spot after you are done, cause you are removing any wax also.

mineral spirits is my weapon of choice. easy to get and has many uses. charcoal lighter fluid is similar if not the same. good on a rag to clean your hands of grease and oil.

I've never heard of that before. Does it matter which brand you use?

Never used anything other than "Bounce" brand.

Any idea which ingredient it is that gets the sap off?