How To Remove Tree Sap From Car - Tips, Tricks & Products You Can Use

by Taylor
(Stain-Removal-101.com)

Below I've collected several tips for how to remove tree sap from car exteriors.

Tree sap, whether it be pine or another variety, can easily drop onto cars while parked on the street or the driveway under a canopy of trees.

Once that sap gets hot, in the sun, it basically bakes on and can be very difficult to remove.

There are many ways to remove this sticky hard mess from your car's exterior, but you want to be careful to choose a method and product to do it that won't hurt your car's paint job.

I've found several videos below giving various tips for this process, from professional detailers. In addition, I've also received a tip from a reader, where she shared how LA's Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner got the sap off her car.

Remember too, along with the tips below, I'm always looking for more great ways to remove these stubborn stains, along with recommendations for which products actually work to do it (and which don't). You can share your sap stain removal tips here, or read other tips already submitted for other surfaces besides cars.

Photo by nordique

Remove Tree Sap From Car - Video Tips

Below is a video giving tips for how to remove tree sap from car paint.

This guy is a professional car detailer, and he uses lacquer thinner to remove the tree sap.

He cautions that you must be very careful when you use lacquer thinner not to keep it on very long, because it will damage your car's clear coat finish.

Further, if you don't have lacquer thinner, or don't want to use it on your vehicle, he also suggested the automotive versions of Goof Off or Goo Gone, and said isopropyl alcohol may also work, but will take longer.

He also demonstrated the way to rub the lacquer thinner onto the car to remove the sap.

Watch the video for full details on how to remove tree sap from car paint.



You can submit your own tip about how to remove tree sap stains here, or read other tips already submitted.

You can also see Stain-Removal-101.com's advice for tree sap removal from clothing, upholstery and carpet.

Photo by cogdogblog

Removing Tree Sap From Cars With A Razor

Below is a video showing the techniques for removing tree sap from cars with a razor.

Personally, that seems like a really scary way to remove the sap because he even cautions that you can easily scrape and damage the paint on the car if you aren't careful.

He is a professional car detailer, and he says he uses this razor technique on sap that has been sitting for a long time in the sun and has gotten really hard.

He says he is demonstrating the technique on a car with a $30,000 paint job, so I assume he is pretty confident he won't hurt the paint.

He does bend the razor, however, to help him be more precise (it is hard to explain -- watch the video to understand how), so maybe that helps him.

After scraping off the top of the tree sap he says then it becomes weak, and you can remove the rest of it with a cleaner or polish.

Have you ever had success with removing tree sap from cars with a razor, or have you just scraped up your paint? Tell me either in the comments, or submit your own tip for how to remove this sticky substance.

Photo by Orin Zebest

How To Remove Tree Sap On Car Paint

Below is a video from a professional car detailer saying how to remove tree sap on car paint.

Basically, his advice is quite simple -- use tree sap remover (see some suggested products down at the bottom of the page).

There are other methods out there for removing tree sap from a car, such as a razor, or other chemicals, but he suggests against them, which is actually in contradiction to the video directly above.

I think the obvious reason for the disagreement is whether you believe you can actually control the razor to have it work for you, or if you think you will chip your paint using this method. I tend to think I, personally, would be better off not using such a sharp instrument near my car's paint job.

Instead, using a product designed specifically to remove sap from your car's paint will make the process quick and easy.

Also, when you use a product specifically designed for a car's painted finish you don't have to worry about scraping and nicking the paint like you would with a razor, or hurting the finish of your paint like with other chemicals.

Here is the video for full details:

As you can see, there are lots of ways to remove tree sap from car paint. However, there is always more than one way to do something. If you've also got a great technique or tip, I would love to hear it, for either removing sap from your car or other surfaces in and around your home.

You can submit your own tip for how to remove tree sap stains here, or read other tips already submitted, for other surfaces.

Tree Sap Removers Formulated For Cars

Photo by iwona kellie

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