Hey,

I have a brand new F-150, parked it under some tress for about a week. Next time I see it, it has sap (or something else) in several different spots it, but I literally had about an hour to get to the airport, so I couldn't worry about it. Now I'm back, a month later, took it to get washed today and the sap is still there.

I attached pictures. Please advise me what to do....I don't know the first thing about detailing or car cleaning.


The sap in question

 

You can also see a chip in my paint too:


This one came off mostly, but you can still see it:


At the car wash, the guy tried to clean some of it off of the paint. You can still tell it was there (couldn't get a picture that showed it).

There was also some on the black stuff between the windows; the guy cleaned it off with some kind of remover but it looks like he stained whatever material that stuff is...I circled the area in red:


Thanks a lot for any help y'all have.

 

Wow... nice camera.

How 'coated' are you in the sap? If it's 'spotty', then you can deal with each individual spot pretty simplistically by using a bug/tar remover and gently working off the spots... if it's a bit more dispersed and evenly coated, I'd recommend waiting until it gets a tad cooler and claying it when the spots are a bit more solid (versus gooey with heat).

There are a few more options too... give us a bit more information about it.

 

There's probably 5 or 6 "spots". The guy at the car wash got a few spots off by scratching it off with his fingernail then scrubbing the rest of with a rag and cleaner , but there is still some residue or something...you can definitely tell the difference in the paint. As far as the thickness goes, the ones I haven't touched are probably about as thick as 2-3 drops of elmer's school glue, and the ones that are sort of removed are probably 1 drop thick.

If I wait till it gets cold, it might be a while (im in MD)...will leaving it there damage the paint by the time I get it off?

Should I take it to a body shop? How much would they charge for something like this? I'd love to do it myself, but when the guy scratched those spots off my heart skipped a beat b/c i thought he was scratching up the paint...I don't want to do any more damage like that.

Thanks again guys...

 

I have 2 giant white pine trees overhanging most of my driveway so i have become accustomed to removing sap. I tried claying and it made a big mess. I tried bug and tar remover and it worked so/so. I then went to detailcity.org and did some searching. After a few threads i read where someone removed hardened sap with rubbing alchohol. I was a little skeptical about ruining my clearcoat so i tried it in the bed of the truck for awhile. To make a long story short i take a Q tip and dip it in the rubbing alchohol and squeeze out most of the juice. Then lightly wipe just the sap and it loosens it up. Keep a microfiber towel handy. You might have to repeat if it is a thick glob. It will leave a white haze so change the Q tip after a few dabs. Wipe with a QD and remember to reapply wax as it will strip off all waxes

 

Just to add, sometimes sap like that can actually etch into the paint if it has been on there for some time. It can even start after a day...

 

DANG!!! NICE PICS!!!

Clay would probably get it if you used ice to cool the sap off first, but you would probably trash the bar.

Bug and tar remover sounds like plan #1 IMO.

I have never heard of the alcohol trick, but it sounds good enough. I am going to wait on RPs input on alcohol + clear, though. But I can assure yu-- if the other guy has done it for awhile, doing it once will be fine.

And yes, leavign it CAN damage the paint. Some trees more so than others. All I can sy is I wish the best of luck to ya.

 

thanks for the alcohol tip robny...has anyone else tried it? I would do the same thing with my bed but i have a line-x in there...any other good spots to try it to make sure it wouldn't ruin the clearcoat?

 

The rubbing alcohol is a very good trick. I've used it out of my shop a few times for a few stubborn spots.

Also, as was previously mentioned, the sap can, indeed, be acidic and thus etch into the paint thus making it a bigger problem down the road. In all honesty, I doubt that a claybar is going to solve that problem - at least not in the summer or on a warm body panel.

 

... to add...

Remember that the alcohol trick will remove wax and any filler products that may be on the truck. Used in very slight moderation, this trick can be used to remove the spots. Further, I'd recommend actually mixing 1:1 with distilled water to see how it works... if it works well, stick with the diluted. If not, jump to a more concentrated mix.

EXPECT the alchol to emphasize swirls, scratches, and other problems on the truck thus, be prepared to polish and reprotect to conceal/remove the aforementioned problems (if there).

RP

 

Yeah-- I can attest to alcohol removing wax...

When I was doing some first aid outta the back of my truck for a HS Band event one time, I was using rubbing alcohol to cleanse a few things, and the wind blew it over while on my toolbox.... Resulting in some crazy looking drips going down my paint... Looked like my truck was bleeding clear ooze, and that its blood had dried later that day...Creepy...

 

Rubbing Alcohol. It works. It will not hurt the paint. I've used it a hudred times. Florida is notorious for sap....